Evans (Henry H.) Collection of Botanical Prints and Ephemera, approximately 1969-1990s

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Summary

Title:
Henry H. Evans collection of botanical prints and ephemera
Dates:
approximately 1969-1990s
Creators:
Evans, Henry Herman, 1918-1990
Abstract:
A collection of botanical prints and ephemera created by artist Henry H. Evans dating from approximately the 1970s to the 1990s. Materials include linocut prints, calendars, catalogs, price lists, order forms, postcards, and other ephemera.
Extent:
11.67 Linear Feet (8 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Henry H. Evans collection of botanical prints and ephemera, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A collection of botanical prints and ephemera created by artist Henry H. Evans, dating from approximately the 1970s to the 1990s. Materials include linocut prints, calendars, catalogs, price lists, order forms, postcards, correspondence, and other ephemera. The collection contains approximately 150 prints, and all are signed, titled, dated, and editioned in pencil by the creator. A complete unbound print of Henry Evans' California Native Wildflowers (1976 to 1984) is included. Also included is a signed copy of Botanical prints: with excerpts from the artist's notebooks (1977).

Botanical subjects depicted in the prints often include: poppies, roses, daffodils, daisies, violets, tulips, pomegranates, irises, bamboo, persimmons, camellias, lilies, and other flowers.

Biographical / historical:

Henry Herman Evans (1918-1990) was a printmaker, publisher, and antiquarian bookseller active in San Francisco, California. In 1949, he established the imprint Peregrine Press in San Francisco, where he printed books, prints, and promotional materials. In 1974, Evans married Marsha Ann Onomiya (1947-). Together, they opened the print shop, Henry Evans Printmaker, in St. Helena, California.

Evans was a self-taught artist who created botanical linocut prints, as well as pamphlets, catalogs, postcards, greeting cards, and other ephemera. Evans drew directly from subjects in nature, often producing life-sized illustrations of native California plants and flowers. He turned his illustrations into linoleum blocks, which his wife, Marsha, printed using an 1852 Washington Hand Press. The blocks were destroyed after every edition was completed.

Henry Evans died in St. Helena, California, in March 1990. In 1993, Marsha Evans closed their gallery spaces in San Francisco, Berkeley, Napa Valley, and St. Helena, but continued to sell Henry's prints and other works online and at local museums.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Ann and Billy Wilkinson, December 2009.

Gift of Patricia K. Montee, January 2010.

Gift of Ann and Billy Wilkinson, December 2010.

Gift of Ann and Billy Wilkinson, July 2011.

Processing information:

Processed by Mari Khasmanyan, April 2026.

Arrangement:

Organized in two series:

Series 1. Business files, correspondence, and ephemera, approximately 1970s-1990s

Series 2. Prints, 1969-1986

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Mari Khasmanyan
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-05-05 14:34:32 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Henry H. Evans collection of botanical prints and ephemera, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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