Henry Martin, Class of 1948, Sneaking in to say ‘thanks’…, no date. Pen and marker drawing. GC029 Henry Martin Cartoon Collection. GA 2011.00353. Gift of David K. Reeves, Class of 1948.

The wonderful American artist Henry Martin and David Reeves (1926-2012) were both members of Princeton University’s class of 1948. Their friendship continued long after, both living in or close to Princeton most of their lives. Lucky for David, he would get occasional cards and notes from his friend with amazing illustrations. Lucky for graphic arts, Reeves generously donated his collection of Martin’s drawings to the graphic arts collection in 2011.

Henry Martin, Class of 1948, Sorry you won’t be having Thankgiving…, 2009. Pen and watercolor drawing. GC029 Henry Martin Cartoon Collection. GA 2011.00350. Gift of David K. Reeves, Class of 1948.

The painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) also liked to write personal notes to friends. This card is addressed to Alfred Pach but it is unclear whether that refers to the brother or the nephew of collector Walter Pach (1883-1958).

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), To Alfred Pach, no date. Pen and watercolor. Graphic Arts Collection GA 2006.02477

When World War I ended, collector Léonce Rosenberg (1879-1947) opened the Galerie de L’Effort Moderne at 19, rue de la Baume, where he exhibited his personal collection of paintings by Picasso, Léger, Braque, and other Cubist artists. The gallery stayed open for twenty-two years, presenting one-man shows for Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Auguste Herbin, and Juan Gris. From 1924 to 1927, Rosenberg also published the Bulletin de l’effort moderne’ (Éditions de l’effort moderne), featuring articles about contemporary art.

Advertisements for exhibitions at Galerie de l’Effort Moderne were printed with pochoir or stencil color, although the pochoir studio responsible is never credited for that work.  Thanks to collector and bibliophile Charles Rahn Fry, class of 1965, the graphic arts collection is fortunate to hold three of these cubist exhibition announcements.

Léonce Rosenberg, Cubisme et empirisme (Paris: Éditions de “l’effort moderne,” 1921) Marquand Library (SA): N6490 .R73

Bulletin de l’effort modern (Paris: Éditions de l’effort moderne, no 1 (jan. 1924)- no 40 (déc. 1927). Rare Books (Ex) item 6072579

The last reference question to come through at the end of a long week led us to this charming peep show Le Parc de Versailles. Our researcher wanted to know if the fourth panel in this tunnel book had figures and sculpture, like the others, or only a grass divider. This is a serious question because it means the artist wanted to place additional depth and perspective on the furthermost view.

This is not completely correct, the fourth panel is only grass in the center but there are figures and sculptures on either side. Seen from the tiny front window the grass is not visible, adding only perspective to the entire scene.
Side view.
Inside view between the third and fourth panels, looking into the fifth and sixth.
Inside view between the second and third panels. Our researchers writes, “Optique no. 8 will surely be the highlight of someone’s day…” The answer to this is yes.

The Graphic Arts Collection GC048 is a small collection of lithographic sheet music related to and published during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The covers offer insight into the personalities from both the North and the South, along with the emotional dramas that were promoted on and off the battlefields.

Zouaves Battle March was composed in 1861 by William Dressler (1826-1914). The English-born musician was trained at the Cologne Conservatory of Music and played first violinist of the Opera House in Wiesbaden before moving to New York City. Besides his composing, Dressler served as musical editor for the old publishing house of William Hall & Son & J.L Peters.

Here are a few other examples from the collection. Free copies of many civil war scores are available on itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gd/itunes-u/civil-war-sheet-music-collection/id428263114?mt=10

Lester S. Levy, Grace Notes in American History; Popular Sheet Music from 1820-1900 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press [1967]) Mendel Music Library (MUS) ML2811 .L4

In 1830, an anti-slavery poem for children was printed by Edward Cornelius Osborne at his studio on Temple-row and published by the Birmingham firm of Thomas Groom. Only two copies of this 16 page verse survive, held by Yale University and the British Library.

Eighteen years later, Maria Wilds was inspired by the verse to design and stitch this sampler titled, Zante the Negro. The embroidered verse has been abbreviated and might read: “D]rag[ge]d from my native home // [B]y a cruel white man’s hand // [N]o more to see my native home // [N]o more to see my native land.”

Maria Wilds, Zante the Negro, 1848. Needlework on canvas. Graphic Arts Textiles Collection GC 072

Zante, the little Negro:  (addressed to the English child) (Birmingham [England]: Printed for T. Groom, 1830).

Thanks to the generous donation of John S. Williams, the Princeton University Library holds a shotgun (not rifle) once owned by John James Audubon (1785-1851). A recent inquiry about the marking on the gun led Gabriel Swift to photograph and document various elements of the rifle, which stands at 157 x 13.5 x 5.5 cm.

In addition, there is an entry on the shotgun in the 1959 Howard Rice exhibition catalogue, found full-text at: http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/pulc/pulc_v_21_n_1and2.pdf.  Item no. 146 “This is presumably the gun shown in the portrait by John Woodhouse Audubon (previous item). It is a muzzle-loading percussion-cap shotgun, made by Conway, of Manchester, England. An engraved inscription on the barrel reads: John James Audubon, Citizen of the United States. F.L.S.L. [Fellow of the Linnean Society of London].”

Rifle once owned by J.J. Audubon, no date. Gift of John S. Williams. Museum objects collection GA 2012.02563

From 1905 to 1939, the largest theater in the United States was the Hippodrome, built on Sixth Avenue just off Times Square. Designed in the Beaux-Arts style, the auditorium had a seating capacity of 5,200. Its stage was twelve times larger than the Broadway theaters nearby and ticket prices cheap enough for the general public to attend the spectacles, which might include as many as 1,000 performers at a time, or a full-sized circus with elephants and horses.

When the final structure of the Hippodrome was demolished in 2005, Christopher Gray wrote in the New York Times, “The Hippodrome was the creation of Frederic Thompson and Elmer Dundy, who had attained fantastic success with their Luna Park entertainment center in Coney Island. Thompson was only in his 30’s when he conceived Luna Park, a 22-acre assembly of thrilling rides, canals, towers, dance halls and sideshows that opened in 1903 (and that stayed around until the mid-40’s).

In 1904, Thompson began work on an even more ambitious project, the Hippodrome, named for the open-air arenas in ancient Greece and Rome where chariot races were held. The theater was credited to the architect Jay H. Morgan, but he is otherwise known largely for stables and tenements, so it’s reasonable to assume that the physical appearance was mostly Thompson’s work.”

“. . . Giant banded columns flanked the main doorway, which had a keystone formed by a relief sculpture of a huge elephant’s head. The auditorium, 160 by 160 feet, included a promenade consisting of glass cases holding live wild animals. It also had a great water tank, 14 feet deep, within the 200-foot-wide stage. The 1904 permit for the building said its construction cost would be $400,000.

The Hippodrome opened in April 1905 with A Yankee Circus on Mars, an improbable drama-ballet-circus-opera in which the King of Mars buys a bankrupt New England circus. Another first-night offering (the evening lasted about four hours) was a Civil War drama, Andersonville, in which opposing cavalry members fought a battle across a mountain torrent running under a 30-foot bridge. The evening’s cast was reported to have included 280 chorus girls and 480 “soldiers.” Those attending included Frederick Vanderbilt, Harry Payne Whitney and the architect Stanford White.”

These are just a few of the enormous posters included in Princeton’s collections of circus memorabilia.

When the American actor William Conlin (1831-1891) died, the New York Times published an obituary under his stage name William J. Florence. The headline read: Florence passes away; the peaceful death of the distinguished actor. The end came at 8:20 o’clock last night while he was sleeping — the body to be brought to New-York to-day. 

“William J. Florence, the distinguished actor, died at 8:20 this evening in his room at the Continental Hotel, to which he had been confined since last Saturday night. Death came so peacefully that Mrs. Barney Williams and Mrs. Wyard, his sisters-in-law, and Dr. J.S. Donellan, who were by the bedside, did not know he was dead until he had ceased breathing several minutes.” (NYT November 20, 1891)

Benjamin Edward Woolf wrote The Mighty Dollar for Florence and his wife, Malvina Pray. They performed the play over 2,500 times until his death in a Philadelphia hotel. The local chapter of the Actors’ Order of Friendship, a fraternal organization, met two days later and prepared a certificate with the following resolution, “Whereas, it has pleased the Supreme Power before whom we reverently and humbly bow to call from the active scenes of life our beloved brother, fellow artist and co-worker in the Fraternity of Honor, Union and Justice, . . . therefore Resolved, that we in common with all lovers of art and true manhood deeply mourn the loss of our departed brother and sincerely condole with the bereaved wife, the sorrowing family and friends…”

Florence was not only an active member of the Actors’ Order of Friendship, founded in 1846, but also co-founder in 1867 with Walter M. Fleming of another fraternal organization, the Shriners.

Florence dressed for a performance of The Mighty Dollar

http://www.olafureliasson.de/index.html

Sharing Olafur Eliasson’s recently posted GIF