Communications

Tools of communication have transformed American society time and again over the past two centuries. The Museum has preserved many instruments of these changes, from printing presses to personal digital assistants.

The collections include hundreds of artifacts from the printing trade and related fields, including papermaking equipment, wood and metal type collections, bookbinding tools, and typesetting machines. Benjamin Franklin is said to have used one of the printing presses in the collection in 1726.

More than 7,000 objects chart the evolution of electronic communications, including the original telegraph of Samuel Morse and Alexander Graham Bell's early telephones. Radios, televisions, tape recorders, and the tools of the computer age are part of the collections, along with wireless phones and a satellite tracking system.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1870
1879
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14399.01
accession number
94830
catalog number
14399.01
The signed ink drawing was made after Mariano Fortuny’s painting El Musico Arab.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
The signed ink drawing was made after Mariano Fortuny’s painting El Musico Arab.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
original artist
Fortuny y Carbo, Mariano
ID Number
GA.16617
catalog number
16617
accession number
119780
An initialed pencil drawing made in 1876Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
An initialed pencil drawing made in 1876
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1876
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16670
catalog number
16670
accession number
119780
A signed and dated ink drawing made on January 8, 1876, which took 40 minutes to complete. There is a sketch of a horse's legs on the verso with notes on the anatomy.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
A signed and dated ink drawing made on January 8, 1876, which took 40 minutes to complete. There is a sketch of a horse's legs on the verso with notes on the anatomy.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1876-01-08
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16697
catalog number
16697
accession number
119780
Unsigned and undated pencil studyCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Unsigned and undated pencil study
Location
Currently not on view
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16695
catalog number
16695
accession number
119780
Stephen James Ferris etched an undated portrait of his daughter, May, in the costume of a bull fighter, and dedicated this impression to her. May Electa Ferris was born in 1871, eight years after her brother, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris.
Description
Stephen James Ferris etched an undated portrait of his daughter, May, in the costume of a bull fighter, and dedicated this impression to her. May Electa Ferris was born in 1871, eight years after her brother, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris. Like her father and brother, she was an artist. She learned to etch from her father and became known as an etcher and landscape painter, exhibiting in the 1880s and 1890s. Her paintings were reproduced as calendar artwork into the 1920s under her married name, May Ferris Smith.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1890
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14405.01
accession number
94830
catalog number
14405.01
Stephen Ferris made his sketch in a class at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1879. (His son Gerome had been enrolled at the Academy since 1878).
Description (Brief)
Stephen Ferris made his sketch in a class at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1879. (His son Gerome had been enrolled at the Academy since 1878). On the verso there is an outline sketch of bare- breasted woman with large necklace and long hair, holding a bowl on her left hip with cup raised in right hand.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879-02-14
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16688
catalog number
16688
accession number
119780
Were it not identified as a brewery on Girard Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the building in this unsigned 1879 watercolor and pencil study could easily be mistaken for one of Stephen Ferris’s Moorish subjects from his trip to southern Spain in 1881.
Description (Brief)
Were it not identified as a brewery on Girard Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the building in this unsigned 1879 watercolor and pencil study could easily be mistaken for one of Stephen Ferris’s Moorish subjects from his trip to southern Spain in 1881. There are two more watercolor studies of the brewery; see: GA*14546 and GA*14547.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14540
catalog number
14540
accession number
94830
A red chalk drawing of Stephen Ferris’s wife in about 1870. See also GA*16649.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
A red chalk drawing of Stephen Ferris’s wife in about 1870. See also GA*16649.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1870
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16650
catalog number
16650
accession number
119780
Ferris made this watercolor sketch during his visit to southern Spain in 1881. See also GA*16683, Curator of the Alhambra, who looks very much like this man.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Ferris made this watercolor sketch during his visit to southern Spain in 1881. See also GA*16683, Curator of the Alhambra, who looks very much like this man.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1881
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16703
catalog number
16703
accession number
119780
A signed pencil drawing with touches of ink done from life in 1907Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
A signed pencil drawing with touches of ink done from life in 1907
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1907
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16671
catalog number
16671
accession number
119780
Unsigned pencil drawingCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Unsigned pencil drawing
Location
Currently not on view
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16677
catalog number
16677
accession number
119780
Stephen Ferris’s maternal aunt Gillian Kinney sat to him in Davenport, Iowa, in August of 1886 for this signed pencil portrait.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Stephen Ferris’s maternal aunt Gillian Kinney sat to him in Davenport, Iowa, in August of 1886 for this signed pencil portrait.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16647
catalog number
16647
accession number
119780
Stephen Ferris’s watercolor view Justicia, Granada shows the Alhambra’s Gate of Justice (Puerta de la Justicia) painted during the artist’s 1881 visit to Spain. In a letter to Sylvester R.
Description
Stephen Ferris’s watercolor view Justicia, Granada shows the Alhambra’s Gate of Justice (Puerta de la Justicia) painted during the artist’s 1881 visit to Spain. In a letter to Sylvester R. Koehler, later Curator of Graphic Arts at the Smithsonian, Ferris, deeply moved by his experiences, observed: “‘See the Alhambra and die’ seems a very appropriate expression. I feel it and have more reverence for the Arabs [sic] art than any other school.”
Today the Gate of Justice is the main entrance to the Alhambra complex, which was completed by the Moors in the fourteenth century. The Spanish, who defeated the Moors in 1492, made later additions.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1881
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14548
catalog number
14548
accession number
94830
Alida Varena, a member of the American Opera Company, sat to Stephen Ferris at Cape May, New Jersey in 1890 for this signed and dated pencil sketch.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Alida Varena, a member of the American Opera Company, sat to Stephen Ferris at Cape May, New Jersey in 1890 for this signed and dated pencil sketch.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16681
catalog number
16681
accession number
119780
In 1876 Stephen Ferris made several pencil studies, showing his brother-in-law, artist Thomas Moran. The two men had known each other before Ferris’s marriage to Moran’s sister, Elizabeth Anastasia Moran, in 1862.
Description
In 1876 Stephen Ferris made several pencil studies, showing his brother-in-law, artist Thomas Moran. The two men had known each other before Ferris’s marriage to Moran’s sister, Elizabeth Anastasia Moran, in 1862. Ferris had arrived in Philadelphia in 1856 and was recorded in 1861 as sharing a studio with Thomas Moran and Samuel Sartain, whose father, John Sartain, demonstrated the technique of etching for Moran and Ferris.
Thomas Moran’s etched work and that of his wife, Mary Nimmo Moran, is well represented in the NMAH Graphic Arts collection. A number of their prints came as gifts from the Ferris family.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1876
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16662
catalog number
GA*16662
accession number
119,780
While in Granada, Spain, in 1881, Ferris drew in pencil Mariano Fernandez, a gypsy prince, and his wife. The gypsy was a favorite model of the artist Mariano Fortuny.
Description (Brief)
While in Granada, Spain, in 1881, Ferris drew in pencil Mariano Fernandez, a gypsy prince, and his wife. The gypsy was a favorite model of the artist Mariano Fortuny. See also GA*14404.03, etching of Mariano Fernández Santiago, and his wife Josefa Carmona Alamed in front of their cave, and GA*14541, a watercolor study for the print.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1881
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16674
catalog number
16674
accession number
119780
Gerome Ferris signed and dated this pencil drawing for his father. For other sketches of Thomas Moran, see GA*16662, GA*16659, and GA*16660.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Gerome Ferris signed and dated this pencil drawing for his father. For other sketches of Thomas Moran, see GA*16662, GA*16659, and GA*16660.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1888
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16661
catalog number
16661
accession number
119780
Stephen Ferris collaborated with his brother-in-law Peter Moran in 1875 to make this large reproductive etching of Alexander von Wagner’s stirring painting Chariot Race in the Circus Maximus, Rome in the Presence of the Emperor Domitian.
Description
Stephen Ferris collaborated with his brother-in-law Peter Moran in 1875 to make this large reproductive etching of Alexander von Wagner’s stirring painting Chariot Race in the Circus Maximus, Rome in the Presence of the Emperor Domitian. The scale of the work required an oversized copper plate, which was difficult to find. The young artists, who were new to the etching medium, fabricated their plate from the bottom of a copper boiler, according to H. R.Wray's 1893 Review of Etching in the United States. Moran, who would specialize in animal subjects, etched the horses, the archway in the background, and the roadway. Ferris, known for his portraits, etched the figures and the rest of the architecture. This etching was one of the largest made in the US at the time. The print was well received; the New York Times noted: “Of the style of execution we can speak only in the highest terms.”
Alexander von Wagner (1838–1919), a Hungarian artist active in Germany, also enjoyed considerable success when he exhibited the painting Chariot Race in Europe in 1872. Wagner painted other versions; one was shown to critical acclaim at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. The Manchester Art Gallery in England owns a version, which may be seen on its website. It was not unusual at that time for an artist to paint several versions of a popular subject in different sizes.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1882
1875
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
original artist
Wagner
graphic artist
Moran, Peter
publisher
J. C. McCurdy & Co.
ID Number
GA.14534
catalog number
14534
accession number
94830
A signed and dated drawing in pencil made in September, 1878Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
A signed and dated drawing in pencil made in September, 1878
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1878-09
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16655
catalog number
16655
accession number
119780
Stephen Ferris drew this pencil portrait of his wife, Elizabeth Anastasia Moran Ferris, in 1878. Ferris probably met Elizabeth through his friendship with her brothers, artists Thomas and Peter Moran. The couple married in 1862.
Description
Stephen Ferris drew this pencil portrait of his wife, Elizabeth Anastasia Moran Ferris, in 1878. Ferris probably met Elizabeth through his friendship with her brothers, artists Thomas and Peter Moran. The couple married in 1862. Their son, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, a history painter and etcher, was born in 1863 and their daughter, May Electa Ferris, a landscape painter and etcher, in 1871.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1878
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16649
catalog number
GA*16649
accession number
119,780
Stephen Ferris noted that Mrs. Llewellyn lived in Merion Square, Pennsylvania, and was 100 years old in October, 1879, when, presumably, he made the signed pencil drawing.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Stephen Ferris noted that Mrs. Llewellyn lived in Merion Square, Pennsylvania, and was 100 years old in October, 1879, when, presumably, he made the signed pencil drawing.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879-10
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16680
catalog number
16680
accession number
119780
Ferris painted the watercolor and graphite view of an unidentified building in Seville during his 1881 visit to southern Spain.
Description (Brief)
Ferris painted the watercolor and graphite view of an unidentified building in Seville during his 1881 visit to southern Spain. In an enthusiastic letter to an acquaintance, Ferris described Seville: “what a picturesque city for artists every window a decoration of flowers and the people so picturesque painting cannot describe it.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1881
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14551
catalog number
14551
accession number
94830
Stephen Ferris etched a dapper J. L. Gérôme (1824–1904) in 1899, near the end of Gérôme’s very successful career as painter and sculptor. Ferris had admired the French artist’s work for many years, at least since 1863 when he named his son after him.
Description
Stephen Ferris etched a dapper J. L. Gérôme (1824–1904) in 1899, near the end of Gérôme’s very successful career as painter and sculptor. Ferris had admired the French artist’s work for many years, at least since 1863 when he named his son after him. Although Ferris never actually met Gérôme, the two artists had corresponded. For this print Ferris used a photograph he had received from Gérôme. He then sent Gérôme trial proofs for comments and requested a signature to include in the final impressions, which appears here at lower left.
Gérôme congratulated Ferris on the portrait as “work done with great care and great talent—the effect is very good and very firm. If I had any criticism to make, I would reserve it for the background, which is a little too even, and for the clothing, which has a little softness in the execution.” Gérôme also suggested that the highlight on the order which appears on his left breast and is not particularly noticeable in the photograph, be less bright. The order remains brightly lit, possibly Ferris’s tribute to Gérôme.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1879
date made
1899
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14396.01
accession number
94830
catalog number
14396.01

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