Last (Jay T.) Collection of Military Prints and Ephemera, 1785-1966, bulk 1860-1900

Summary

Title:

Jay T. Last collection of military prints and ephemera

Dates:

1785-1966, bulk 1860-1900

Creators:

Last, Jay T.

Abstract:

The Jay T. Last collection of military prints and ephemera contains approximately 4,900 printed items from 1785 to 1966, with the majority of material dating from 1860 to 1900. The collection consists of prints depicting primarily American battle scenes, forts, camps, prisons, and military officers; advertising ephemera with military-related images, more than 3,000 Civil War-era patriotic envelopes, and over 100 Civil War-era song sheets.

Extent:

59.78 Linear Feet (8 flat-file drawers, 32 binders, and 1 flat-box)

Language:

Materials are in English.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Jay T. Last collection of military prints and ephemera, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The Jay T. Last collection of military prints and ephemera contains approximately 4,900 printed items from 1785 to 1966, with the majority of material dating from 1860 to 1900. The collection consists of prints depicting primarily American battle scenes, forts, camps, prisons, and military officers; advertising ephemera with military-related images, more than 3,000 Civil War-era patriotic envelopes, and over 100 Civil War-era song sheets.

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 collection has nearly 400 large-size items comprised mainly of lithographic and engraved prints including printed illustrations of battlefields, certificates and contracts, and portraits of major military and political figures during wartime. Small-size items in the collection number almost 4,500 items and are comprised mainly of patriotic envelopes (also known as patriotic covers) from the American Civil War. Other stationery such as postcards and printed billheads and letterheads (with and without manuscript text) are found in this series, as well as advertising ephemera with military-related illustrations.

The collection mainly includes prints and ephemera related to the American Civil War, both contemporaneous and commemorative in nature. The American Revolutionary War, the Mexican-American War, and the Spanish-American War are also represented. The images are primarily documentary or patriotic in nature and provide information about the American military, as well as the evolution of advertising strategies employed by businesses during periods of conflict in the 19th and early 20th centuries. As graphic materials, the items offer evidence of printmaking techniques and trends, as well as information about the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers involved in the creative process.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Jay T. Last, 2005.

Custodial history:

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 military prints and ephemera materials were transferred to the Library between 2010 and 2013.

Processing information:

Processed by Charla DelaCuadra in 2016.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in the following series and subseries:

• Series 1. Military prints and ephemera (small size), approximately 1785-1900, bulk 1861-1865
• Subseries A. American Civil War (small size), approximately 1861-1900
• Subseries B. Other military (small size), approximately 1785-1900
• Series 2. Military prints and ephemera (large size), approximately 1832-1966, bulk 1860-1900
• Subseries A. American Civil War (large size), 1861-1912
• Subseries B. Other military (large size), 1832-1966

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)

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Related material:

1. Envelopes Issued During the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865 collected by John P. Nicholson,(call #95458)
2. Broadside Songs and Ballads of the Rebellion 1861-1865 collected by John P. Nicholson,(call #100053)

Both of the above are part of the John Page Nicholson Papers and Civil War Collection, a large group of manuscripts, rare books, and prints and ephemera related to the American Civil War.

The Huntington Library Historical Prints Collection contains two related items (priHHC_MIL_0000004; priHHC_MIL_0000005) that are listed in the "Related Materials" section at the beginning of Series II, Subseries A in this finding aid.

Alternative form available:

Selected items from this collection have been digitized. Digital reproductions are available in the Huntington Digital Library

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Admirals -- United States -- Pictorial works
African American men -- Pictorial works
African Americans -- Pictorial works
Andersonville Prison -- Pictorial works
Artillery -- Pictorial works
Battlefields -- Pictorial works
Battles -- Pictorial works
Bombardment -- Pictorial works
Cannons -- Pictorial works
Cavalry -- Pictorial works
Columbia (Symbolic character) -- Pictorial works
Correctional institutions -- Pictorial works
Eagles -- Pictorial works
Families -- Pictorial works
Flags -- Pictorial works
Fortification -- Pictorial works
Generals -- Confederate States of America -- Pictorial works
Generals -- Pictorial works
Generals -- United States -- Pictorial works
Horses -- Pictorial works
Hospitals -- Pictorial works
Indians of North America -- Pictorial works
Maps -- Pictorial works
Mexican War, 1846-1848 -- Pictorial works
Military camps -- Pictorial works
Military hospitals -- Pictorial works
Military prisons -- Pictorial works
Military service, Voluntary.
Monuments -- Pictorial works
Naval battles -- Pictorial works
Parades -- Pictorial works
Politicians -- Pictorial works
Presidents -- Confederate States of America -- Pictorial works
Presidents -- United States -- Pictorial works
Prisoners of war -- United States
Sailors -- Pictorial works
Ships -- Pictorial works
Soldiers -- Pictorial works
Spanish-American War, 1898 -- Pictorial works
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Maps.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Military life -- Pictorial works
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Pictorial works
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Registers.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Pictorial works
United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Pictorial works
Billheads
Business cards
Certificates
Chromolithographs.
Contracts
Ephemera.
Ephemera -- United States -- 19th century
Ephemera -- United States -- 20th century
Engravings.
Handbills
Intaglio prints
Leaflets (printed works)
Letterheads
Lithographs.
Maps
Newspapers
Patriotic envelopes
Pictorial envelopes
Political cartoons
Portrait prints
Postcards
Printed ephemera
Promotional materials.
Registers
Relief prints.
Stationery
Tickets
Trade cards
Views

Names:

Confederate States of America. Army -- Prisons -- Pictorial works.
United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) -- Pictorial works.
A. Brett & Co.
A. Brown & Co.
A. Hoen & Co.
American Lithographic Co.
B.B. Russell & Co.
Baker & Godwin.
Bingham & Dodd.
Boston Stereotype Foundry.
Breuker & Kessler Co.
Britton & Rey.
Bross & Co.
Burk & McFetridge.
Caldwell & Co. (New York, N.Y.)
Calhoun Printing Company.
Calvert Lithographing Co. (Detroit, Mich.)
Clay, Cosack & Co.
Craig, Finley & Co.
Crow, Thomas & Eno.
Currier & Ives
Daughaday & Becker.
E. Sachse & Co.
E. W. Smith & Co.
E.B. & E.C. Kellogg (Firm)
Easel Monument Association
Edward Weber & Co.
Ehrgott & Forbriger.
Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co.
Endicott & Co. (New York, N.Y.)
F. A. Wenderoth & Co.
Feusier & Turberg.
G. & W. Endicott (Firm)
Geo. S. Harris & Son.
Geological Survey (U.S.)
Gibson & Co. (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Goff & Bro.
Goupil & Cie.
H.H. Lloyd & Co.
H.S. Crocker & Co.
Harper & Brothers.
Haskell & Allen.
Hayes Lithographing Co.
Herline & Hensel.
Hilton & Co. (New York, N.Y.)
Historical Printing Society.
J.H. Bufford & Co.
J.H. Bufford's Lith.
J.H. Bufford's Sons Lith.
Jas. B. Rodgers Co.
Julius Bien & Co.
Keppler & Schwarzmann.
Keystone Publishing Co.
Kimmel & Forster.
King & Baird.
Kurz & Allison.
L. Johnson & Co.
L.H. Bradford & Co.
Lewis & Goodwin.
Lit. Armanino.
Matson & Co.
Mayer & Stetfield.
Mayer, Merkel & Ottmann.
Middleton, Strobridge & Co.
Milwaukee Lith. & Engr. Co.
Monumental Bronze Co.
Muller, Luchsinger & Co.
N. Currier (Firm)
National Union Executive Committee (U.S.)
P.S. Duval & Co.
P.S. Duval & Son.
Pettibone Bros. Mfg. Co.
Recorder Co.
Risso Lith.
Sarony & Co.
Sarony & Major.
Sarony, Major & Knapp Lith.
Schroeder & Sanders.
Strobridge Lithographing Company.
T. Sinclair's Lith.
Theo. Leonhardt & Son.
Thomas & Eno.
Truth Co.
United States Military Register Co.
W. Endicott & Co.
W. Schuchman Lith.
Wagner & M'Guigan.
Werner Company.
Wynkoop, Hallenbeck & Thomas.
Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889 -- Pictorial works.
Farragut, David Glasgow, 1801-1870 -- Pictorial works.
Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885 -- Pictorial works.
Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845 -- Pictorial works.
Jackson, Stonewall, 1824-1863 -- Pictorial works.
Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870 -- Pictorial works.
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Pictorial works.
McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885 -- Pictorial works.
Scott, Winfield, 1786-1866 -- Pictorial works.
Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891 -- Pictorial works.
Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850 -- Pictorial works.
Washington, George, 1732-1799 -- Pictorial works.
Abbott, Nathan B., b. 1833
Bachelder, John B. (John Badger), 1825-1894
Bachmann, John, active 1849-1885
Baillie, James S., fl. 1838-1855
Baker, Joseph E., approximately 1837-1914
Baum, C., approximately 1824-
Becker, O. (Otto F.)
Beever, W. A.
Benecke, Theodore.
Bien, Julius, 1826-1909
Bill, Henry, 1824-1891
Blatz, Henry.
Boell, William.
Boetticher, Otto, b. ca. 1816
Bohn, Casimir.
Brady, Mathew B., approximately 1823-1896
Brown, Barzilai S.
Brown, Eliphalet M., 1816-1886
Bufford, John Henry, 1810-1870
Chapin, John Reuben, 1823-1894
Childs, J. (John)
Clarke, Wm. M. (Lithographer)
Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857
Combe (Artist)
Combe, Voltaire, 1837-1916
Dainty, John (Publisher)
Davis, W. W. H. (William Watts Hart), 1820-1910
Day, Ward S.
De La Matyr, E. B.
Donovan, John (Artist)
Doolittle, H. S.
Eaton, Amos Beebe, 1806-1877
Endicott, George, 1802-1848
Eno, Henry C.
Fabronius, Dominique C.
Fenderich, Charles.
Feusier, A.
Fisher, Robert J., Capt.
Fox, Stanley.
Fritsch, F. J. (Franz J.)
Fuchs, F.
Garland, Francis.
Gay, James D.
Gibson, John (Lithographer)
Gurney, Jeremiah, 1812-1895
Heine, Wilhelm, 1827-1885
Hoffy, Alfred M., approximately 1790-
Holland, R.
Hopps, Harry R.
Joel, Joseph A., -1906
Johnson, Chauncey A.
Jones, T. R. (Thomas R.)
Kelly, Thos., active 1867-1868
Kemper, H. W.
Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894
King, C. Frank.
Knickerbocker, C.
Kramer, Peter, 1823-1907
Kugler, L.
Lipman, L. (Louis)
Lyons, W.
Magee, John L.
Magnus, Charles, 1850-1900
Marshall, R. B. (Robert Bradford), 1867-1949
Mathews, Alfred Edward, 1831-1874
McCallum, Andrew, 1821-1902
McCallum, J.
McElroy (Artist)
McLean, A. (Alexander), approximately 1823-
McRae, John, 1793-1880 (engraver)
Milmore, Martin, 1844-1883
Needham, Dwight.
Newell, J. P., active 1858-1866
Newman, F.
Noble, William Pinkney, 1830-1879
Ordway, Alfred, 1821-1897
Palmer, F. (Fanny), 1812-1876
Parsons, Charles, 1821-1910
Pendleton, John B., 1798-1866
Perry, George T.
Phelps, Humphrey, active 19th century.
Poinsett, A.
Porter, Geo. W.
Pringle, J.
Pringle, James Fulton.
Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 1821-1886
Reed, Charles Wellington, 1841-1926
Robinson, Henry R., -1850
Roesler, J. Nep., approximately 1826-
Rosenthal, L. N. (Louis N.)
Rosenthal, Max, 1833-1918
Sartain, Samuel, 1830-1906
Sartain, William, 1843-1924
Schabelitz, C. (Charles)
Schell, Francis H., 1834-1909
Schell, Frederic B.
Schrader, Theodore, 1812-1897
Schroeder, H. (Henry)
Schussele, Christian, 1826?-1879
Schutz, J.
Schwamb, Chas. A.
Sergeant, Robert W.
Smith, A. C., active 1831-1856
Smith, B. F. (Benjamin F.), 1830-1927
Smith, William, printseller.
Soderholtz, E. E. (Eric Ellis)
Stetfield, C. (Charles)
Strong, Thomas W.
Swinton, Frederick J.
Traubel, M. H. (Morris H.), 1820-1897
Trochsler, A. (Albert)
Walke, Henry, 1808-1896
Walter, C. (Artist)
Weale, John, 1791-1862
Welcker, F.
Whiting, Daniel Powers, 1808-1892
Willard, Archibald M., 1836-1918
Williams, Job T. (publisher)
Woods, Oliver Evans.
Yeager, Joseph, approximately 1792-1859

Places:

Confederate States of America.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Charla DelaCuadra

Date Encoded:

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-02-18 14:40:16 -0800 .

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]. Jay T. Last collection of military prints and ephemera, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:

Huntington Library, Prints and Ephemera Collections

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, CA 91108, US

Contact:

(626) 405-2191

reference@huntington.org

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