Advertising

Advertising is meant to persuade, and the themes and techniques of that persuasion reveal a part of the nation's history. The Museum has preserved advertising campaigns for several familiar companies, such as Marlboro, Alka-Seltzer, Federal Express, Cover Girl, and Nike. It also holds the records of the NW Ayer Advertising Agency and business papers from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Carvel Ice Cream, and other companies. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana comprises thousands of trade cards, catalogs, labels, and other business papers and images dating back to the late 1700s.

Beyond advertising campaigns, the collections encompass thousands of examples of packaging, catalogs, and other literature from many crafts and trades, from engineering to hat making. The collections also contain an eclectic array of advertising objects, such as wooden cigar-store Indians, neon signs, and political campaign ads.

A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph. Advertisment for Petrie Wine. A bowl of stew with two glasses of red wine in foreground.Recto: Signed and dated by artist in lower right corner (pencil). Verso: Five Muray stamps. One Muray label.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph. Advertisment for Petrie Wine. A bowl of stew with two glasses of red wine in foreground.
Recto: Signed and dated by artist in lower right corner (pencil). Verso: Five Muray stamps. One Muray label. "#15" in upper left corner (pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1948
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.02
catalog number
69.247.02
accession number
287542
Frederick Eugene Ives (1856–1937) was a brilliant man interested in patenting his ideas (the first in 1881), but not so much in licensing them. Ives's first three-color single exposure camera was patented in 1899.
Description
Frederick Eugene Ives (1856–1937) was a brilliant man interested in patenting his ideas (the first in 1881), but not so much in licensing them. Ives's first three-color single exposure camera was patented in 1899. Over the next thirty years, Ives patented a variety of cameras and printing processes for color photography. After the Smithsonian hosted a show of Ives's photography company's work in late 1949 or early 1950, Associate Curator Alexander Wedderburn selected five prints for the color photography portion of the Photographic History Collection. This photograph represents the culmination of Ives's long series of patents and work with color photography.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1940s
maker
Ives Color Processes, Inc.
ID Number
PG.004680
accession number
187952
catalog number
4680
Nickolas Muray color carbro photograph ca. 1952. 'Hunt's Tomato Catsup' advertisment. Hunt's 'catsup' bottle overlayed onto a photograph of a butcher block on which a sandwich and a knife are resting.
Description (Brief)
Nickolas Muray color carbro photograph ca. 1952. 'Hunt's Tomato Catsup' advertisment. Hunt's 'catsup' bottle overlayed onto a photograph of a butcher block on which a sandwich and a knife are resting. The writing for the advertisment is blue cursive.
Mount Recto: "10/1944" (pencil).
Mount Verso: Muray stamp in three different locations. McCall's Magazine label. "7/27/44" (pencil). "#4 McCall's Magazine 1944" (pencil). "203/4" (blue pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1952
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
1982.0545.219
accession number
1982.0545
catalog number
82.545.219
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of a doll constructed of kitchen utensils "cooking" eggs and brewing coffee over an oven range.Verso: Two Muray labels. "6842/3", "McCalls" (black marker).Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of a doll constructed of kitchen utensils "cooking" eggs and brewing coffee over an oven range.
Verso: Two Muray labels. "6842/3", "McCalls" (black marker).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.10
catalog number
69.247.10
accession number
287542
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of fruit salad in a glass bowl ca. 1940s. Mazola advertisment.Verso: Muray label. Muray stamp. "Mazola Ad" (black pencil). "Carbro made from ektachrome" (black pencil).Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of fruit salad in a glass bowl ca. 1940s. Mazola advertisment.
Verso: Muray label. Muray stamp. "Mazola Ad" (black pencil). "Carbro made from ektachrome" (black pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.09
catalog number
69.247.09
accession number
287542
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.L
catalog number
6261L
accession number
238737
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Falk, Sam
ID Number
PG.69.99.002
accession number
281224
catalog number
69.99.002
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.O
catalog number
6261O
accession number
238737
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of hands holding three large tomatoes ca. 1940s. Campbell Soup advertisment.Verso: Four Muray stamps. "Campbell Soup Ad" (black pencil). "32" (black pencil).Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of hands holding three large tomatoes ca. 1940s. Campbell Soup advertisment.
Verso: Four Muray stamps. "Campbell Soup Ad" (black pencil). "32" (black pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s-1950s
commissioner
Campbell Soup Company
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.11
catalog number
69.247.11
accession number
287542
Carbro color print, matted; Cheese and crackers with knife. Signed and dated on mat, pencil. Verso: handwritten "McCall's Cheese." This color photograph was used for the women's homemaking magazine, McCall's.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Carbro color print, matted; Cheese and crackers with knife. Signed and dated on mat, pencil. Verso: handwritten "McCall's Cheese." This color photograph was used for the women's homemaking magazine, McCall's.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
maker
Outerbridge, Jr., Paul
ID Number
PG.006063
catalog number
6063
accession number
223759
catalog number
6063
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of uncooked pork loin and produce ca. 1930s-1940s. Advertisment for A&P.Recto: Signed by artist bottom right (pencil). Verso: Muray label. Muray stamp.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of uncooked pork loin and produce ca. 1930s-1940s. Advertisment for A&P.
Recto: Signed by artist bottom right (pencil). Verso: Muray label. Muray stamp. "A&P ad" (black marker).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930s-1940s
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.13
catalog number
69.247.13
accession number
287542
A Nickolas Muray dye transfer photograph of apples. One apple is cut, one is whole. A knife lays across the fruit.Recto: Signed by artist bottom right (pencil). Verso: Muray stamp. Muray label."Apples" (pencil).
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray dye transfer photograph of apples. One apple is cut, one is whole. A knife lays across the fruit.
Recto: Signed by artist bottom right (pencil). Verso: Muray stamp. Muray label."Apples" (pencil). "#50" (pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1964
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.14
catalog number
69.247.14
accession number
287542
Talbotype negative of advertisements on the front of buildings.Currently not on view
Description
Talbotype negative of advertisements on the front of buildings.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
1848-1849
maker
Beckers, Alexander
ID Number
PG.000526
catalog number
526
accession number
25295
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1939
1937
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006263.X
catalog number
6263X
accession number
238737
A Nicholas Muray 3-color carbro photograph ca. 1934. Cast of "Dinner at Eight" in a Coca Cola advertisment.
Description
A Nicholas Muray 3-color carbro photograph ca. 1934. Cast of "Dinner at Eight" in a Coca Cola advertisment. The screen stars in the photograph are as follows: Lionel Barrymore, Billie Burke, George Cukor, Marie Dressler, Madge Evans, Phillips Holmes, Grant Mitchell, Karen Marley, May Robinson, Louis Classer Hale, Jean Harlow and Edmund Loewe.
Mount Recto: Signed and dated by the artisit (pencil).
Mount Verso: "Dinner at Eight" (pencil). "98" (pencil). Muray stamp.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1934
depicted
Cukor, George
Barrymore, Lionel
Harlow, Jean
Coca-Cola Company
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.01
accession number
287542
catalog number
69.247.1
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1947
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.05
accession number
287542
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of dishes of food. The food is served in silver and crystal dinnerware atop a green tablecloth.Verso: Muray label. Three Muray stamps. "Holiday Magazine" (black marker).Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of dishes of food. The food is served in silver and crystal dinnerware atop a green tablecloth.
Verso: Muray label. Three Muray stamps. "Holiday Magazine" (black marker).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.17
catalog number
69.247.17
accession number
287542
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1936
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.07
accession number
287542
ID Number
PG.293320.1744
catalog number
293,320.1744
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2017.0037.0059
accession number
2017.0037
catalog number
2017.0037.0059
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Bordwell, Sally
ID Number
2010.0250.024
catalog number
2010.0250.024
accession number
2010.0250
This original artwork in pencil, ink, and wash was created for a printed piece advertising the services of Chicago wood engraver Nicholas J. Quirk about 1900.
Description
This original artwork in pencil, ink, and wash was created for a printed piece advertising the services of Chicago wood engraver Nicholas J. Quirk about 1900. The design, including a wood block, engraving tools, and a woodpecker as a symbol of the trade, was modified for use as a logo by the Brotherhood of Engravers in 1902.
The Quirk Collection represents a significant body of work by N. J. Quirk (1863–1940) and his son Nicholas Paul Quirk (1898–1983), together with numerous business cards and specimen sheets from their fellow wood engravers and printing concerns, mostly in the midwestern United States, but also from Canada and Japan. Engraved wood blocks, electrotype plates, photographs, original artwork, proofs, prints, brochures, catalogs and other examples of commercial illustration and wood engraving, plus associated reference material, are included. Subjects represented include portraits (including six Presidents, Joseph Conrad, and Charles Lindbergh), machinery, jewelry, maritime and military work, holiday offerings, and printing trade and union-related items. Most of the 454 catalogued items date from the 1880s up through the 1970s.
Evidence in the collection suggests that Nicholas J. Quirk worked as superintendent of the wood-engraving department of Henderson-Achert Lithography Company in Cincinnati and had his own business there as Quirk & Co., before moving to Chicago in the 1890s. He had his own business at several Chicago addresses and worked for the Globe Engraving and Electrotype Company and the Hawtin Engraving Company. Around 1900 he styled himself as a "marine illustrator." Nicholas Paul Quirk spent his entire working life in Chicago, first with his father and later at the Zacher Engraving Company, where wood engraver Judith Jaidinger Szesko also worked during the 1960s. Mrs Szesko donated the Quirk Collection to NMAH in 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1900
graphic artist
Quirk, Nicholas J.
ID Number
1996.0197.031
catalog number
1996.0197.031
accession number
1996.0197
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Leen, Nina
ID Number
1986.0711.0107
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
86.0711.107

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