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Jay T. Last Collection of Science Prints and Ephemera: Finding
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priJLC_SCI
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Title: Jay T. Last Collection of Science Prints and Ephemera
Dates (inclusive): 1840-approximately 1921
Bulk dates: 1880-1900
Collection Number: priJLC_SCI
Collector:
Last, Jay T.
Extent:
approximately 40 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 Science Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 40 printed items related to science and natural
history in the United States from 1840 to approximately 1921,
with the bulk of the content dating from 1880 to 1900. Most items are lithographs, but engravings and woodcuts are also included.
The collection deals with products, services, activities, and imagery relating to the
pursuit of knowledge by observation and/or experimentation in the fields of physical science: astronomy, chemistry, earth
science, ecology, oceanography, and physics; life science: biology, botany, and zoology; and
pseudoscience: astrology, alchemy, occult beliefs, and phrenology. Scientific illustrations, equipment, lectures, and expeditions
of discovery
can be found here.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on March 13, 2018.
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 Science 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 Science 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.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Jay T. Last Collection of Science Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 40 printed items related to science and natural
history in the United States from 1840 to approximately 1921,
with the bulk of the content dating from 1880 to 1900. Most items are lithographs, but engravings and woodcuts are also included.
The collection deals with products, services, activities, and imagery relating to the
pursuit of knowledge by observation and/or experimentation in the fields of physical science: astronomy, chemistry, earth
science, ecology, oceanography, and physics; life science: biology, botany, and zoology; and
pseudoscience: astrology, alchemy, occult beliefs, and phrenology. Scientific illustrations, equipment, lectures, and expeditions
of discovery
can be found here. As graphic materials, the collection highlights developing techniques and trends in printmaking while documenting
the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers
involved in the creative process.
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 26 large-size items comprised
mainly of astronomy and natural history prints. Small-size items number approximately 15 and contain a variety
of materials, including trade cards, leaflets, documentary prints, and printed billheads and letterheads (with manuscript
text). Notable items include a complete set of 15 astronomical drawing prints by E. L. Trouvelot published by Charles
Scribner’s Sons in 1882 (Series II).
Alternative Form of Materials Available
Visit the
Huntington Digital Library: Jay T. Last Collection
to view digitized items from this collection.
Related materials in the Huntington Library
- Huntington Library Californiana Ephemera: Medicine, Science, Pseudo-science, Drugs
- Jay T. Last Collection of Horticulture Prints and Ephemera
- Jay T. Last Collection of Medicine Prints and Ephemera
- Los Angeles County Medical Association Collection
The collection is arranged in the following two series:
- Series I. Science Prints and Ephemera (small size)
- Series II. Science Prints and Ephemera (large size)
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Billheads.
Business cards.
Chromolithographs.
Ephemera.
Ephemera -- United States -- 19th
century.
Ephemera -- United States -- 20th
century.
Engravings.
Handbills.
Intaglio prints.
Leaflets (printed works).
Letterheads.
Lithographs.
Price lists.
Printed ephemera.
Promotional materials.
Relief prints.
Stationery.
Trade cards.
Animals -- Pictorial works.
Astronomy -- Pictorial works.
Auroras -- Pictorial works.
Birds -- Pictorial works.
Comets -- Pictorial works.
Eclipses -- Pictorial works.
Galaxies -- Pictorial works.
Meteors -- Pictorial works.
Microscopy -- Pictorial works.
Moon -- Pictorial works.
Nebulae -- Pictorial works.
Observatories -- Pictorial works.
Phrenology -- Pictorial works.
Planets -- Pictorial works.
Stars -- Pictorial works.
Sun -- 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.
Armstrong & Co. (Boston, Mass.)
Audubon, John James, 1785-1851
Bien, Julius, 1826-1909
Bowen, John T., approximately 1801-1856?
Charles Scribner’s Sons
Compton, Richard J.
Fowler, L. N. (Lorenzo Niles), 1811-1896
J.H. Bufford & Co.
Johnston, David Claypoole, 1799-1865
Kurz & Allison
Munn & Co. (New York, N.Y.)
Trouvelot, E. L.