Overview of the Collection
Administrative Information
Access
Scope and Content
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Overview of the Collection
Title: Jay T. Last Collection of Religion Prints and Ephemera
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1828-approximately 1921
Bulk dates: 1850-1900
Collection Number: priJLC_REL
Collector:
Last, Jay T.
Extent:
approximately 60 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 Religion Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 60 printed items related to beliefs and
practices usually involving devotional and ritual observances concerning God,
creation of the universe, spirituality, and the moral conduct of human affairs. The materials were made and used in the United
States from approximately 1828 to 1921, with the bulk of the content
dating from 1850 to 1900. Certificates pertaining to biblical societies and other theological organizations are represented,
as are items relating to baptism and other formal or ceremonial rites and initiations in religious use.
Images of sacred scenes, verses, and parables; portraits of saints or spiritual leaders; and views of houses of worship are
also found here. Most items are lithographs, but engravings and woodcuts are also included.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on February 5, 2018.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
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
[Item title, Call number]. Jay T. Last Collection of Religion Prints and Ephemera, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
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 Religion prints and ephemera were transferred to the Library between 2010 and 2012.
Background
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.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
Scope and Content
The Jay T. Last Collection of Religion Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 60 printed items related to beliefs and
practices usually involving devotional and ritual observances concerning God, creation of the universe,
spirituality, and the moral conduct of human affairs. The materials were made and used in the United States from approximately
1828 to 1921, with the bulk of the content
dating from 1850 to 1900. Certificates pertaining to biblical societies and other theological organizations are represented,
as are items relating to baptism and other formal or ceremonial religious rites and initiations.
Images of sacred scenes, verses, and parables; portraits of saints or spiritual leaders; and views of houses of worship are
also found here.
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 29 large-size items comprised
mainly of baptismal certificates and lithographs of Christian scenes and imagery. Especially noteworthy are eight woodcut
and hand-colored Pennsylvania-German certificates of birth and baptism dating from 1837-1853 (priJLC_002917-002923 and priJLC_004970),
mostly printed and/or handwritten in German. They relate to illuminated Fraktur drawings popular in
Pennsylvania-German culture during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Small-size items number approximately 30 and contain
a variety
of materials, including tickets, leaflets, certificates, and printed letterheads (with manuscript text).
The collection supports various fields of research related to religion and Christianity in the United States in the 19th and
early 20th centuries. This includes regional baptism records, places and patterns of worship, and Christian iconography.
The images also provide a rich visual resource for studying American interpretations of Bible stories and figures common during
this period.
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.
Alternative Form of Materials Available
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Includes greeting cards and other ephemera related to religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following two series:
- Series I. Religion Prints and Ephemera (small size)
- Series II. Religion Prints and Ephemera (large size)
Indexing Terms
Genres
Certificates.
Chromolithographs.
Ephemera.
Ephemera -- United States -- 19th century.
Ephemera -- United States -- 20th century.
Engravings.
Intaglio prints.
Leaflets (printed works)
Lithographs.
Printed ephemera.
Prints.
Relief prints.
Views.
Subjects
Angels -- Pictorial works.
Animals -- Pictorial works.
Apostles -- Pictorial works.
Babies -- Pictorial works.
Baptism -- Pictorial works.
Baptism.
Bible stories -- Pictorial works.
Birds -- Pictorial works.
Bishops -- Pictorial works.
Camp meetings -- Pictorial works.
Cherubs (Art)
Children -- Pictorial works.
Church architecture -- Pictorial works.
Church buildings -- Pictorial works.
Clergy -- Portraits.
College campuses -- Pictorial works.
Convents -- Pictorial works.
Couples -- Pictorial works.
Crosses -- Pictorial works.
Deathbeds -- Pictorial works.
Devil -- Pictorial works.
Flowers -- Pictorial works.
Hell -- Pictorial works.
Jesus Christ -- Pictorial works.
Last Supper -- Pictorial works.
Luther, Martin, 1483-1546 -- Pictorial works.
Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint -- Pictorial works.
Men -- Pictorial works.
Missionaries -- Pictorial works.
Mothers -- Pictorial works.
Noah’s ark -- Pictorial works.
Prayer -- Pictorial works.
Prayer.
Priests -- Pictorial works.
Reading -- Pictorial works.
Reformation.
Saints -- Pictorial works.
Theological seminaries -- 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.
Anderson, Walter W.
Aspinwall, Horatio G.
Bannan, Benjamin, 1807-1875
Calvert Lithographing Co. (Detroit, Mich.)
Cosack & Co.
Crosby, Charles H., 1819-1896
Haehnlen, Jacob, 1824-
Hanford, Albert, 1807-1883
Hawkins, Ezekiel C.
Hop Pill Mf'g Co.
J. Ottman Lithographic Company
King, W. A. (Artist)
Longacre & Co.
Queen & Co. (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Reed, Edwin O., approximately 1824-
Samuel Bowles and Company
Sarony, Major & Knapp Lith.
Shields, C. (Printer)
Stevens, H. R.
Theo. Leonhardt & Son
Thomas & Eno
Thoubboron, J.
Tobin, M. F.
William H. Forbes & Company