Art

Panorama of the Army of the Cumberland

The National Museum of American History is not an art museum. But works of art fill its collections and testify to the vital place of art in everyday American life. The ceramics collections hold hundreds of examples of American and European art glass and pottery. Fashion sketches, illustrations, and prints are part of the costume collections. Donations from ethnic and cultural communities include many homemade religious ornaments, paintings, and figures. The Harry T Peters "America on Stone" collection alone comprises some 1,700 color prints of scenes from the 1800s. The National Quilt Collection is art on fabric. And the tools of artists and artisans are part of the Museum's collections, too, in the form of printing plates, woodblock tools, photographic equipment, and potters' stamps, kilns, and wheels.

Date: 1850s

Seed Wreath

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
ID Number
DL.67.0442
catalog number
67.0442
accession number
270017

The Bottle. It Is Brought Out For The First Time: The Husband Induces His Wife "Just to Take a Drop." by Elijah Chapman Kellogg

This hand-colored print depictsthe first of the eight scenes based on George Cruikshank's The Bottle. The series shows the progressive degeneration of a family due to the evils of drinking. The print is an interior scene of a man, a woman, and three children.
Description
This hand-colored print depictsthe first of the eight scenes based on George Cruikshank's The Bottle. The series shows the progressive degeneration of a family due to the evils of drinking. The print is an interior scene of a man, a woman, and three children. The man and woman are seated at a table where he's pouring a drink for her. They are surrounded by comfortable middle-class furnishings that include a fireplace with stove insert, pictures on the wall, and a tall case clock. A cat and a kitten play by the fire near the two younger children.
This print is by the English artist George Cruikshank (1792-1878). Cruikshank’s father, Isaac Cruikshank, was an artist who specialized in song sheets and caricatures and trained George and his brother Robert Cruikshank in these arts. George started as a caricaturist for magazines and children’s books. His most famous works included The Bottle and The Drunkard’s Children, designed and etched by Cruikshank to show the wickedness of alcohol. Cruikshank's father and brother were both alcoholics and he himself drank heavily until he took a vow of abstinence in 1847. The prints were originally published by David Bogue, who published most of Cruikshank’s works in the 1850s. David Bogue (1807–1856) was born in Scotland and moved to London in 1836. Bogue began working in Charles Tilt's bookshop as a publisher and bookseller in 1836 and became Tilt's partner in 1840. Bogue bought the shop in 1843. He was the principle publisher of Cruikshank’s short-lived periodicals, brief illustrated stories, and the Comic Almanack1835-53. David Bogue published The Bottle series in 1847. Bogue suffered from heart disease and died in 1856 at the age of 48.
This print was produced by lithographer Elijah Chapman Kellogg (1811-1881). He was the youngest of the four Kellogg brothers, all of whom were lithographers. The brothers were born in Tolland, Connecticut, a small town located near where the family business was established in Hartford. E.C. Kellogg was the only brother among the Kelloggs to receive his professional training in Hartford. In 1840, Elijah Chapman Kellogg, along with his brother Edmund Burke Kellogg (1809-1872), took over the D.W. Kellogg & Co. after Daniel Wright Kellogg (1807-1874), its founder, moved west. Elijah and Edmund Kellogg were responsible for most of the company’s future partnerships. Elijah Chapman Kellogg retired in 1867.
Harry T. Peters appears to have only acquired this one Kellogg version of the series.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1854
distributor
Thayer, Horace
maker
Kellogg, Elijah Chapman
Maker
unknown
original artist
Cruikshank, George
ID Number
DL.60.2951
catalog number
60.2951
accession number
228146

Saratoga Schottisch

A color print of recreational riding for the fashionable patrons of Saratoga Springs. One couple is horseback riding while another takes a drive in a carriage. Guests stroll and converse under the pavilions. A wooded park contains pathways.
Description
A color print of recreational riding for the fashionable patrons of Saratoga Springs. One couple is horseback riding while another takes a drive in a carriage. Guests stroll and converse under the pavilions. A wooded park contains pathways. A small replica of the Washington Monument can be seen.
Saratoga Race Course is located in Saratoga Springs, New York, a neighbor to the area’s famous mineral springs. It is the oldest racetrack left in the United States and considered possibly the oldest sporting venue in the country. Beginning in 1847 it hosted Standardbred trotting races before reopening across the street. The first Thoroughbred race took place on August 3, 1863, a day after the Battle of Gettysburg. It was organized by boxer and future Congressman John “Old Smoke” Morrissey drawing thousands of locals and tourists wanting to see Lizzie W. defeat Captain Moore in the best-of-three series of races. New York’s prohibition on gambling put a stop to the races in 1911 and 1912, but very few other exceptions have historically stopped the races, which have been held almost every year since opening. The first betting machines were installed there in 1940. The population of Saratoga Springs still triples to 75,000 when the racing season begins in the summer and the opening meet has been extended from four days to forty.
Known as one of the leading lithography firms of the mid-19th Century, Endicott and Company was formed in 1852 as the successor to William Endicott and Company following the death of George Endicott in 1848 and William Endicott in 1852. The original partners of Endicott and Company were Sarah Endicott (William’s widow) and Charles mills. However, in 1853 the senior partner was Sarah and William’s son Frances Endicott. The company often did work for Currier and Ives, and employed the well known artist Charles Pearson. In 1856 the company was awarded a diploma for the best specimen of lithography at the 28th Annual Fair of the American Institute.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
maker
William Endicott and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2815
catalog number
60.2815
accession number
228146

Untitled (Portrait of a young woman)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
maker
Sarony, Napoleon
ID Number
DL.60.2525
catalog number
60.2525
accession number
228146

First Meeting of Uncle Tom and Eva

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe was published in 1852, quickly becoming the nation’s bestselling book.
Description
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe was published in 1852, quickly becoming the nation’s bestselling book. It features a spirited, religious-minded enslaved black man named Tom, who is sold downriver by his financially-strapped owner in Kentucky to a plantation in Louisiana. There, his Christian beliefs spread hope to his fellow slaves and enable him to endure the harsh beatings of his cruel master. He is ultimately whipped to death after refusing to reveal the location of two runaway slaves. Published after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, the novel targeted Northern audiences, arguing against the injustice of slavery and spurring the abolition movement into action.
Although the bestselling novel of the 19th century, many American were exposed to Uncle Tom’s Cabin through play adaptations known as Tom shows. The immense popularity of both the novel and plays transformed Uncle Tom into a cultural phenomenon in America and Europe, and manufacturers quickly capitalized on the production of “Tomitudes,” everyday commodities that referenced scenes and characters from the novel. These included card games, jigsaw puzzles, chinaware, jars and vases, snuffboxes, ceramic figurines, and decorative prints. Although some of these Tomitudes employed racial stereotypes and the imagery of blackface minstrelsy, most chose to depict the enslaved characters of Beecher’s novel in a sympathetic light, often carrying an anti-slavery message.
The most popular depictions of Uncle Tom were those in which he was accompanied by the young white girl, Eva St. Clare. Representations of their companionship conveyed a message of racial bonding and celebrated the characters’ shared Christian faith. While riding aboard a Mississippi riverboat on his journey to be sold downriver, Tom would occupy his time sitting among cotton bales and reading from his Bible. After he introduces himself to the saintly Eva, the young girl decides to ask her father to buy Tom. This print, illustrating a scene from Chapter 14 of the novel, depicts the pair’s first meeting. Tom has one hand placed on his Bible, while his other, enchained by a manacle, motions towards Eva. With his confident pose and flowing robes, Tom looks more like a classical philosopher than a slave learning to read. Eva, reclining on a bale of cotton, appear almost doll-like. After Tom rescues Eva from her fall overboard into the waters of the Mississippi, her father agrees to buy him.
Thomas W. Strong was a New York-based printer and wood engraver who began his career around 1840. His shop specialized in comic literature and he employed many talented cartoonists and draftsmen who would go on to work for Harper’s Weekly and Vanity Fair. This print was published around 1853 as the second in a series by Strong of scenes from Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) rose to fame in 1851 with the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which highlighted the evils of slavery, angered the slaveholding South, and inspired pro-slavery copy-cat works in defense of the institution of slavery. Stowe’s father was the famed Congregational minister Lyman Beecher and her brother, Henry Ward Beecher, was also a famous preacher and reformer. In 1824, she attended her sister Catherine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary, which exposed young women to many of the same courses available in men’s academies. Stowe became a teacher, working from 1829 to 1832 at the Seminary.
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote numerous articles, some of which were published in the renowned women’s magazine of the times, Godey’s Lady’s Book. She also wrote 30 books, covering a wide range of topics from homemaking to religion, as well as several novels. The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which legally compelled Northerners to return runaway slaves, infuriated Stowe, and many in the North. She subsequently authored her most famous work, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Originally serialized in the National Era, Stowe saw her tale as a call to arms for Northerners to defy the Fugitive Slave Act. It was released as a book in 1852 and later performed on stage and translated into dozens of languages. Stowe used her fame to petition to end slavery. She toured nationally and internationally, speaking about her book, and donating some of what she earned to help the antislavery cause.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1853
originator of scene
Stowe, Harriet Beecher
maker
Strong, Thomas W.
ID Number
DL.60.2374
catalog number
60.2374
accession number
228146

Washington Family by E.B. and E.C. Kellogg after Edward Savage

Hand colored print; interior scene of George and Martha Washington seated at a table. A girl (Eleanor Parke Custis) stands beside Martha, a boy (George Washington Parke Custis) stands near George with his hand resting on a globe. Heavy drapery and framed portrait in background.
Description (Brief)
Hand colored print; interior scene of George and Martha Washington seated at a table. A girl (Eleanor Parke Custis) stands beside Martha, a boy (George Washington Parke Custis) stands near George with his hand resting on a globe. Heavy drapery and framed portrait in background. The scene is based on the painting by Edward Savage, though notably the African American enslaved servant is missing in the Kellogg print.
This print was produced by the Hartford, Connecticut lithographic firm of E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. Edmund Burke Kellogg and Elijah Chapman Kellogg were younger brothers of the founder of the Kellogg lithography firm, Daniel Wright Kellogg. After Daniel Wright Kellogg moved west, his two brothers took over the family lithography firm in 1840 and changed the name to E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. They were responsible for the continued success of the family firm and involved in partnerships with Horace Thayer in 1846-47, John Chenevard Comstock in 1848 and William Henry Bulkeley in 1867.
Dwight Needham of Buffalo was the co-publisher/ distributor or agent for this print.
The original artist, Edward Savage (1761-1817), a native of Massachusetts, was originally a goldsmith and an engraver. He was self taught in painting at the time he created the Washington Family, but due to its popularity, he was able to spend some time in London training under Benjamin West. When he returned to America he painted in Philadelphia and New York City.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1843-1852
depicted
Washington, George
Washington, Martha
Custis, George Washington Parke
Custis, Eleanor Parke
maker
E.B. and E.C. Kellogg
originator
Savage, Edward
ID Number
DL.60.2540
catalog number
60.2540
accession number
228146

Jenny Lind by Nagel & Weingaertner and C. G. Crehenafter the daguerreotype by M.A. & S. Root,1850.

This black and white lithograph is a 3/4 length portrait of Jenny Lind wearing a formal gown with a lace shawl and holding a handkerchief in her lap. Her signature serves as the title. This print is modeled after a well-known daguerreotype by M. A. and S.
Description
This black and white lithograph is a 3/4 length portrait of Jenny Lind wearing a formal gown with a lace shawl and holding a handkerchief in her lap. Her signature serves as the title. This print is modeled after a well-known daguerreotype by M. A. and S. Root and is on thin, white paper which has been pasted to heavier cream-colored paper.
Jenny Lind (1820-1887) was an opera singer often described as “The Swedish Nightingale” for the range, purity, and melodiousness of her soprano voice. Born Johanna Maria Lind in Stockholm, Lind trained at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, began performing in her teens, and was soon creating a sensation on tours throughout Europe. When she made her London debut in 1847, frenzied theatergoers set off a stampede as they entered the theater. Queen Victoria was among those who attended that opening night performance. The Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen is said to have fallen in love with Lind and to have written fairy tales with her in mind, including “The Nightingale.” She also won the admiration of composers like Robert Schumann, Hector Berlioz, and Felix Mendelssohn, who became a close friend. In addition to Lind’s vocal gifts, she was greatly admired as a model of piety, simplicity, and generosity. In 1849, although only 29 years old, she announced her retirement from opera and turned to performing Romantic and Swedish folk songs. She resumed her operatic career in 1850, when she launched an American tour under the management of the showman P. T. Barnum. He promoted her arrival with such fanfare that she was greeted by a crowd numbering in the thousands when she sailed into New York’s harbor. She traveled across the United States and to Cuba and Canada in the year that followed, often donating her profits to the endowment of free schools in Sweden and other charitable causes. Lind and Barnum ended their partnership in 1851, but she continued to tour on her own for another year.
In 1852, Jenny Lind married her accompanist, Otto Goldschmidt, and continued to appear in occasional European concerts as Jenny Lind Goldschmidt. She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 67. Although critics have debated whether her talent measured up to her reputation, her legendary popularity lives on in memorials and monuments around the world. She has inspired books, films, and a series of Swedish banknotes, while schools, streets, parks, hospitals, pies, clothing, and cigars all carry her name. Even a clipper ship, the USS Nightingale, and the Gold Rush town of Jenny Lind, California have been named in her honor.
This lithograph was produced by Nagel & Weingaertner and C. G. Crehen. Louis Nagel was born in Germany ca. 1817 and began working in New York as early as 1844. There he was involved in two partnerships, Nagel & Mayer (1846) and Nagel & Weingaertner (1849-1856). In 1857, he moved to San Francisco. Charles G. Crehen (1829-ca 1891) was a portrait painter, lithographer, and printer in New York.
Marcus Aurelius Root (1808-1888) was a photographer and daguerreotypist born in Granville, Ohio. He studied painting and penmanship before turning to daguerreotyping and became one of the early practitioners of the new art. He worked in Mobile, Alabama; New Orleans, Louisiana; St. Louis, Missouri; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then in 1849 established a gallery in New York with his brother Samuel. The Root brothers were the first to produce daguerreotypes of Jenny Lind. After being disabled in a train accident, Marcus Root devoted himself to writing about photographic history and aesthetics. His book The Camera and The Pencil: Or the Heliographic Art, published in 1864, argued that photographers should be as highly esteemed as artists, and that much more was involved in photography than simply operating a camera. In recognition of his pioneering achievements, Root's daguerreotypes of famous people were included in an exhibition at the 1876 American centennial celebration in Philadelphia.
Samuel Root (ca. 1819-1889) was a daguerreotypist born in Granville, Ohio. He learned the art of daguerreotyping from his brother Marcus and the two opened a gallery in New York in 1849. Samuel Root later moved to Dubuque, Iowa, where he opened another daguerreotype business. He also published photographic books on Dubuque residences and businesses.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1850
copyright holder; publisher
Schaus, William
depicted
Lind, Jenny
maker
Nagel & Weingaertner
Crehen, C.G.
original artist
M.A. & S. Root
maker
Crehen, C.G.
ID Number
DL.60.3066
catalog number
60.3066
accession number
228146

Vase of Flowers

Colored print of an ornate vase of flowers. A scene of a couple in a sylvan setting is depicted on the vase.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of an ornate vase of flowers. A scene of a couple in a sylvan setting is depicted on the vase.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
distributor
Needham, D.
maker
Kelloggs & Comstock
ID Number
DL.60.2653
catalog number
60.2653
accession number
228146

Fashions. Fall & Winter. 1852-3 S. A. & A. F. Ward...Philadelphia

Color print, two horizontal panels depicting twenty one figures: twelve men, two women, and six children in fashions from 1852-53.
Description (Brief)
Color print, two horizontal panels depicting twenty one figures: twelve men, two women, and six children in fashions from 1852-53. The upper panel depicts an outdoor scene with a park overlooking a town in the background; the bottom panel depicts an outdoor scene with a lake in the background. Numbers below the figures are keyed to a separately printed descriptive text.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1852
maker
Sinclair, Thomas
ID Number
DL.60.3072
catalog number
60.3072
accession number
228146

Torchlight Procession Around The World

Colored print celebrating the laying of the Transatlantic cable on September 1, 1858.
Description (Brief)
Colored print celebrating the laying of the Transatlantic cable on September 1, 1858. Depicts torchlight procession spanning the continents in the central image, with portrait vingettes of Cyrus Field, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Morse, and Captain Hudson in each of the four corners.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1858
depicted
Franklin, Benjamin
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese
Field, Cyrus W.
maker
Weingartner, Adam
ID Number
DL.60.2490
catalog number
60.2490
accession number
228146

The Seven Stages of Matrimony by E.C. Kellogg and Company

This colored print shows a couple in various stages of a relationship. The figures are depicted on ascending steps, from "Quizzing" on the lower left to the top center, titled "The Marriage", and then descending to the last step at bottom right, titled "The Divorce".
Description
This colored print shows a couple in various stages of a relationship. The figures are depicted on ascending steps, from "Quizzing" on the lower left to the top center, titled "The Marriage", and then descending to the last step at bottom right, titled "The Divorce". Allegorical vignettes below the figures also depict each stage. In the center are verses that corresponded with each scene. This comic print presents an image similar to the popular ladders or stairs of life prints which first appeared in the 16th Century but were popular as 19th Century prints.
This print was produced by the lithography company, E. C. Kellogg and Company. The company was a continuation of the Kellogg family firm. In 1851, after the brief partnership of Kellogg & Comstock disbanded, E.C. Kellogg continued running the business under the name E.C. Kellogg & Co. His brother, E.B. Kellogg, rejoined the firm in 1855, and it became known as E.B. & E.C. Kellogg and Company.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1852
distributor
Horace Thayer & Company
maker
E.C. Kellogg and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2934
catalog number
60.2934
accession number
228146

The Star of My Pathway

Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This three-quarter length hand colored print is of young woman apparently floating in space. She holds a red shawl in both hands, which is billowing behind and above her head. She is wearing a simple long sleeved green dress and above her head is a glowing six-pointed star.
This lithograph was published by the D.W. Kellogg & Co and Willis Thrall (1800-1884). Willis Thrall was born in Connecticut and died in Hartford, Ct. He was a publisher of maps, prints and engravings. He published many early D.W. Kellogg lithographs in Hartford in the 1830’s. He left the publishing business to become a rule and hardware manufacturer and owned a hardware manufacturing firm with his son, Edward B. Thrall, called Willis Thrall & Sons.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1833-1852
publisher
Thrall, Willis
lithographer
D.W. Kellogg and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2316
catalog number
60.2316
accession number
228146

Childhood

Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This hand colored print is an interior scene of four children with an adult dog and four puppies. One child is seated in an ornate chair; the others are gathered around the chair and footstool. The furnishings depicted include an elaborate carpet, a floral arrangement and rich drapery. A ball, doll and book are in the foreground. The children wear fancy dress.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. Edmund Burke Kellogg and Elijah Chapman Kellogg were brothers of the founder of the Kellogg lithography firm, Daniel Wright Kellogg. After D.W. Kellogg moved west, his two brothers took over the family lithography firm in 1840 and changed the name to E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. The youngest of the four Kellogg brothers, these two were responsible for the continued success of the family firm. These two brothers were also involved in the eventual partnerships between the company and Horace Thayer in 1845 or 1846, John Chenevard Comstock in 1848 and William Henry Bulkeley in 1867.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1852-1856
maker
E.B. and E.C. Kellogg
ID Number
DL.60.2247
catalog number
60.2247
accession number
228146

The "Herald" in the Country

Colored print of two men dressed in sporting attire and standing in a wooded glen, confering across a fence about the news in the New York "Herald." One man holds a pitchfork, the other has a rifle that is leaning against the fence and a dead bird that is lying on the ground next
Description (Brief)
Colored print of two men dressed in sporting attire and standing in a wooded glen, confering across a fence about the news in the New York "Herald." One man holds a pitchfork, the other has a rifle that is leaning against the fence and a dead bird that is lying on the ground next to the rifle.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1854
publisher
Knoedler, M.
lithographer
Thielley
artist
Mount, William Sidney
ID Number
DL.60.2437
catalog number
60.2437
accession number
228146

A Democratic Voter

This undated black and white print depicts an Irish immigrant wearing a large campaign ribbon, tails, and striped breeches standing in front of two adjacent, flag draped campaign booths.
Description (Brief)
This undated black and white print depicts an Irish immigrant wearing a large campaign ribbon, tails, and striped breeches standing in front of two adjacent, flag draped campaign booths. One booth is occupied by a member of the “Loco Foco Committee,” and the other by a member of the “Tammany Committee.” While both aligned with the Democratic Party, the “Loco Foco Committee” was formed by dissatisfied members of the “Tammany Committee,” and was therefore at odds with them. While at odds with each other, they both shared an interest in securing the Irish vote. In 1817 after much protest, Irish immigrants were allowed to become members of the “Tammany Committee,” and quickly became members of the large political machine operated by the committee. Irish votes were bought through gifts of food, coal, and other necessary supplies by Tammany political bosses, and were relied upon to secure Democratic victories in both the city of New York and nationally. The 1835, “Loco Foco” was split from “Tammany” and that presented a problem to the immigrant voter, because they were two faces of the same party. The immigrant voter identifies himself as “a hindependent helector, I means to gove my Wote according to conscious and him as Tips most!” showing the Democratic Party as corrupt and subject to bribery. This print is by Henry R. Robinson, a Whig artist, so it most likely functioned as a means of discrediting the Democratic Party prior to the election of 1836.
The publisher of this print is Henry R. Robinson (1827-1877). Robinson worked in New York, and had a store to sell his prints. In 1842, he was arrested for selling obscene pictures and books leading to the September 28, 1842 court case, People vs H. R. Robinson found in the District Attorney Indictment Papers, Municipal Archives. He was politically affiliated with the anti-Jackson Whig party that was made obvious by the wig silhouette used in 1838 as an advertising logo for his shop.
Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896), the graphic artist and lithographer, was born in Quebec and trained under several lithography firms including Currier & Ives and H.R. Robinson. Sarony was also known for his successful experiments in early photography, eventually developing a cabinet-sized camera. In 1846, Sarony collaborated with another former apprentice of Nathaniel Currier, Henry B. Major and created Sarony & Major Lithography firm. Joseph F. Knapp joined the firm in 1857. Sarony, Major & Knapp earned a solid reputation for lithography and the company was especially known for its fine art chromolithography. Unfortunately, by the 1870s, the firm shifted focus to the more profitable area of advertising. It also expanded to become the conglomerate known as the American Lithographic Company, successfully producing calendars, advertising cards and posters. In 1930, Consolidated Graphics bought them out.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
artist
Sarony, Napoleon
maker
Robinson, Henry R.
ID Number
DL.60.3456
catalog number
60.3456

Married

Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This hand colored print is an interior scene of a family of five seated in the parlor. The father is seated on an ornate red upolstered sofa, his young son leaning against his knee holding a ball or piece of fruit, perhaps an apple. An infant sits in the mother's lap, while the eldest child, a daughter stands alongside the mother, entertaining the baby with her doll. The mother is seated in an upholstered red chair. Heavy drapes, a partial view of a landscape picture in a fancy frame, a patterned rug and foot pillow on floor complete this domestic scene. The couple gaze at each other and compositionally depict a balanced and equal family unit. This is one of several prints with the same title, depicting a contented family. These happy family scenes were meant to contrast with the restless, discontented bachelor prints.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm of Kelloggs & Comstock. In 1848, John Chenevard Comstock developed a partnership with E.B. and E.C. Kellogg. In 1850, Edmund Burke Kellogg left the firm, leaving his brother Elijah Chapman Kellogg and J.C. Comstock to run the lithography firm as Kellogg and Comstock. The short-lived partnership disbanded in 1851. It was not until 1855 that Edmund Burke Kellogg rejoined his brother E.C. Kellogg and continued the success of the family’s Lithography firm.
date made
1850
distributors
Ensign, Thayer and Company
maker
Kelloggs & Comstock
ID Number
DL.60.2261
catalog number
60.2261
accession number
228146
maker number
266

Bloomerism in Practice

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca. 1851
maker
unknown
ID Number
DL.60.2364
catalog number
60.2364
accession number
228146

Clifford Place Bloomfield St. Hoboken, N.J.

Black and white print of a row of three-story townhouses. A couple on horseback and pedestrians are on the street and sidewalk in front of the houses.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Black and white print of a row of three-story townhouses. A couple on horseback and pedestrians are on the street and sidewalk in front of the houses.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
After 1854
n.d.
date made
after 1854
artist
Hill, John H.
ID Number
DL.60.3705
catalog number
60.3705

Forest Scene Summer

Colored print of a mountainous forest scene with trees in the foreground. A small group of deer stand on a rocky ledge at left.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a mountainous forest scene with trees in the foreground. A small group of deer stand on a rocky ledge at left.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1857-1859
maker
Gemmell, John
ID Number
DL.60.2650
catalog number
60.2650
accession number
228146

The Art of Making Money Plenty by E. B. & E. C. Kellogg

This hand colored print is a small oval portrait of Benjamin Franklin with a “rhebus,” where pictures are used to represent various sounds and words to explain as well as illustrate The art of making money plenty in every man's pocket by Doctor Franklin.
Description
This hand colored print is a small oval portrait of Benjamin Franklin with a “rhebus,” where pictures are used to represent various sounds and words to explain as well as illustrate The art of making money plenty in every man's pocket by Doctor Franklin. Franklin (1706-1790), the American statesman, Founding Father and inventor, adopted a philosophy of self-improvement that espoused 13 virtues including frugality, industry and moderation.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. Edmund Burke Kellogg (1809-1872) and Elijah Chapman Kellogg (1811-1881) were brothers of the founder of the Kellogg lithography firm, Daniel Wright Kellogg (1807-1874). After D.W. Kellogg moved west, his two brothers took over the family lithography firm in 1840 and changed the name to E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. The younger two of the four Kellogg brothers, they were responsible for the continued success of the family firm. These two brothers were also involved in the eventual partnerships between the company and Horace Thayer in 1845 or 1846, John Chenevard Comstock (1818-1862) in 1848 and William Henry Bulkeley (1840-1902) in 1867.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1843-1852
distributor
Needham, D.
depicted
Franklin, Benjamin
maker
E. B. & E. C. Kellogg
ID Number
DL.60.2532
catalog number
60.2532
accession number
228146
maker number
187

Fidelity

Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This hand colored print is of a dog watching over a baby in a wicker cradle. The window behind the cradle is partially covered by the heavy drapery. Standing next to the window is a table with a brocade-edged tablecloth, five books and a vase with flowers. Above the table is a mirror with an ornate gold frame hanging on the wall. The room is carpeted with a patterned green rug on the floor.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm of Kelloggs & Comstock. In 1848, John Chenevard Comstock developed a partnership with E.B. and E.C. Kellogg. In 1850, Edmund Burke Kellogg left the firm, leaving his brother Elijah Chapman Kellogg and J.C. Comstock to run the lithography firm as Kellogg and Comstock. The short-lived partnership disbanded in 1851. It was not until 1855 that Edmund Burke Kellogg rejoined his brother E.C. Kellogg and continued the success of the family’s lithography firm.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
distributor
Ensign, Thayer and Company
maker
Kelloggs & Comstock
ID Number
DL.60.2349
catalog number
60.2349
accession number
228146

The First Appearance

Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This hand colored print is of three ladies in an outdoor setting. One is full front in the foreground, while the other two are looking and smelling the roses in the background. All of the women are wearing wide straw hats with ribbons, tight fitting bodices and sleeves, short full skirts, bloomers stopping at ankles and high button shoes. There are two columns on the left that are home to more roses. The floor is patterned.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. Edmund Burke Kellogg and Elijah Chapman Kellogg were brothers of the founder of the Kellogg lithography firm, Daniel Wright Kellogg. After D.W. Kellogg moved west, his two brothers took over the family lithography firm in 1840 and changed the name to E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. The youngest of the four Kellogg brothers, these two were responsible for the continued success of the family firm. These two brothers were also involved in the eventual partnerships between the company and Horace Thayer in 1845 or 1846, John Chenevard Comstock in 1848 and William Henry Bulkeley in 1867.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1852
distributors
Ensign, Thayer and Company
maker
E.B. and E.C. Kellogg
ID Number
DL.60.2276
catalog number
60.2276
accession number
228146
maker number
431

Partridge Shooting

Colored print of two hunting dogs watching two live partridges as two hunters approach with their guns leveled. Hilly, rocky terrain with lush forest, ferns and tall grasses.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of two hunting dogs watching two live partridges as two hunters approach with their guns leveled. Hilly, rocky terrain with lush forest, ferns and tall grasses.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1857
publisher
Goupil and Company
artist
Marsden, Theodore
publisher
Knoedler, M.
lithographer
J. Jacottet & LaFosse
printer
Lemercier & Cie
ID Number
DL.60.2764
catalog number
60.2764
accession number
228146

Wyoming

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1852
publisher
Holbrooke, W. H.
artist
Darley, Felix Octavius Carr
engraver
McRae, M. C.
printer
Ashton, W. H.
ID Number
DL.60.2619
catalog number
60.2619
accession number
228146

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.