Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Jay T. Last Collection of Politics and Social Issues Prints and Ephemera: Finding
Aid
priJLC_POL
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Jay T. Last Collection of Politics and Social Issues Prints and Ephemera
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1802-1952
Bulk dates: 1850-1910
Collection Number: priJLC_POL
Collector:
Last, Jay T.
Extent:
approximately 400 items
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Prints and Ephemera
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
Politics and Social Issues Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 400 printed items related to American political figures
and activists of the 19th and early 20th centuries along with social causes and issues often linked to
political activities, most notably the temperance movement. Materials date from the early 1800s to the 1950s, with the bulk
of the items
dating from 1850 to 1910. Most of these items
are lithographed portraits and political cartoons.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on July 24, 2020.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
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 Politics and Social Issues 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 Politics and Social Issues prints and ephemera 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.
The Jay T. Last Collection of
Politics and Social Issues Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 400 printed items related to politics and social issues
in the United States from the 1800s to the 1950s, with the bulk of the items
dating from 1850 to 1910. Most of these items
are lithographs, but engravings and woodcuts are also included.
Materials are arranged in two series: small-size items (11 x 14 inches or less) and large-size items (more than 11 x 14 inches).
Small-size items are described broadly at the series level; large-size items and select small-size items are fully inventoried
with printers,
artists, and publishers indexed by name. The collection includes over 130 large-size items comprised mainly of lithographed
commemorative portraits of United States presidents, political cartoons and caricatures, views of civic buildings and correctional
facilities, and portraits of political candidates. Small-size items number approximately
270 and contain a variety of materials, including small-format portraits, album card sets, trade cards, election or rally
tickets, and ribbons.
The collection highlights both well-known and less recognized American political figures and activists of the 19th and early
20th centuries along with social causes and issues often linked to political activities, most notably the temperance movement.
The images provide a rich visual resource for studying the history of American governance of citizens including national,
state, and local laws, issues, elections, and causes, as well as a perspective on portraiture, caricatures, and political
cartoons of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
As graphic materials, the prints and ephemera offer evidence of developing techniques and trends in printmaking, and of the
artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers involved in the creative process.
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 two series:
- Series I. Politics and Social Issues Prints and Ephemera (small size)
- Series II. Politics and Social Issues Prints and Ephemera (large size)
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.
Advertisements.
Album cards.
Ballots.
Business cards.
Caricatures.
Certificates.
Chromolithographs.
Ephemera.
Ephemera -- United States -- 19th century.
Ephemera -- United States -- 20th century.
Intaglio prints.
Lithographs.
Periodical illustrations.
Political cartoons.
Portrait prints.
Printed ephemera.
Promotional materials.
Relief prints.
Ribbons.
Tickets.
Trade cards.
Views.
Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848 -- Pictorial works.
Adams, John, 1735-1826 -- Pictorial works.
African Americans -- Pictorial works.
Alcoholics -- Pictorial works.
Bars (Drinking establishments) -- Pictorial works.
Buchanan, James, 1791-1868 -- Pictorial works.
Campaign literature.
Children -- Pictorial works.
Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908 -- Pictorial works.
Columbia (Symbolic character) -- Pictorial works.
Deathbeds -- Pictorial works.
Eagles -- Pictorial works.
Families -- Pictorial works.
Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874 -- Pictorial works.
Flags -- Pictorial works.
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881 -- Pictorial works.
Generals -- United States -- Pictorial works.
Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885 -- Pictorial works.
Harrison, William Henry, 1773-1841.
Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845 -- Pictorial works.
Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 -- Pictorial works.
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Pictorial works.
Madison, James, 1751-1836 -- Pictorial works.
Men -- Pictorial works.
Monroe, James, 1758-1831 -- Pictorial works.
Parades -- Pictorial works.
Patriotism.
Political campaigns.
Politicians -- Pictorial works.
Politicians.
Polk, James K. (James Knox), 1795-1849 -- Pictorial works.
Presidents -- United States -- Pictorial works.
Seward, William Henry, 1801-1872 -- Pictorial works.
Slaves -- Pictorial works.
Soldiers -- Pictorial works.
Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930.
Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850 -- Pictorial works.
Temperance -- Societies, etc.
Temperance.
Uncle Sam (Symbolic character) -- Pictorial works.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Pictorial works.
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Pictorial works.
Van Buren, Martin, 1782-1862 -- Pictorial works.
Washington, George, 1732-1799 -- Pictorial works.
Washington, Martha, 1731-1802 -- Pictorial works.
Women -- Pictorial works.
Printer, Publisher, Artist Index
The following is a complete list of printers, publishers, and artists represented in the fully-cataloged items in this collection.
A. Hoen & Co.
A.L. Bancroft & Company.
Albert Type Printing Co.
Baillie, James S., fl. 1838-1855.
Baker, Joseph E., approximately 1837-1914.
Ball, W.
Barralet, John James, approximately 1747-1815.
Bates, J. H. (James Hale), 1826-1901.
Beard, James Carter, 1837-1913.
Bergner, George, -1874.
Bigot, Alphonse, approximately 1828-1872 or 1873.
Billings, Hammatt, 1818-1874.
Bingham & Dodd.
Bisbee, Eugene S.
Bouclet, Francis.
Brady, Mathew B., approximately 1823-1896.
Brightly, Henry A., approximately 1791-
Britton & Rey.
Brown, Mannevillette Elihu Dearing, 1810-1896.
Bruns, Wm.
Bryant, Gridley James Fox, 1816-1899.
Buttre, John Chester, 1821-1893.
Calvert Lithographing Co. (Detroit, Mich.)
Cameron, John, approximately 1828-
Carusi, Samuel.
Casilear, John William, 1811-1893.
Childs & Inman.
Condit, W. J.
Crosby, Charles H., 1819-1896.
Currier & Ives.
D.W. Kellogg & Co.
D’Avignon, Francis, 1813-
Drew, Bisbee & Spear.
Dunlap, T.
Earle, J. S.
Eckstein & Porr.
Edward Weber & Co.
Elliot & White.
Ells, Wm. (Printer)
Endicott & Swett.
Endicott, George, 1802-1848.
Endicott, George, 1802-1848.
F. Myers & Co.
Feusier, A.
Frank Leslie’s Publishing House.
Frizzell, S. S. (Samuel S.), 1843-1895.
Geddes, William F.
Grebner, Charles.
H.C. Tunison (Firm)
Haehnlen, Jacob, 1824-
Hageboeck, August.
Hanks, S. W. (Stedman Wright), 1811-1889.
Hart, Chas. (Charles), active 1870-1880.
Hatch & Co.
Hatch Lith. Co.
Henderson, John N.
Hill, Isaac, 1789-1851.
Inman, Henry, 1801-1846.
J.H. Bufford's Lith.
J.H. Bufford's Sons Lith.
J.W. Sheehy & Co.
Kellogg & Comstock.
Kelly, Thos., active 1867-1868.
Kimmel & Forster.
Kramer, Peter, 1823-1907.
Kuchel, Charles Conrad, 1820-
Kurz & Allison.
Kurz, Louis, 1833-1921.
Lehman & Duval Lithrs.
Lewis, Charles E. (Lithographer)
Magnus, Charles.
Mason Publishing Association.
Maurer, Louis, 1832-1932.
Mayer, Merkel & Ottmann.
McLoughlin Bros.
Meichel & Plumly.
Milbourne, C.
Momberger, William, 1829-
Morgan, Matthew Somerville, 1839-1890.
Morris, George Pope, 1802-1864.
Myers, Elijah E., 1832-1909.
N. Currier (Firm)
Nahl, Charles Christian, 1818-1878.
Needham, Dwight.
New England Lithographic Co.
New York Lithographing and Engraving Co.
Newsam, Albert, 1809-1864.
P.J. Hitchins and Comp.
P.S. Duval & Son.
Perry, Geo. T.
Porter, James (Publisher)
Powers, Thomas E., 1808-1876.
Pratt, W. H. (William Henry), 1822-1893.
Robinson, Henry R., -1850.
Rogers, W. C. (Lithographer)
Rosenthal, L. N. (Louis N.)
Rosenthal, Max, 1833-1918.
Sartain, John, 1808-1897.
Savage, Edward, 1761-1817.
Silloway, Thomas W. (Thomas William), 1828-1910.
Sinclair, Thomas S., approximately 1805-1881.
Smith, John, active approximately 1860-1870.
Smith, William, printseller.
Sowle & Shaw.
Stayman & Brother.
Strobridge & Co. Lith.
Stuart, Gilbert, 1755-1828.
Sully, Thomas, 1783-1872.
T. Sinclair's Lith.
Tappan & Bradford.
W.H. Morgan & Son.
Wagner, T. S. (Thomas S.)
Weir, Robert Walter, 1803-1889.
Wiest, D.
Young, Ammi B. (Ammi Burnham), 1799-1874.