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Jay T. Last Collection of Views Prints and Ephemera: Finding
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Title: Jay T. Last Collection of Views Prints and Ephemera
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1815-approximately 1921
Bulk dates: 1850-1900
Collection Number: priJLC_VIEW
Collector:
Last, Jay T.
Extent:
approximately 250 items
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Prints and Ephemera
Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: 626-405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The Jay T. Last Collection of Views Prints and Ephemera consists of approximately 250 mostly lithographic items depicting
physical locales, primarily in the United States.
These images date from approximately 1815 to approximately 1921 and include town and city views; pictorial maps and plans;
landscapes and waterscapes; scenes of rural and wilderness areas; commercial and
residential streets and individual buildings and structures; parks, bridges, and monuments; and a small number of interior
views. Generic dwellings as well as homes of famous people are also contained here.
The images often incorporate depictions of people, animals, street traffic, trains, railroad activity, and structures, but
share a focus on place, as opposed to genre scenes of everyday life or company- or product-based advertisements.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on February 13, 2017.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the
researcher.
[Item title, Call number]. Jay T. Last Collection of Views Prints and Ephemera, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
This collection forms part of the Jay T. Last Collection of Graphic Arts and Social History, which was
donated to the Huntington Library by Jay T. Last in 2005 as a gift in progress. The bulk of the views were transferred to the Library between 2010 and 2012.
The Jay T. Last Collection is an unparalleled archive of printed paper artifacts that documents American lithographic, social,
and business history. The collection began in the early 1970s when
physicist and Silicon Valley pioneer Jay Last moved to Southern California and started collecting citrus box labels he found
at local flea markets and rummage sales. As his collection grew,
Last realized that these labels conveyed important information about commercial printing, graphic design, and social history,
and he expanded his collection to include other forms
of American visual culture. Today this collection contains more than 200,000 lithographic prints, posters, and ephemera of
mostly nineteenth- and early twentieth- century American
origin and represents works by more than five hundred lithographic companies.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Jay T. Last Collection of Views Prints and Ephemera consists of approximately 250 mostly lithographic items depicting
physical locales, primarily in the United States. While the majority of the collection features
lithographs of American views produced by American artists, printers, and publishers, there are also a few engravings and
foreign prints.
The collection dates from approximately 1815 to approximately 1921 and includes town and city views; pictorial maps and plans;
images of landscapes and waterscapes; scenes of rural and wilderness areas; commercial and
residential streets and individual buildings and structures; parks, bridges, and monuments; and a small number of interior
views. Generic dwellings as well as homes of famous people are also contained here.
The images often incorporate depictions of people, animals, street traffic, railroad trains, and structures but share a focus
on place, as opposed to genre scenes of everyday life or company- or product-based advertisements.
For advertisements or views of specific types of buildings see other Jay T. Last sub-collection subjects: e.g. for churches
see Religion, for schools see Education, for grain mills see Food, and for breweries see Beverages.
For monuments relating to the armed forces see Military. For views of the cosmos and natural phenomena occurring in the atmosphere
see Science and Technology.
The prints in this collection were produced for a variety of purposes including as art reproductions, as illustrations in
books, and occasionally as promotional materials. They consist of color-printed
and/or hand-colored images and uncolored images, and range in size from approximately 2 x 3 inches to 27 x 43 inches. The
prints are organized geographically by region based on the four geographic regions of the United States
recognized by the United States Census Bureau: Northeast, South, Midwest, and West, plus foreign views.
Materials are arranged in two series: small-size items (11 x 14 inches or less) and large-size items (bigger than 11 x 14
inches). Small-size items measuring less than 8 x 10 inches are described broadly at the series level; large-size
items and small-size items between 8 x 10 inches and 11 x 14 inches are fully inventoried, and all printers, artists, and
publishers are indexed by name.
The view prints provide rich resources for the study of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American printing history,
visual culture, and social history. They offer evidence of developing
techniques and trends in printmaking, and of the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers who created these
items. As a visual historical record, this collection provides documentary
evidence of the interplay between individuals and their environments, and their perceptions and interpretations of their surroundings.
Prints in the collection document the topography, development, and promotion of towns and cities; urban planning;
the impact of settlement, transportation, and infrastructure on both rural and urban environments; the architectural history
of business and retail centers, civic buildings, and private
residences; and perceptions towards wilderness and frontier areas. Information about social history emerges through the depictions
of individuals and street scenes in many of these
prints, including modes of transportation, leisure, and commercial activities.
Alternative Form of Materials Available
Visit the
Huntington Digital Library: Jay T. Last Collection
to view digitized items from this collection.
The collection is arranged in the following series:
-
Series I. Views Prints and Ephemera (small size)
- Subseries A. Northeast (small size)
- Subseries B. Midwest (small size)
- Subseries C. West (small size)
-
Series II. Views Prints and Ephemera (large size)
- Subseries A. Northeast (large size)
- Subseries B. South (large size)
- Subseries C. Midwest (large size)
- Subseries D. West (large size)
- Subseries E. Foreign (large size)
The series are based on the four geographic regions of the United States recognized by the United States Census Bureau.
Items are arranged numerically by call number and described in the following format:
- Title of print. Date
- Artist(s) (when known). Printer(s). Publisher(s).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Chromolithographs.
Engravings.
Intaglio prints.
Lithographs.
Maps.
Pictorial maps.
Prints.
Relief prints.
Views.
Architecture -- Details -- Pictorial works.
Boats and boating -- Pictorial works.
Bridges -- Pictorial works.
Buildings -- Pictorial works.
Cities & towns -- Pictorial works.
Commercial streets -- Pictorial works.
Dwellings -- Pictorial works.
Factories -- Pictorial works.
Horse-drawn vehicles -- Pictorial works.
Lakes -- Pictorial works.
Landscapes -- Pictorial works.
Local transit -- Pictorial works.
Mountains -- Pictorial works.
Parks -- Pictorial works.
Public buildings -- Pictorial works.
Railroads -- Pictorial works.
Rivers -- Pictorial works.
Schools -- Pictorial works.
Storefronts -- Pictorial works.
Streets -- Pictorial works.
Waterfalls -- Pictorial works.
Waterfronts -- Pictorial works.
Wilderness areas -- Pictorial works.
Printer, Publisher, Artist Index
The following is a complete list of printers, publishers, and artists represented in the large-size items in this collection.
A. Hoen & Co.
A.F. Poole & Co.
A.L. Bancroft & Company.
Aldine Company.
American Bank Note Company.
American Lithographic Co.
American Oleograph Co.
American Photo-Lithographic Company.
American Publishing Co. (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company.
Ayres, Thomas Almond, approximately 1816-1858.
A. Hoen & Co.
A.F. Poole & Co.
A.L. Bancroft & Company.
Aldine Company.
American Bank Note Company.
American Lithographic Co.
American Oleograph Co.
American Photo-Lithographic Company.
American Publishing Co. (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company.
Ayres, Thomas Almond, approximately 1816-1858.
B.W. Thayer & Co.
Bachelder, John B. (John Badger), 1825-1894.
Bachmann, John, active 1849-1885.
Bailey, H. H. (Howard Heston), 1836-1878.
Bailey, S. F.
Baker & Godwin.
Bartholdi, Frédéric Auguste, 1834-1904.
Beck & Pauli.
Benecke, Theodore.
Bennett, N. S.
Bennett, W. J. (William James), 1787-1844.
Bien, Julius, 1826-1909.
Birch, Thomas, 1779-1851.
Blümner, Frederick.
Boell, William.
Bonar, Thomas.
Bornet, John.
Bosqui Eng. & Print. Co.
Bowen, John T., approximately 1801-1856?
Bradley, Lewis.
Bremner (D.) & Co. Lith.
Britton & Rey.
Brooklyn Land and Building Co.
Brotherhead, William.
Brown, Samuel E., -approximately 1860.
Browne, William R.
Browning, A. E.
Buckman, Bowen, 1788-1864.
Bufford, John Henry, 1810-1870.
Burleigh Litho.
Burleigh, Charles Calistus, 1848-1882.
Burleigh, L. R. (Lucien R.), 1853?-1923.
Butler, J. M. (John M.)
C.H. Vogt & Son.
C.H. Vogt (Firm)
Cameron, John, approximately 1828-
Cameron, Peter, 1852-
Campbell, A. J., active 1860.
Campbell, Robert, active 1806-1831.
Charles Shober & Co.
Chas. H. Crosby & Co.
Chicago Lithographing Co.
Childs & Inman.
Childs, F. (Artist)
Clarke, C., active 1872-1873.
Clover, Lewis Peter, 1790-
Collier & Cleaveland Lith. Co.
Compton & Company.
Conant, Albert, 1821-1883.
Conkling, E. W.
Corrie's Detroit Lithographic Office.
Crawford & Parsons.
Cropsey, Jasper Francis, 1823-1900.
Crump Label Co.
Crutchett, James, 1816-
Currier & Ives.
Currier, Charles, 1818-1887.
Daniels, G. F. (George Fisher), 1821-
Degen, Geo.
Denver Lith. Co.
Devereux, George T., approximately 1810-
Dickinson, Samuel N. (Samuel Nelson), 1801-1848.
Dreser, William, approximately 1820-
Durrie, George Henry, 1820-1863.
E. Sachse & Co.
E.B. & E.C. Kellogg (Firm)
Eastman, Seth, 1808-1875.
Edmund Foerster & Co.
Eights, James, 1798-1882.
Ellsbury, George H., 1840-1900.
Emmons, Ebenezer, 1799-1863.
Endicott & Co. (New York, N.Y.)
Endicott, George, 1802-1848.
Engel, W.
Evershed, Thomas, 1817-1890.
Fenderich, Charles.
Field, B. W.
Filkins, Henry.
Firks, Henry.
Fogerty, J. J.
Fowler & Bailey.
Fowler, O. R.
Fowler, T. M. (Thaddeus Mortimer), 1842-1922.
Franklin Square Lithographic Company.
Frizzell, S. S. (Samuel S.), 1843-1895.
Furrer, R. (Printer)
G. & W. Endicott (Firm)
G.T. Brown & Co. Lith.
Gemmell, John.
Geo. H. Walker & Co.
Geo. Schlegel (Firm)
Gibbes, Lewis Reeves, 1810-1894.
Glover, E. S. (Eli Sheldon), 1844-1920.
Goupil & Cie.
Graham, C. B. (Curtis B.)
Graphic Company.
Great Divide Pub. Co.
Green, Vernon, active 1874.
Gugler Lithographic Company.
H.H. Bailey & Co.
H.J. Toudy & Co.
H.S. Crocker & Co.
H.W. Burgett & Co.
Hall & Mooney.
Hall, John P.
Hall, M. G. (Mary G.)
Hamilton, J. R., active 1852-1866.
Hamilton, James, 1819-1878.
Harvey, George, 1806-1876.
Haskell & Allen.
Hastings & Parker.
Hayward, George, approximately 1800-
Hazen, J. C.
Henry Seibert & Bros.
Heppenheimer, Frederick, -1876.
Herline & Hensel.
Hess, B.
Hill, Charles G.
Hill, J. W. (John William), 1812-1879.
Hill, John, 1770-1850.
Hill, M. S.
Hoffmann, V., 1834-
Holland, John Joseph, approximately 1776-1820.
Holloway, F.
Horace Thayer & Co.
Hubbard, Richard William.
Hunt, Richard Morris, 1828-1895.
Imbert’s Lithographic Office.
Ingham, Charles Cromwell, 1796-1863.
J. Hoover & Son.
J. Knauber & Co.
J.H. Bufford’s Sons Lith.
J.H. Bufford's Lith.
J.H. Mahler Company.
Jaques, A. B.
Jones & Newman.
Jones & Potsdamer.
Jones, W. H. (Auctioneer)
Julius Bien & Co.
Kellogg & Bulkeley.
Kellogg, Elijah Chapman, 1811-1881.
Kelloggs & Thayer.
Kelsey, C.
Kern, Richard H., 1821-1853.
Kiehn, J., 1835-1869.
Klauprech & Menzel.
Knight, Frederick K.
Kraetzer, Gustav, 1822?-1901.
Kuchel & Dresel.
Kurz & Allison.
Lane & Scott.
Lane, Fitz Henry, 1804-1865.
Lapham, J. M.
Le Moulnier, I. F.
Lehman, George, -1870.
Leuthner, Frederick, -approximately 1890.
Lewis & Goodwin.
Locher, J. H.
Locher, J. U.
M. Carey & Son.
MacBrair & Sons.
Magnus, Charles.
Marsiglia, Gherlando, 1792-1850.
Martin, M. DeV.
Mathews, Alfred Edward, 1831-1874.
Matter, C.
McLoughlin Bros.
Melville, George W., 1856-1928.
Mensing & Stecher.
Merchant's Lithographing Company.
Mester, J. F. W.
Michelin, Francis, 1809 or 1810-1878.
Middleton, Strobridge & Co.
Middleton, Wallace & Co.
Miehle Printing Press & Mfg. Co.
Miller, I. Crosby.
Mills, Robert, 1781-1855.
Moody (Lithographer)
Moore & De Pue.
Moore, E. S.
Moran, Thomas, 1837-1926.
Moray, John, 1831-
Moyer, James B.
Nagel & Weingärtner.
Neumann, Louis E.
Norris, George E.
O.H. Bailey & Co.
O'Donnell, Charles.
Orcutt Litho Co.
P.S. Duval & Co.
P.S. Duval & Son.
Packard, Herbert S.
Parker, Edwd.
Parker, Henry W. (Henry Webster), 1822-1903.
Parsons & Atwater.
Parsons, Charles, 1821-1910.
Pease, Richard H., 1813-1869.
Pendleton, John B., 1798-1866.
Pendleton’s Lithography.
Pierce, B. W. (Bruce Wellington), 1859-1947.
Platen, C.
Poole & Norris.
Poole, A. F.
Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 1821-1886.
Rau, J., approximately 1821-
Rease, W. H.
Riley & Ricker (Firm)
Rivers, Benjn.
Robert Teufel & Co.
Robertson, Seibert & Shearman.
Root & Tinker.
Ruger & Stoner.
Ruger, A., 1829-1899.
S.W. Chandler & Bro.
Sarony & Co.
Sarony & Major.
Sarony, Napoleon, 1821-1896.
Schile, H. (Henry)
Schnabel, E.
Schoen, August.
Schussele, Christian, 1826?-1879.
Schwegler, J.
Scollay, Catherine, -1863.
Serrell & Perkins.
Serrell, Edward W. (Edward Wellman), 1826-
Sharp & Peirce.
Shaw, Joshua, 1776-1860.
Shober & Carqueville.
Sintzenich, Edward.
Smith Bros. & Co.
Smith, B. F. (Benjamin F.), 1830-1927.
Smith, Frederick M., active 1870-1879.
Spooner Brothers.
Sprague, Isaac, 1811-1895.
Stahl, C.
Stanley, John Mix, 1814-1872.
Steele, Oliver G. (Oliver Gray), 1805-1879.
Stilson, J.
Stinger, W.
Stone, Benjamin Bellows Grant, 1829-1906.
Stoner, J. J.
Strickland, William, 1787-1854.
Swasey, W. F. (William F.)
Swinton, Frederick J.
T. Sinclair’s Lith.
Tappan & Bradford.
Taylor, T. (Artist)
Thiebaut, C. A.
Thompson, George (Publisher)
Tidd, M. M., 1827-1895.
United States Pacific Railroad Expeditions and Surveys.
Valentine, D. T. (David Thomas), 1801-1869.
W. Endicott & Co.
W. J. Morgan & Co.
W. Stephenson & Co.
Wadsworth, Daniel, 1771-1848.
Wagner & M'Guigan.
Walker Lith. & Pub. Co.
Walton, Henry.
Warner, H. H. (Hulbert Harrington), 1842-1923.
Weidenmann, Jacob, 1829-1893.
Weik, John.
Weingartner, A.
Whitefield, Edwin, 1816-1892.
Wild, J. C. (John Caspar), approximately 1804-1846.
Wiltsie & Hess.
Wm. M. Donaldson & Co.
Yale & Evans.
Yeomans, A.