Domestic Furnishings

Tiffany Floor Lamp

Washboards, armchairs, lamps, and pots and pans may not seem to be museum pieces. But they are invaluable evidence of how most people lived day to day, last week or three centuries ago. The Museum's collections of domestic furnishings comprise more than 40,000 artifacts from American households. Large and small, they include four houses, roughly 800 pieces of furniture, fireplace equipment, spinning wheels, ceramics and glass, family portraits, and much more.

The Arthur and Edna Greenwood Collection contains more than 2,000 objects from New England households from colonial times to mid-1800s. From kitchens of the past, the collections hold some 3,300 artifacts, ranging from refrigerators to spatulas. The lighting devices alone number roughly 3,000 lamps, candleholders, and lanterns.

Resource Type: Chromolithographs

Preliminary Trial of a Horse Thief in Kansas City 1876

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1877
maker
Clay, Cosack & Co.
artist
Mulvany, John
ID Number
DL.60.2376
catalog number
60.2376
accession number
228146

Sunday Sports

Colored print of a forest scene. In center foreground a hunter struggles with a fox that is suspended from a stick carried over the hunter's shoulder.
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a forest scene. In center foreground a hunter struggles with a fox that is suspended from a stick carried over the hunter's shoulder. Two other hunters appear at left; one has fallen while struggling with a dog that has broken loose from its leash, the other holds a bleeding knee. Other hunters stand in groups, conversing, at right. River in right background.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1874
maker
Schile, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2472
catalog number
60.2472
accession number
228146

Battle of Chattanooga

Capitalizing on the success of Civil War-related artwork during the 1880s and 90s, the Chicago-based printmakers Louis Kurz and Alexander Allison published a series of 36 battle scenes commemorating famous engagements of the war.
Description
Capitalizing on the success of Civil War-related artwork during the 1880s and 90s, the Chicago-based printmakers Louis Kurz and Alexander Allison published a series of 36 battle scenes commemorating famous engagements of the war. All displayed idealized, panoramic representations of the battles with statistics of the killed and wounded below each image. Kurz and Allison did not consult photography or Civil War historians when designing their prints, instead relying on Kurz’s own first-hand experience as a soldier during the conflict. They included historical inaccuracies and eschewed aesthetic realism to remain true to earlier, pre-photographic lithographic traditions, which preferred bold graphics, black outlines, and figures performing grand, exaggerated gestures.
This 1888 chromolithograph commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Chattanooga, fought between November 23 and 25, 1863. After General Grant was given command over all of the Union forces in the Western theater, he resolved to break the Confederate siege of Union-occupied Chattanooga. After supplying the besieged Army of the Cumberland with supplies and reinforcements, he ordered an attack on the Confederate forces led by General Braxton Bragg. The Union Army was victorious, and the Confederacy had lost its last significant hold on Tennessee, opening the South for further-reaching invasions. In the print, Union and Confederate soldiers exchange fire across a creek. Some Union troops have managed to cross the river from the right, and engage with their enemies in hand-to-hand combat. In the background, a number of Union troops have begun to overrun the Confederate position on the high ground.
Louis Kurz was a mural and scene painter before the Civil War, explaining the mural-like format of the images. His illustrations also appear to have been inspired by cycloramas, which were popular at the time, such as Paul Philippoteaux’s Gettysburg Cyclorama. Kurz was an Austrian immigrant who settled in Chicago during the 1850s, where he formed a partnership with Henry Seifert of Milwaukee. He later fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. After the conflict, he co-founded the Chicago Lithographic Company. When the company’s assets were destroyed during the Chicago Fire of 1871, Kurz started a new business with his partner, financial backer, and business manager, Alexander Allison.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1888
maker
Kurz & Allison-Art Studio
ID Number
DL.60.2627
catalog number
60.2627
accession number
228146

Graves of the Highlanders

Before the Civil War, Americans adhered to the Victorian treatment of death and dying. One hoped for the ideal Christian “good death,” passing from old age at home surrounded by family members.
Description
Before the Civil War, Americans adhered to the Victorian treatment of death and dying. One hoped for the ideal Christian “good death,” passing from old age at home surrounded by family members. Loved ones observed private rituals of mourning and the dead were buried at a church graveyard or private plot. The carnage that the Civil War produced completely shifted the American experience of death. Men were killed far from home, and often buried in the fields upon which they perished. The universal trauma of losing a loved one in battle turned death into a public affair. This 1864 picturesque lithograph of a wartime cemetery at Knoxville, Tennessee, offered families a means to mourn relatives who were killed in combat. Prints such as this also coincided with a growing interest in rural, park-like cemeteries. These bucolic settings offered visitors an escape from the nuisances of city life, and also replaced the fear of death with a sensation of hope.
Among the graves depicted in this print are those inscribed with the names of 13 members of the 79th New York Volunteer Highlanders, who were organized in 1858 as a regiment for the United States Militia. It was comprised of emigrant Scots and Scottish-Americans. Before the war, the regiment was a parade and ceremonial troop, but saw combat at the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861. Later, the regiment was assigned to Major General Ambrose E. Burnside during the Knoxville Campaign in Eastern Tennessee. Although soldiers were often reburied by their families after the war, all of the Highlander men commemorated in this print remain buried in Knoxville National Cemetery.
The lithograph’s image was taken from a sketch done by one of the men in the regiment, Hugh Young, who was discharged from the unit in 1865 with the rank of First Lieutenant. The lithographer of the work, an Englishman named Charles Hart, became an apprentice with the firm of Endicott & Co. in 1839. He remained an employee of that business until 1859 and later established a firm of his own.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1864
maker
Hart, Charles
artist
Young, Hugh
ID Number
DL.60.2614
catalog number
60.2614
accession number
228146

Haverly's United Mastadon Minstrels

This colored print depicts twenty-five black performers in an outdoor arena or racetrack. They are dressed in tight pants with horseshoe designs that suggest a jockey motif. Some performers hold crops and wear caps and riding jackets.
Description
This colored print depicts twenty-five black performers in an outdoor arena or racetrack. They are dressed in tight pants with horseshoe designs that suggest a jockey motif. Some performers hold crops and wear caps and riding jackets. The center figure is performing a gymnastic stunt.Below the illustration are the words “Haverly’s Theatre / 12 Nights and 6 Matinees, / Commencing Monday, Dec. 26.”
Entertainment entrepreneur J. H. (Jack) Haverly (1837-1901) was born Christopher Haverly near Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. He launched his show business career in 1864 in Toledo, Ohio, where he purchased a variety theater. Inspired by entrepreneurs like P. T. Barnum, Haverly went on to manage other theaters, and he created minstrel and comic performance groups on the East Coast and in the Middle West. In the late 1870s he consolidated his troupes into a single company called the United Mastodon Minstrels which included forty performers, along with a brass band and drum corps. The group continued to grow and at one point had more than a hundred members. Around the same time, Haverly took control of a black performing group called Charles Callender's Original Georgia Minstrels, or Callender's Colored Minstrels, a group of performers which he renamed Haverly’s Colored Minstrels. He promoted their performances as authentic depictions of black life, even creating a mock plantation with costumed actors portraying slaves and overseers. Haverly’s troupes toured the United States, usually appearing at his own theaters in cities like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco. They also traveled to England and Scotland. Featuring lavish stage sets and extravagant special effectsinspired by P. T. Barnum, his performers in blackface makeup and exotic costumes inspired the creation of smaller minstrel shows during the late nineteenth century.
This chromolithograph was produced by the Strobridge Lithographing Company. The Strobridge firm was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio about 1847 by lithographer Elijah C. Middleton. Middleton was known as one of the pioneers of chromolithography in the United States. By 1854 lithographer W. R. Wallace and bookseller Hines Strobridge (1823-1909) had joined the firm as partners. After the Civil War, Strobridge acquired sole ownership of the company and renamed it after himself. Strobridge and Company was well known for circus, theater, and movie posters. After leaving Strobridge and Company, Elijah Middleton became known as a portrait publisher, producing prints of George and Martha Washington, Daniel Webster, and other American historical figures.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
publisher
Strobridge Lithographing Company
maker
Strobridge Lithographing Company
ID Number
DL.60.2481
catalog number
60.2481
accession number
228146

Preparing for a Drive

Colored print of a woman watching a young girl harness a large dog to a small open carriage. The woman is seated on a stone ledge. A lake and mountains appear in the background. A large ornamental urn sits on stone balustrade near the carriage.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a woman watching a young girl harness a large dog to a small open carriage. The woman is seated on a stone ledge. A lake and mountains appear in the background. A large ornamental urn sits on stone balustrade near the carriage.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
maker
Edmund Foerster and Company
Silber, F.
ID Number
DL.60.2473
catalog number
60.2473
accession number
228146

F.W.P. Greenwood

Color print, half length portrait of a seated man (Reverend Francis William Pitt Greenwood). The signature of the sitter serves as the title.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print, half length portrait of a seated man (Reverend Francis William Pitt Greenwood). The signature of the sitter serves as the title.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1840
depicted
Greenwood, F.W.P.
maker
Sharp, William
ID Number
DL.60.3100
catalog number
60.3100
accession number
228146

A Wild Turkey Hunt

This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould.
Description (Brief)
This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 9. A wild Turkey hunt. R.F. Zogbaum. It depicts a young man lying in the grass aiming his rifle at four turkeys. A young Indian guide is crouched behind him.
The artist was Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum (1849-1925), known for his images of horses, cowboys, and battle scenes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890
publisher; copywriter
Bradlee Whidden
lithographer
Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
artist
Zogbaum, Rufas Fairchild
ID Number
DL.60.2723
catalog number
60.2723
accession number
228146

Central Park, N.Y. Feeding The Swans

Colored print; outdoor scene of a genteel lady with a little girl and boy feeding swans beside a lake. Beyond the lake, a formal fountain, a staircase, and colonade are visible in right background.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print; outdoor scene of a genteel lady with a little girl and boy feeding swans beside a lake. Beyond the lake, a formal fountain, a staircase, and colonade are visible in right background.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1874
maker
Schile, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2467
catalog number
60.2467
accession number
228146

Rarus, The Fastest Trotting Horse in The World.

Color print of a bay trotting horse pulling sulky and driver.A color print of a bay horse pulling a sulky and jockey on a track. His equipment is designed for speed. The jockey wears a jacket, white shirt, long pants, and billed cap.
Description (Brief)
Color print of a bay trotting horse pulling sulky and driver.
Description
A color print of a bay horse pulling a sulky and jockey on a track. His equipment is designed for speed. The jockey wears a jacket, white shirt, long pants, and billed cap. A grassy pasture with pond and trees borders the track, with low hills in the distance.
Rarus was bred by R.B. Conklin upon his retirement in New York in the early 1800s. His dam was called Nancy Awful because she had terrible tantrums, but Conklin bred her to Rysdyk’s Hambletonian to produce a stunning bay trotting prospect. Rarus was marked as a future champion from birth, and Conklin gave him an over-abundance of attention compared to the other horses on the farm. In his first practice race at age three, Rarus trotted the mile in three minutes. Rarus won his first scrub race at age six under the training of James Meade on August 21, 1874 in Long Island, winning a purse of $800. He was then transferred to Brooklyn to train under James Page and lowered his record to 2:28 ½ in one season. His early rival, Kansas Chief, was a former cowpony, and the two went back and forth in winnings for two seasons before Conklin changed Rarus’ driver to John Splan. Rarus was then entered in the Grand Circuit, where he won continuously for two years. Conklin continually turned down offers for the horse up to $45,000 because he believed the same amount of money could be won in purses. Rarus was hailed as “King of the Turf” for a short time after beating Goldsmith Maid’s on August 3, 1878 in Buffalo. His time, 2:13 1/4, was promoted as the “Greatest Achievement on Record.” Z.E. Simmons finally purchased Rarus for $36,000, but the sale was poorly timed. Because it was to take place before an exhibition, track officials were furious and banned both Rarus and Conklin from all tracks forever. With no choice, Simmons sent Rarus to Robert Bonner’s farm. Rarus was eventually inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1978 as an “Immortal.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1878
maker
F. M. Haskell & Co.
ID Number
DL.60.3535
catalog number
60.3535

Deacon Crankett/ Wait For His Coming

This colored print depicts a man sitting in a two-wheeled buggy pulled by a horse. He is whittling a stick. Another man in a racing sulky is pulling up on his right. A lake appears in the background.
Description
This colored print depicts a man sitting in a two-wheeled buggy pulled by a horse. He is whittling a stick. Another man in a racing sulky is pulling up on his right. A lake appears in the background. The title “Deacon Crankett /by John Habberton / Author of “Helen’s Babies” appears at the top of the print and at the bottom are the words “Wait for His Coming. Printed at the lower border of the poster are the location and date of the performance: Park Theatre / Two Nights only / Tuesday & Wednesday Nov. 1 & 2.”
Deacon Crankett was a successful play described as both a “domestic drama” and “comic amusement.” The reviews in the New York Times mentioned it was a simplistic presentation “of weak morality and absurd situations.” The original name of the play was Joe Thatcher’s Revenge and Joe, the main character was first played at Haverly’s Fourteenth Steet Theater in the fall of 1880 by James O’Neill with Harry Lee as the understudy. It supposedly was performed over 500 times between 1880-1892.
The play was a creation of American dramatist, novelist, and literary critic John Habberton (1842-1921). Habberton published his critical writings in the New York Herald for twenty years, but he became best known for his 1876 novel Helen's Babies, which was part of the Ruby Books series for boys and girls. The book's humorous account of a bachelor salesman babysitting two small children was a hit with readers of all ages, including Rudyard Kipling. A silent film version of Helen's Babies was released in 1924. John Habberton also wrote a series of stories about early California life, many of which were collected in his 1880 book, Romance of California Life: Illustrated by Pacific Slope Stories, Thrilling, Pathetic and Humorous.
The Park Theater was built in 1798 on Park Row in Manhattan and was New York City’s premiere performance space in the early 19th Century. It attracted a diverse audience with each class sitting in its preferred section. Working class men sat in the pit; members of the upper class and women in the boxes; while the less affluent including immigrants, people of color, and prostitutes sat in the balcony.
This chromolithograph was produced by Strobridge Lithographing Company. The Strobridge firm was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio ca 1847 by lithographer Elijah J. Middleton (cited in some sources as Elijah C. Middleton). Middleton was known as one of the pioneers of chromolithography in the United States. By 1854 another lithographer, W. R. Wallace, along with the bookseller Hines Strobridge (1823-1909) had joined the firm as partners. After the Civil War, Strobridge acquired sole ownership of the company and renamed it after himself. Strobridge and Company became especially well known for circus, theater, and movie posters. After leaving the company, Elijah Middleton established a reputation as a portrait publisher, producing prints of George and Martha Washington, Daniel Webster, and other American historical figures.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
maker
Strobridge Lithographing Company
ID Number
DL.60.3031
catalog number
60.3031
accession number
228146

Peace

Colored print of a young girl holding a kitten in a yellow shawl that is also wrapped around her shoulders. A dove sits on her right forefinger.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a young girl holding a kitten in a yellow shawl that is also wrapped around her shoulders. A dove sits on her right forefinger.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1871
maker
Schile, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2479
catalog number
60.2479
accession number
228146

Fly-Fishing for Black Bass

This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould.
Description (Brief)
This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 4. Fly-fishing for Black Bass. S.F. Denton. Depicted is of a fisherman standing in a stream reeling in a fish.
The artist was Sherman Foote Denton (1856-1937), a naturalist and noted illustrator of drawings of fish. Denton also invented a method of mounting fish that preserved their colors as in life. His work was frequently commissioned by the U.S. Fish Commision, forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890
publisher; copywriter
Bradlee Whidden
lithographer
Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
artist
Denton, Sherman Foote
ID Number
DL.60.2731
catalog number
60.2731
accession number
228146

A Moose Hunt

This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould.
Description (Brief)
This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 2. A Moose Hunt. Henry Sandham. Depicted is a bull moose standing in the right foreground at the edge of a stream from which it has presumably been drinking. Two men in a canoe are visible in the left background; one man is paddling while the other carries a rifle.
The artist was Henry Sandham (1842-1910), a Canadian born illustrator and artist of hunting and fishing scenes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1889
publisher; copywriter
Bradlee Whidden
lithographer
Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
artist
Sandham, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2726
catalog number
60.2726
accession number
228146

The Pride of the Harbor

Colored print of a little boy in a sailor suit and wide-brimmed hat, carrying a large net in one hand and a ring with fresh fish in the other, standing on a dock. A dog at his feet leaps toward him. A sailing ship, the "Columbia," flying an American flag is in left background.
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a little boy in a sailor suit and wide-brimmed hat, carrying a large net in one hand and a ring with fresh fish in the other, standing on a dock. A dog at his feet leaps toward him. A sailing ship, the "Columbia," flying an American flag is in left background. A bucket of fish is in left foreground.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1874
maker
Schile, Henry
Breul, H.
ID Number
DL.60.2476
catalog number
60.2476
accession number
228146

Untitled (Mambrino Champion)

Color print, proof before letters, of a trotting horse (Mambrino Champion) standing in a stable with a finished wood floor. Blanket in corner bears his name.A color print of a trotting horse standing in a stable. Three of his ankles are white and his mane and tail are black.
Description (Brief)
Color print, proof before letters, of a trotting horse (Mambrino Champion) standing in a stable with a finished wood floor. Blanket in corner bears his name.
Description
A color print of a trotting horse standing in a stable. Three of his ankles are white and his mane and tail are black. He has a sleek coat and powerful chest muscles. The floor of the stable is beautifully finished with wood. A blanket in the corner contains horse’s name.
Foaled in 1861, Mambrino Champion was a member of the Mambrino trotting stock that dominated in Kentucky beginning with Mambrino Chief. His greatest achievement was trotting the last quarter mile in 39 seconds at the Goshen Horse Fair in 1866.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1867
artist
Cameron, John
ID Number
DL.60.3543
catalog number
60.3543

Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon of Philadelphia.

This colorful chromolithograph contains an animated scene of the Union volunteer refreshment saloon located near the Navy Yard at Swanson and Washington Avenues in Philadelphia, as it appeared in November of 1863.
Description
This colorful chromolithograph contains an animated scene of the Union volunteer refreshment saloon located near the Navy Yard at Swanson and Washington Avenues in Philadelphia, as it appeared in November of 1863. Located on a railroad hub linking the North and the South, the saloon was staffed by volunteers and provided relief for Union troops to soldiers on their way to or returning from battlefields in the South. Its services included warm meals, temporary housing, medical services, and washing facilities. From its opening on May 27, 1861, to its closing on December 1, 1865, over 800,000 men were assisted in this saloon and served over 1,025,000 meals. In the print, a crowd of civilians and a few wounded soldiers line the street to welcome a formation of soldiers who parade down the road towards the saloon. At the right, men another unit depart the saloon and board a Philadelphia, Wilmington, & Baltimore railroad car, bound for the battlefront. A band dressed in road uniforms performs patriotic songs while American flags are waved in the crowd and dot the skyline of the scene. The names of men who were involved in collecting donations for the saloon are listed in the lower margin along with the names of its committee members.
The Philadelphia saloons received support from the United States Sanitary Commission, a relief agency approved by the War Department on June 18, 1861 to provide assistance to sick, wounded, and travelling Union soldiers. Although the leaders of the Commission were men, the agency depended on thousands of women, who collected donations, volunteered as nurses in hospitals, and offered assistance at rest stations and refreshment saloons. They also sponsored Sanitary Fairs in Northern cities, raising millions of dollars used to send food, clothing, and medicine to Union soldiers.
The print was created by James Fuller Queen, a pioneering chromolithographer active in Philadelphia, who served in a Civil War militia between 1862 and 1863. Its printer, Thomas S. Sinclair, was a Scottish immigrant to Philadelphia who worked in the lithographic shop of John Collins, before taking over the business the next year. His firm was profitable into the 1880s, producing maps, city views, certificates, book illustrations, political cartoons, sheet music covers, and fashion advertisements.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1861
lithographer
Sinclair, Thomas
artist
Queen, James
ID Number
DL.60.3799
catalog number
60.3799

Mallard Duck

Colored print of two ducks, male and female, swimming in a marshy pond.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of two ducks, male and female, swimming in a marshy pond.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1878
artist
Pope, Jr., Alexander
lithographer
Armstrong and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2717
catalog number
60.2717
accession number
228146

Mons. De Ruth catching a cannon ball fired from a real cannon, loaded and discharged in the presence of the audience.

This colored print is an advertisement for W. W. Cole's New York & New Orleans Circus Museum Menagerie. A man is catching a ball that has been fired from a cannon by another man dressed in an elaborate military uniform.
Description
This colored print is an advertisement for W. W. Cole's New York & New Orleans Circus Museum Menagerie. A man is catching a ball that has been fired from a cannon by another man dressed in an elaborate military uniform. An audience looks on from the background.
William Washington Cole (1847-1915), nicknamed “Chilly Billy,” was born into a circus family in New York City: his father was a contortionist and his mother a wire walker. He became a sideshow proprietor in 1867 and started W. W. Cole's New Colossal Shows in 1884. Cole was both a competitor and a temporary partner to his fellow circus entrepreneur P. T. Barnum: in the late 1880s he briefly owned a share in Barnum and Bailey’s circus. After he sold Cole Bros. in 1904, it continued to operate under various names and owners, eventually becoming Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars. During the twentieth century, it featured some of America’s most celebrated circus performers, including the animal trainers Clyde Beatty and Allen Turner, the clown Emmett Kelly, and the Flying Wallendas. With growing competition from television in the 1950s, Cole Bros. combined with the Clyde Beatty Circus to become one of the last of the traditional three ring circuses. Animal rights protests contributed to the continued decline of the circus, and it was largely out of business by 2016.
This chromolithograph was produced by Strobridge and Company. The Strobridge firm was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio ca 1847 by lithographer Elijah J. Middleton (cited in some sources as Elijah C. Middleton). Middleton was known as one of the pioneers of chromolithography in the United States. By 1854 another lithographer, W. R. Wallace, along with the bookseller Hines Strobridge (1823-1909) had joined the firm as partners. After the Civil War, Strobridge acquired sole ownership of the company and renamed it after himself. Strobridge and Company became especially well known for circus, theater, and movie posters. After leaving the company, Elijah Middleton established a reputation as a portrait publisher, producing prints of George and Martha Washington, Daniel Webster, and other American historical figures.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1879
copyright holder
Stewart, A. A.
maker
Strobridge and Company
ID Number
DL.60.3032
catalog number
60.3032

The Futurity Race at Sheepshead Bay

A color print of a race in progress on a track. Three horses take the lead and their jockeys urge them on with whips. The jockeys wear colorful jackets and caps, white breeches, and high boots. The grandstands consist of a two story veranda.
Description
A color print of a race in progress on a track. Three horses take the lead and their jockeys urge them on with whips. The jockeys wear colorful jackets and caps, white breeches, and high boots. The grandstands consist of a two story veranda. The roof has three transverse gables decorated with Bavarian “fachwerk.” An overflow of spectators lines the fence and the extension of the lower level balcony without a cover. The judges’ stand has a cupola roof. A wooded area is in the background.
The Sheepshead Bay Race Track was built at the Coney Island Jockey Club in 1880 in Sheepshead, New York, spurred on by the laying of the Long Island Railroad. Leonard Jerome and William Kissam Vanderbilt sponsored the building of the new track, which contained both a dirt and turf course. Sheepshead ran the first Futurity Stakes on Labor Day 1888 and it was won by Proctor Knott for a purse of $41,675, the most expensive race at the time. It was the largest crowd to attend Sheepshead, and approximately one-fourth of the crowd was reported to be women. This race is still running, although it has moved to Belmont Park. It is open to two-year-old horses and raced on dirt over a distance of seven furlongs. Until 1957, the horses had to be nominated for the race before their birth.
Maurer was born in 1832 in Biebrich-on-the Rhine in Germany, the eldest of five children. He loved to draw in his spare time and was apprenticed to a lithographer for a brief period of time. He then assisted his father as a cabinetmaker. He studied art at Mayence, and in 1851 he emigrated with his parents to America where he immediately went to work as a woodcarver. A friend recommended that he would make more money using his skills as a lithographer, so he applied to several shops before being hired by T. W. Strong at 98 Nassau Street. Later he met Charles Currier, Nathaniel's brother, who recommended that he visit his brother and show him some of his work. Nathaniel was impressed with Maurer and introduced him to Ives who interviewed all new employees. He was immediately hired and put to work in the basement of 152 Nassau Street, where he remained for over eight years.
Maurer excelled at images of horses and sporting subjects and during the eight years he was employed by Currier & Ives, produced over one hundred prints on these subjects, including such icons as the Life of the Fireman series and Preparing for Market. In 1860-1861 he went to work for Major and Knapp and from 1872-1884 he was the head of the commercial lithography firm of Maurer and Heppenheimer. He retired in 1884 and devoted himself to a number of artistic avocations, primarily painting. He lived in NYC until his death in 1932 at the age of 100. He son Alfred Maurer was also a well-known artist in the modernist era, though after the death of his father who he lived with, Alfred committed suicide. The offices of Heppenheimer and Maurer were located at 22 and 24 North William Street in New York City from 1872-1884. Maurer is chiefly known for his prints of horses, caricatures, and the famous Fireman series. At the outbreak of the Civil War he moved to Major and Knapp where he made many famous war prints including “Sherman at Savannah, GA” and “Grant and Lee”.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1889
maker
Maurer, Louis
Currier & Ives
ID Number
DL.60.3230
catalog number
60.3230

Catching a Tarpon

This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould.
Description (Brief)
This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 6. Catching a Tarpon. Fred S. Cozzens. It depicts a large tarpon jumping out of the water. Two men in a boat in the background are holding the line and attempting to pull the fish in. The scene was to have occurred in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida and the shoreline is depicted in the background.
The artist was Frederic Schiller Cozzens (1846-1928) who was known for maritime scenes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1889
publisher; copywriter
Bradlee Whidden
lithographer
Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
artist
Cozzens, Frederic Schiller
ID Number
DL.60.2725
catalog number
60.2725
accession number
228146

Trout Fishing

This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould.
Description (Brief)
This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 3. Trout Fishing. Henry Sandham. Depicted is a fisherman standing in a stream fishing. The scene is set in a forest.
The artist was Henry Sandham (1842-1910), a Canadian born illustrator and artist of hunting and fishing scenes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1889
publisher; copywriter
Bradlee Whidden
lithographer
Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
artist
Sandham, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2727
catalog number
60.2727
accession number
228146

The Pride of the Ocean

Colored print of a little boy in a blue sailor suit and yellow brimmed hat, hoisting an American flag from the deck of an ocean ship. An anchor and an axe lie at his feet.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a little boy in a blue sailor suit and yellow brimmed hat, hoisting an American flag from the deck of an ocean ship. An anchor and an axe lie at his feet.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1874
maker
Schile, Henry
Breul, H.
ID Number
DL.60.2475
catalog number
60.2475
accession number
228146

Deacon Crankett/ The Deacon to the front, He is coming sure.

This colored print depicts a man in a two-wheeled buggy being pulled by a horse that is racing with another man in a sulky. A lake, trees, and building appear in the background.
Description
This colored print depicts a man in a two-wheeled buggy being pulled by a horse that is racing with another man in a sulky. A lake, trees, and building appear in the background. The title “Deacon Crankett”/ by John Habberton/, Author of “Helen’s Babies” appears at the top of the print and at the bottom are the words “The Deacon to the Front. He is Coming Sure. / Park Theatre / Two Nights only / Tuesday & Wednesday Nov. 1 & 2.”
Deacon Crankett was a successful play described as both a “domestic drama” and “comic amusement.” The reviews in the New York Times mentioned it was a simplistic presentation “of weak morality and absurd situations.” The original name of the play was Joe Thatcher’s Revenge and Joe, the main character was first played at Haverly’s Fourteenth Steet Theater in the fall of 1880 by James O’Neill with Harry Lee as the understudy. It supposedly was performed over 500 times between 1880-1892.
The play was a creation of American dramatist, novelist, and literary critic John Habberton (1842-1921). Habberton published his critical writings in the New York Herald for twenty years, but he became best known for his 1876 novel Helen's Babies, which was part of the Ruby Books series for boys and girls. The book's humorous account of a bachelor salesman babysitting two small children was a hit with readers of all ages, including Rudyard Kipling. A silent film version of Helen's Babies was released in 1924. John Habberton also wrote a series of stories about early California life, many of which were collected in his 1880 book, Romance of California Life: Illustrated by Pacific Slope Stories, Thrilling, Pathetic and Humorous.
The Park Theater was built in 1798 on Park Row in Manhattan and was New York City’s premiere performance space in the early 19th Century. It attracted a diverse audience with each class sitting in its preferred section. Working class men sat in the pit; members of the upper class and women in the boxes; while the less affluent including immigrants, people of color, and prostitutes sat in the balcony.
This chromolithograph was produced by Strobridge Lithographing Company. The Strobridge firm was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio ca 1847 by lithographer Elijah J. Middleton (cited in some sources as Elijah C. Middleton). Middleton was known as one of the pioneers of chromolithography in the United States. By 1854 another lithographer, W. R. Wallace, along with the bookseller Hines Strobridge (1823-1909) had joined the firm as partners. After the Civil War, Strobridge acquired sole ownership of the company and renamed it after himself. Strobridge and Company became especially well known for circus, theater, and movie posters. After leaving the company, Elijah Middleton established a reputation as a portrait publisher, producing prints of George and Martha Washington, Daniel Webster, and other American historical figures.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
maker
Strobridge Lithographing Company
ID Number
DL.60.3033
catalog number
60.3033
accession number
228146

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