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 colored print is an interior scene dipicting a young girl of coquettish demeanor, seated on a chair. She is wearing everyday dress that includes lace, a ribbon sash, short stockings, and a straw hat with a bow on the floor in foreground. Rich fabric is draped over the arm of an ornately carved upholstered chair and the background is wallpapered.
Henry R. Robinson was a caricaturist, lithographer, print publisher and retailer active in New York City from 1833 until 1851. He was well known as a political cartoonist and was politically affiliated with the anti-Jackson Whig party. He advertised his affiliation with a wig silhouette which he used as an advertising logo for his shop in New York City. Like many of his contemporaries, he mentored other lithographers, including Napoleon Sarony. In 1842 he was arrested for selling obscene pictures and books. His Sept 29, 1842 court case of People vs. H.R. Robinson in New York City can be found in the District Attorney Indictment Papers in the Municipal Archives.
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 with a young man seated on an ornately carved and fringed chair warming his feet by the fire and contemplating a lithograph entitled "Married." The background includes: boots under the chair, tongs for the fireplace, smoking pipe and tobacco tin or trade card on the hearth which read Anderson & Co. Honey Dew tobacco... New-York. Also depicted is a glass-enclosed pendulum clock on mantle, a framed picture on wall, a small table with brocade edged table cloth, two books and a small astral lamp. Heavy red drapes at the window and a patterned carpet complete the scene. Prints depicting a bachelor in his quarters and titled Single were common during this period and were often part of a series the included Married.
The print was produced by the lithography firm of Kelloggs & Thayer. Kelloggs and Thayer was the first partnership formed by Elijah Chapman and Edmund Burke Kellogg after they took over the family firm from their brother Daniel Wright Kellogg. Horace Thayer was a map dealer and in 1845 or 1846 the partnetship opened a shop in New York. The partnership appears to have dissolved in 1847. In 1848, he Kellogg brothers formed a new partnership with John Cheneyard Comstock.
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 colored print is a half portrait of two women,one with dark hair and brown eyes, the other with light hair and blue eyes. The hair on both women is parted in the center with ringlets. The darker haired woman has a flower in her hair and wears a heart pendant on a necklace. There is a plain background.
The print was produced by Sarony & Major. Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896) 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 partnered 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 they were bought out by Consolidated Graphics.
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 full length hand colored portrait print is of a young woman in a bridal gown that includes a two tiered skirt with eyelet lace trim and a long lace trimmed veil. She holds a book, probably a Bible, in one hand, and in the other she holds her veil. Behind the bride is a round, three-legged table with a vase of flowers. Patterned drapery partially blocks the window; the wall and carpet have decorative patterns.
This print was produced by James S Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840’s. A prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives, his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. J. Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
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 man and a woman seated on a wooden bench underneath a tree. The couple sits in a garden under the moon surrounded by flowers. The man is resting his head on the woman’s shoulder while they gaze intently at each other; they have their arms wrapped around each other. The man is dressed as a sailor, while the woman wears a long full-skirted dress with lace on the bodice, ruffles down the front, a lace veil and beads around both her neck and head.
The print was produced by Sarony & Major. Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896) 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 partnered 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 they were bought out by Consolidated Graphics.
This colored print depicts Adam and Eve, downcast beside a small lake. A distraught Eve is naked and kneeling on the ground. Adam is standing and fashioning a covering of branches to hide his nakedness and shame. A sylvan setting of trees and gentle hills forms the background.
The Expulsion represents the passage from the book of Genesis (3:22-24) after the Fall. That is, after Adam and Eve have eaten of the fruit which God has forbidden them to eat, they are cast out of the Garden of Eden and into the world where they are forced to labor and suffer the consequences of their sin. This scene encapsulates the central tenet of Christianity: only by repenting and following the teachings of Christ, can mankind obtain salvation.
This print was produced by James S. Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840s. He was a prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives, and his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. James Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
Rip Van Winkle, a short story by celebrated American author Washington Irving, was first published in 1819 without illustrations in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.” Best known for his popular stories of Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Irving achieved acclaim in Europe and the U.S. over the course of his successful writing career. Rip Van Winkle was included in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent” while Irving was living in Europe. Thus, he was one of the earliest American authors to survive merely on his writing. Irving’s stories have remained an emblem of American culture as they were some of the first short stories that aimed to entertain rather than educate. The two best known Irving stories- Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow have inspired artists to create beautiful illustrations like the one included in this print.
The gothic story Rip Van Winkle tells of an ordinary 19th century man who lives in the Dutch Kaatskills (currently the Catskills of New York). He struggles with his nagging wife, Dame Van Winkle, and in an effort to escape her on an especially bad day, he flees to the woods with his dog and his gun. While in the woods, he meets a stranger who is a representation of the spirits of Hendrick Hudson, and is instructed to serve these spirits a precious drink. Tempted, he tries the drink as well and ultimately becomes so drunk that he falls into a deep sleep. When he wakes, he thinks that it is merely the next morning, but it becomes clear that 20 years have passed. He is now an old widow with Loyalist sentiments that show he is living in the past, prior to the American Revolution. The story ends with Rip Van Winkle living a peaceful life in the home of his daughter, finally free from his wife’s nagging.
In this lithographic print, Rip Van Winkle is shown amid a group of seven men who appear to be dressed in old Dutch fashion. They are playing nine-pins in a ravine in the woods, as they drink some sort of alcoholic beverage from the kegs. Rip Van Winkle is shown pouring this beverage for the men, who all look at him with grim, melancholy expressions. At this point in the story, Rip Van Winkle has ventured into the woods and found this mysterious and strange group of men. Curious about what they are drinking, he tries it as well and it does not take long before it puts him into a deep sleep, from which he will wake in a much later time.
Sarony, Major, & Knapp was one of the largest lithographic firms at the end of the 19th and the early of the 20th centuries. However, before it achieved this success it started out small in 1843 when Napoleon Sarony and James P. Major joined together to start a business. Later in 1857, Joseph F. Knapp joined the company making it Sarony, Major, & Knapp. At the time that this was printed, Knapp was not a part of the business, so it was just Sarony & Major.
Felix O. C. Darley (1822-1888), the artist behind the twelve best-known illustrations for The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, is considered one of America’s best illustrators. The publisher was the American Art Union, (1839-1857) a subscription organization created to educate the public about American art and artists while providing support for American artists. For $5.00 members would receive admissions to the gallery showing, a yearly report, and an engraving of an original work, as well as any benefits each chapter might provide. Two special editions of the story, each with a set of six of Darley’s illustrations were published; the special edition including this illustration was published in 1850. This print is bound with five others at the back of a rebound book. The cover is of the earlier Rip Van Winkle edition published for the American Art Union but the title page and text are of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Rip Van Winkle, a short story by celebrated American author Washington Irving, was first published in 1819 without illustrations in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.” Best known for his popular stories of Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Irving achieved acclaim in Europe and the U.S. over the course of his successful writing career. Rip Van Winkle was included in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent” while Irving was living in Europe. Thus, he was one of the earliest American authors to survive merely on his writing. Irving’s stories have remained an emblem of American culture as they were some of the first short stories that aimed to entertain rather than educate. The two best known Irving stories- Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow have inspired artists to create beautiful illustrations like the one included in this print.
The gothic story Rip Van Winkle tells of an ordinary 19th century man who lives in the Dutch Kaatskills (currently the Catskills of New York). He struggles with his nagging wife, Dame Van Winkle, and in an effort to escape her on an especially bad day, he flees to the woods with his dog and his gun. While in the woods, he meets a stranger who is a representation of the spirits of Hendrick Hudson, and is instructed to serve these spirits a precious drink. Tempted, he tries the drink as well and ultimately becomes so drunk that he falls into a deep sleep. When he wakes, he thinks that it is merely the next morning, but it becomes clear that 20 years have passed. He is now an old widow with Loyalist sentiments that show he is living in the past, prior to the American Revolution. The story ends with Rip Van Winkle living a peaceful life in the home of his daughter, finally free from his wife’s nagging.
This print shows Rip Van Winkle sitting among a group of fellow wise and philosophic men. When his wife, Dame Van Winkle, became especially verbally abusive, he would go to this small local inn and sit on the benches in front of it with his group of friends. Rip Van Winkle can be seen in the center of this print, sitting with two men to his right and two men to his left. They are listening intently as the man with glasses who is the local schoolteacher, Derrick Van Bummel, reads a newspaper to the group. According to the story, they will later discuss the newspaper in great detail, which presumably was brought to the group by the traveler, who stands between Nicholas Vedder and Rip Van Winkle. Nicholas Vedder is the fat old landlord of the inn, who sits on the left as he smokes a long pipe.
Sarony, Major, & Knapp was one of the largest lithographic firms at the end of the 19th and the early of the 20th centuries. However, before it achieved this success it started out small in 1843 when Napoleon Sarony and James P. Major joined together to start a business. Later in 1857, Joseph F. Knapp joined the company making it Sarony, Major, & Knapp. At the time that this was printed, Knapp was not a part of the business, so it was just Sarony & Major.
Felix O. C. Darley (1822-1888), the artist behind the twelve best-known illustrations for The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, is considered one of America’s best illustrators. The publisher was the American Art Union, (1839-1857) a subscription organization created to educate the public about American art and artists while providing support for American artists. For $5.00 members would receive admissions to the gallery showing, a yearly report, and an engraving of an original work, as well as any benefits each chapter might provide. Two special editions of the story, each with a set of six of Darley’s illustrations were published; the special edition including this illustration was published in 1850. This print is bound with five others at the back of a rebound book. The cover is of the earlier Rip Van Winkle edition published for the American Art Union but the title page and text are of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Rip Van Winkle, a short story by celebrated American author Washington Irving, was first published in 1819 without illustrations in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.” Best known for his popular stories of Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Irving achieved acclaim in Europe and the U.S. over the course of his successful writing career. Rip Van Winkle was included in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent” while Irving was living in Europe. Thus, he was one of the earliest American authors to survive merely on his writing. Irving’s stories have remained an emblem of American culture as they were some of the first short stories that aimed to entertain rather than educate. The two best known Irving stories- Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow have inspired artists to create beautiful illustrations like the one included in this print.
The gothic story Rip Van Winkle tells of an ordinary 19th century man who lives in the Dutch Kaatskills (currently the Catskills of New York). He struggles with his nagging wife, Dame Van Winkle, and in an effort to escape her on an especially bad day, he flees to the woods with his dog and his gun. While in the woods, he meets a stranger who is a representation of the spirits of Hendrick Hudson, and is instructed to serve these spirits a precious drink. Tempted, he tries the drink as well and ultimately becomes so drunk that he falls into a deep sleep. When he wakes, he thinks that it is merely the next morning, but it becomes clear that 20 years have passed. He is now an old widow with Loyalist sentiments that show he is living in the past, prior to the American Revolution. The story ends with Rip Van Winkle living a peaceful life in the home of his daughter, finally free from his wife’s nagging.
In this lithographic print, the aged Rip Van Winkle sits outside the door of the inn just as he used to, except now, he is seen as one of the village patriarchs. Three other men congregate around Rip Van Winkle and discuss the Revolutionary War, which took place during the time of Rip’s disappearance and is hinted at by the American flag that hangs in the background. Also depicted are woman and child, presumably Rip Van Winkle’s daughter, Judith Gardenier, and his grandson who was named after him. This illustration shows the resolution to the story, in that Rip Van Winkle is now an old man, but free of his nagging wife’s punitiveness, so he can finally be lazy.
Sarony, Major, & Knapp was one of the largest lithographic firms at the end of the 19th and the early of the 20th centuries. However, before it achieved this success it started out small in 1843 when Napoleon Sarony and James P. Major joined together to start a business. Later in 1857, Joseph F. Knapp joined the company making it Sarony, Major, & Knapp. At the time that this was printed, Knapp was not a part of the business, so it was just Sarony & Major.
Felix O. C. Darley (1822-1888), the artist behind the twelve best-known illustrations for The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, is considered one of America’s best illustrators. The publisher was the American Art Union, (1839-1857) a subscription organization created to educate the public about American art and artists while providing support for American artists. For $5.00 members would receive admissions to the gallery showing, a yearly report, and an engraving of an original work, as well as any benefits each chapter might provide. Two special editions of the story, each with a set of six of Darley’s illustrations were published; the special edition including this illustration was published in 1850. This print is bound with five others at the back of a rebound book. The cover is of the earlier Rip Van Winkle edition published for the American Art Union but the title page and text are of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Rip Van Winkle, a short story by celebrated American author Washington Irving, was first published in 1819 without illustrations in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.” Best known for his popular stories of Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Irving achieved acclaim in Europe and the U.S. over the course of his successful writing career. Rip Van Winkle was included in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent” while Irving was living in Europe. Thus, he was one of the earliest American authors to survive merely on his writing. Irving’s stories have remained an emblem of American culture as they were some of the first short stories that aimed to entertain rather than educate. The two best known Irving stories- Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow have inspired artists to create beautiful illustrations like the one included in this print.
The gothic story Rip Van Winkle tells of an ordinary 19th century man who lives in the Dutch Kaatskills (currently the Catskills of New York). He struggles with his nagging wife, Dame Van Winkle, and in an effort to escape her on an especially bad day, he flees to the woods with his dog and his gun. While in the woods, he meets a stranger who is a representation of the spirits of Hendrick Hudson, and is instructed to serve these spirits a precious drink. Tempted, he tries the drink as well and ultimately becomes so drunk that he falls into a deep sleep. When he wakes, he thinks that it is merely the next morning, but it becomes clear that 20 years have passed. He is now an old widow with Loyalist sentiments that show he is living in the past, prior to the American Revolution. The story ends with Rip Van Winkle living a peaceful life in the home of his daughter, finally free from his wife’s nagging.
This print shows Rip Van Winkle sitting among four children of the village. Two of them are boys, while the other two appear to be girls, and they all gather around Rip Van Winkle who is balancing a toy sailboat in a tub of water. Two of the boys lie on the bench beside Rip Van Winkle while a young girl lies on his back. Also pictured are some animals, including Rip Van Winkle’s dog Woof, a cat curled up underneath the bench, and some type of bird with her chicks. The setting appears to be in some type of open or lean-to shed as there are tools leaning against the wall and the building is open to the elements, showing the forest and farmland of the region. At this point of the story, Rip Van Winkle is described as a man who was popular among the village children; he would spend time teaching them how to fly kites or recounting ghost stories with them gathered round.
Sarony, Major, & Knapp was one of the largest lithographic firms at the end of the 19th and the early of the 20th centuries. However, before it achieved this success it started out small in 1843 when Napoleon Sarony and James P. Major joined together to start a business. Later in 1857, Joseph F. Knapp joined the company making it Sarony, Major, & Knapp. At the time that this was printed, Knapp was not a part of the business, so it was just Sarony & Major.
Felix O. C. Darley (1822-1888), the artist behind the twelve best-known illustrations for The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, is considered one of America’s best illustrators. The publisher was the American Art Union, (1839-1857) a subscription organization created to educate the public about American art and artists while providing support for American artists. For $5.00 members would receive admissions to the gallery showing, a yearly report, and an engraving of an original work, as well as any benefits each chapter might provide. Two special editions of the story, each with a set of six of Darley’s illustrations were published; the special edition including this illustration was published in 1850. This print is bound with five others at the back of a rebound book. The cover is of the earlier Rip Van Winkle edition published for the American Art Union but the title page and text are of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
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 colored print is of a little girl seated on the floor with a high silk hat placed between her legs. She is pouring water from a cup into the hat and is stirring it with a parasol. A piece of lace hangs over the side of the hat. She is surrounded by a pitcher containing a doll turned upside down, a folded fan with a tassel, a spoon, a dish, and an ink well which is on its side spilling ink onto a piece of paper with an envelope.
This print was published by Currier & Ives and Louis Maurer. Louis Maurer (1832-1932) was born in Biebrich, Germany, the oldest of five children. Maurer had a multitude of talents including expert knowledge of conchology, an accomplished flutist, expert marksmen, a skillful painter and a talented lithographer. In 1851 his family moved from Germany to the United States. Maurer first worked for T.W. Strong and shortly after was hired by Nathaniel Currier of Currier & Ives. He worked exclusively for Currier & Ives from 1852 – 1860, before he went to work for Major & Knapp, the successor of Sarony & Major. He continued to work for Currier & Ives by commission but in 1872 he started his own partnership with F. Heppenheimer, Maurer & Heppenheimer. This company specialized in labels, show cards and letterheads. He retired in 1884 and died at the age of one hundred.
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.
Colored print; full length portrait of man and woman happily walking arm in arm near a river's edge. Both appear to be in fine riding costume and carry riding crops. The man wears a fitted coat, brocade vest, ascot, plaid trousers and a high silk hat. The woman wears a long skirt with train, fitted bodice, high stiff collar with bow tie, and a high silk hat. Several small sailboats and a canoe are on the river in a bucolic background scene while a group of homes and a church or large municipal building are on a hill overlooking the river..
The print was produced by Sarony & Major. Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896) 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 partnered 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 they were bought out by Consolidated Graphics.
This exceptional colored print depicts a woman being baptized by a minister in the Hudson River, north of Manhattan. A large group of well-dressed, white Protestant parishioners are watching from the riverbank and a nearby dock. Three black children stand clustered together in the center foreground.
Roman Catholics view baptism as an essential sacrament to be performed as soon as possible after a child's birth. Some Protestants, by contrast, perform baptisms later as a conscious desire to receive God's word and commit to a faith so some Protestant churches wait to baptize members as older children or as adults as well as baptizing new members or converted adults. This print depicts baptism as a ceremony in which a person officially associates herself with the community of believers.
This print was produced by Endicott & Swett. George Endicott (1802-1848) was born in Canton, Massachusetts. During the 1820s, prior to his partnership with Moses Swett, he worked as an ornamental painter in Baltimore, Maryland. His partner Moses Swett (1804-1838) was born in Poland. He worked for the Pendleton lithography firm as an artist and draftsman from 1826 to 1828. The partnership Endicott & Swett began in 1830 in Baltimore. Shortly after establishing their business, the two partners moved to New York. In July of 1834 the partnership dissolved, and Swett continued to work on his own in New York from 1834-1837. Endicott stayed on as the head of the company until his death in 1848. His younger brother William Endicott (1816-1851) then took over. After William Endicott died in 1851 his son and wife ran the business as Endicott & Company until 1886.
Colored print of Scottish Games. Proof before letters. A ring of spectators, many dressed in kilts with bagpipes, surrounding participants engaged in a variety of games on an open field. Tents in background.
This hand-colored lithograph, titled The Declaration of Independence, depicts an interior scene of the assembly Room at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston, the committee who drafted the document are standing in front of John Hancock, the chairman, who is seated on a red fabric upholstered armchair at a table in the viewer’s left foreground. 42 of the 56 composers, signers, and a few members of Congress who took part in the debates but did not sign, are depicted in this print image including John Dickinson, depicted by a door in a hat. The original Trumbull paintings and this Sarony print, all titled The Declaration of Independence, provide the date July 4th, 1776, under the title, which is why these images have been presumed by many to be a depiction of the famous document’s “signing” but that is incorrect. This image shows the drafting committee presenting their draft to the 2nd Continental Congress, which took place on June 28th, 1776, and not the signing which mostly occurred between July 2 and August 2.
Trumbull created his work by interviewing Thomas Jefferson in Paris, then John Adams, and finally as many of the delegates as he could-36 of the 42 portraits were produced from life but he added 2 from memory and 9 by “picture done by others” to preserve their likenesses for history, and deleted one from the final version. He refused to include images of delegates he could not sketch from life or from a faithful likeness, so some were excluded and some delegates who were not present on that day were still included in the painting. He did produce a “Guide to the portraits in the Declaration of Independence” with a key identifying 47 participants, their colony, and who was a delegate that did not sign and included at the bottom a list of those not included in the image. Note that the painting key identifies 47 portraits but the lithographic print only includes 42.
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Trumbull worked on the image for more than three decades and producing sketches and three versions. The earliest version is a small painting begun in 1786 acquired by Yale for their art gallery in 1832. Trumbull created the painting for the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in 1817-1818. In both these versions, Trumbull was inaccurate about some of the Assembly Room’s architectural elements such as the number and placement of doors and windows and created elaborate furnishings such as the coat of arms, the fancy furniture and window coverings. These were based on a sketch provided by Thomas Jefferson who appears to have had a faulty memory of the room’s actual features. This was corrected by the third version, painted in 1832, known as the Wadsworth version, no doubt in response to critics from Philadelphia.
Napolean Sarony created his lithograph by copying either the small Trumbull painting which he could have studied in New Haven, the US Capitol painting or the engraving by Asher B. Durand, which Trumbull commissioned for $3,000 and copyrighted in 1820. It was designed to reproduce the smaller painting which would eventually go to Yale but took 3 years to produce and publish. The engravings were sold by Trumbull through a subscription in late 1823 for the costly sum of $20 and only about 300 were produced but it is possible that Sarony was able to obtain one or partnered with Nathaniel Currier who also produced a reverse image lithograph before producing a version with the Trumbull painting orientation.
This lithograph is a mirror image or reverse presentation of the Trumbull paintings; note that Hancock is on the left in the print and depicted on the right in the original paintings. The mirror image or reverse presentation was common in early lithographs due to the production technique of creating the printing stone. This recognizable image was used in classrooms, public buildings and textbooks first through engravings and then more widely produced through as a popular and inexpensive lithograph beginning in the 1840’s by Sarony and Major and Currier and Ives. Sarony and Major published this lithograph but curiously the address of the firm under the image is that of the Park Hotel at Nassau and Beekman and not the firms known address of 99 Nassau Street.
Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896), the graphic artist and lithographer, was born in Quebec and trained under several New York lithography firms including Endicott Studio, Currier & Ives and Henry 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. Sarony was also known for doing freelance work before he retired to travel and then became focused on photography. 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.
This colored print depicts a man, Reverend Ephraim Avery (1799-1869), being rowed across a river by demons. A young woman on the left bank is hanging by her neck from a fence with a note at her feet on a farm. On the right bank are two demons, a figure and a body in a cauldron. The scene is based on the murder in Bristol, Rhode Island of a pregnant Fall River mill girl, Sarah Maria Cornell (1802-1832), which was sensationalized in the press and resulted in a jury trial in Newport concluding with an unpopular acquittal of Avery, who was a Methodist Minister. Sarah Cornell was the daughter of Lucretia and James Cornell, but her father had abandoned the family when she was a baby, and the girl was a troubled teen, frequently in trouble for theft and “inappropriate” behavior. She worked in various mills, and became a Methodist while working in Slaterville, RI 1823-1826. While working in Lowell, Massachusetts she met Reverend Ephraim Avery, a married man. They allegedly were together at the Methodist Camp Meeting, August 1832. Cornell left several incriminating letters concerning Reverend Avery amongst her belongings, but after the autopsy confirmed her pregnancy, the original cause of death of suicide was abandoned in favor of a murder investigation. The trial resulted in very negative press for the Methodist Church, particularly after Avery was acquitted and Cornell’s body was forbidden burial in a Methodist cemetery due to her “promiscuity and fornication.” Her body was moved several times before a final burial at Oak Grove Cemetery, in Fall River, where Lizzie Borden, another high profile murder principal, is also buried.
This print was produced by Henry R. Robinson, who was a caricaturist and lithographer in New York City. He was listed as a carver and gilder from 1833-34, as a caricaturist from 1836-43 and as a lithographer and print publisher from 1843-51. Henry Robinson was known for political prints that championed the causes of the Whig Party (which later merged with the Republican Party) and satirized the opposing Democratic Party. New York state historian Peter C. Welsh has called Henry Robinson the "Printmaker to the Whig Party".
This hand-colored print commemorates the October 19, 1847, parade celebrating the placing of the cornerstone for New York City‘s Washington Monument on Hamilton Square (between Third and Fifth Avenues and Sixty-Sixth and Sixty-Ninth Streets). For lack of funds, the monument was never completed.
The print successfully illustrates the patriotism displayed by the nation during the Mexican War. It depicts a golden eagle perched atop the canopied wagon containing a bust of George Washington. Countless American flags wave above the procession of soldiers and civilians. This print was published in newspapers and was also probably used in fundraising brochures for the monument until the project was abandoned.
This print was produced by James S Baillie, was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840’s. A prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives; his prints were extremely popular. In his later years Baillie concentrated on painting instead of lithography. The graphic artist was John L. Magee who was active 1844 to 1867 in New York City and did some for Currier. He was also a lithographer and moved to Philadelphia where he was active 1850 to 1870.
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 colored, comic print depicts a man and woman seated on a sofa. The woman wears a long full skirt, tight bodice, ruffles on sleeves and an amulet around neck. The woman is displaying a simpering expression toward the man and is either putting a ring on the man’s finger or taking it off. The man is wearing a tuxedo with shirt pin. A high silk hat rests on the sofa beside him. The pair is sitting on a sofa of ornate upholstery, drapery and patterned carpet. On the wall behind the couch is an ornately framed picture of Cupid, who appears to be shooting an arrow at the man, who is perched on the edge of the sofa and appears ready to leave.
Also known as H. Bucholaer, H. Bucholzer was a cartoonist who lived and worked in New York City. His work was published by James S. Baillie from 1843 – 1847.
This print was produced by James S Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840’s. A prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives, his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. J. Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
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 colored print is an indoor scene of a young man seated on an ornate upholstered armchair with one foot resting on a side chair. The bachelor is dressed in a double breasted, plaid weskit, plaid pants, a large silk tie and fitted coat. He is smoking a cigar and has the newspaper "Spirit of the Times" resting in his lap. The headline reads "War/10,000/Recruits/for Mexic/Great/Foot Race/President's Message. The lithographer also promotes himself by including his own advertisement with a list of his retailer. It reads: "Cheap Prints/Cheapest in the World/at J. Baillie's/ New York and sond by/Sowle & Shaw/52 Cornhill/Boston/A.H. Stillwell/Providence/R.I./A.J. Loomis/9 Washington/St.... J. Bar.../ 39 Fourth St./ Philadelphia." Room furnishings include a pedestal table with a marble top, another table with a fringed tablecloth, a clock and candleabrum on the marble fireplace mantle. On the pedestal table there is a basket of fruit, wine bottle and glass, a container of cigars, a can of sardines and a knife. Patterned wallpaper, patterned carpet and heavy fringed drapery complete the scene. Prints depicting a bachelor in his quarters and titled Single were common during this period and were often part of a series the included Married.
This print was produced by James S Baillie, was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840’s. A prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives; his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. J. Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
This print was inscribed "presented by Henry Lyman Chamberlain to the only man in the Junior Class or '48 & 9 not engaged. Bath April 9, 1849" W. L. Gardner .
This colored print depicts a male from infancy to old age in decade-long spans. This was a popular and recurring theme of genteel society during the 19th Century. The figures are shown on ascending steps up to age 50 and then descending, with age 100 being the lowest to the right. Each image portrays a well-dressed youth or man in appropriate attire for his position in society (i.e., gentleman, soldier, elder). Verses beneath each figure associate a depicted animal with that stage of life. A small vignette of two people standing near a monument in a cemetery is in the center foreground.
This print was produced by James S. Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840s. He was a prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives, and his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. James Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.