Category Archives: Medium

mediums

The Interior of the Lemercier Lithography Firm

At the center of this rare print, talking to a client, is Joseph Lemercier (1803-1887) the director of the celebrated Paris lithography firm of Lemercier & Cie. Behind him on the main floor are at least thirty lithographic presses, while artists and writers work on the balconies along the sides. Against the walls are cabinets filled with hundreds of Bavarian limestones catalogued and held for reprinting.

Lemercier learned the art of lithography working at Formentin & Cie and then in the shop of Édouard Knecht, a pupil of Aloys Senefelder. He obtained his license as a printer-lithographer in 1828 and moved to 2 rue Pierre Sarrazin with a single lithographic press. From there, Lemercier moved to a larger studio on 55, rue du Four, Saint-Germain, and finally 57, rue de Seine, where he founded the printing company Lemercier et Cie in 1837. His nephew Alfred Léon Lemercier joined the firm and succeeded him until 1901.

Charles Villemin (active 1835-1849) after a design by Victor Adam (1801-1866), Interieur de l’Imprimerie lithographique de Lemercier (Interior of the Lemercier Lithographic Printing House), printed by Lemercier & Cie., no date (ca. 1842). Lithograph. Graphic Arts Collection GC 077.

See also: Alfred Lemercier, La lithographie Française de 1796 à 1896: et les arts qui s’y rattachent, manuel pratique s’adressant aux artistes et aux imprimeurs (Paris: C. Lorilleux & cie, [1896?]). SAX Oversize NE2349.25 .L453 1896q

An Early Comic Strip, 1841

Thomas Onwhyn (1814-1886), A Railway Adventure that Mr. Larkin Encountered with the Lady of Captn. Coleraine. Showing the Power of Platonic Love (London: Ackermann & Co, no date [ca . 1841]). Etched concertina with 20 plates. Graphic Arts Collection 2016- in process.

The first railroad line from the London Bridge to Brighton opened in 1841 and Onwhyn’s book was published in conjunction with that event. The artist is best remembered for his pirated illustrations to works by Charles Dickens, under the pseudonym Samuel Weller.

See also:
Thomas Onwhyn, The Child’s Own New Scrap Book of Pictures by Peter Pallette (London: Dean & Son, 11, Ludgate Hill, [between 1857 and 1865]). CTSN Eng 19Q 7013

Thomas Onwhyn, Illustrations to the Pickwick Club edited by “Boz”; by Samuel Weller ([London]: E. Grattan, 1837). Rare Books: Morris L. Parrish Collection (ExParrish) Dickens 758

Thomas Onwhyn, Nothing to Wear (London: Rock & Co, 1858). (Ex) 2014-0549N

Roméo Simonon, part two

The Graphic Arts Collection recently acquired the printing archive of Roméo Antoine Simonon (1888-1954), whose engraving and die-stamping firm R. Simonon & Cie was located at 170 rue Saint Maur, Paris, during the first half of the twentieth century. This second post shows a little more of the collection.

There are several notebooks and files of the trade cards, logos, monograms, and stationery designs created at Simonon & Cie. At first glance, clients included hotels, cosmetics, restaurants, and professionals from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and South America.

Simonon also made original drawings for illustration, advertising, posters, and other decorative arts projects. Large and small designs in pen and ink, charcoal, and pencil can be found, although the projects are not labeled and it will take some time before the designs are identified and documented.

Roméo Simonon, printer

Highlights include both finished work and working proofs, original sketches, printing blocks, and much more. According to the firm’s trade card R. Simonon & Cie could design, engrave, and die stamp cards, letterheads, envelopes, and embossed labels. The artist’s own cigar box of engraver’s tools [above] includes various burins, burnishers, punches, etching needles, and small hammers.

Roméo Simonon was the son of the Belgian engraver Jean Simonon (1847-1916) who began his business at Tilff, near Liege. Jean and his wife, Françoise Veck Simonon, had three children, two girls and Roméo, who was called Meo. At some point the family moved to Paris and the atelier at 170 rue Saint Maur was established.

The Simonon collection includes thousands of samples, proofs and documents from the firm’s decorative arts business. Because so little is known about trade printers, research will be needed to separate Simonon’s own work from the samples he collected made by others. In the archive are examples of embossed labels for perfumes, cigars and confectionery; restaurant menus; greetings cards; visiting cards and business stationery.

This collection demonstrates the methods used by commercial engraving firms. For instance, there are a large number of ‘calcques gelatine,’ with designs scratched on transparencies for transfer to copper or steel plates and blocks. Thanks to the wide market Simonon served for business stationery, we can also get an idea of the Parisian business community at that time and the related trades.

This collection was purchased in the 21st century from the Simonon family by the booksellers Rogers Turner. Some sort of order had been given to it by grouping similar material into envelopes of various sizes. Additional work will be needed to fully understand Simonon’s contribution to the decorative and commercial arts of the period. More will be posted in the coming days.

A group of Simonon’s embossed labels are held in a perfume box with the Parfums Fontanis emblem printed on top. Rene Lalique is credited with the design of that logo for the famous decorative arts exhibition in Paris in 1925 but it is possible Simonon’s firm produced the labels. The Gal-Madrid label above was also for an art deco perfume company in the 1920s.

Students of American History: Can you identify these prominent Americans?

number 1
number 1 and 2
The Graphic Arts Collection recently acquired an album of twenty rare American Antebellum portraits. Only a handful of the sitters have been identified, such as Samuel Houston, the Texas politician. Can you recognize the others? Please post your replies below or send them to jmellby@princeton.edu.

These photographs were taken in the very early days of photography on paper, in the New York City studio of Johannes De Witt Brinckerhoff (1812-1889) at 505 Broadway (present day Soho). The sitters either lived in New York or traveled there in the late 1850s or early 1860s to have their portraits made specifically by Brinckerhoff. They had the time and money to do so, so these would have been prominent figures in social and business circles.

Although the purpose of this album is uncertain, extra prints of these sitters may have been kept for a sample book to promote the photographer. According to William Welling’s Photography in America (SAPH TR23 .W44 1987) Brinckerhoff “was among the first to exhibit along with his daguerreotypes, proofs of photographs on paper made from collodion negatives, which led to his being employed in giving instructions to many daguerreotypists, who were flocking to [New York City] for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge of the new art.”

number 3 and 4

New York Tribune January 4, 1889

Johannes De Witt Brinckerhoff was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey on April 15, 1812 to Jacob Brinckerhoff and Mary G Smith. He married Caroline Augusta Saville and had one son, James Saville Brinckerhoff. Johannes passed away on January 2, 1889 in New York City.
number 5 and 6
number 7
number 8
number 9 and 10

number 4
number 11 and 12
number 19
number 13 and 14
number 15 and 16
number 2
number 17 and 18
number 18
number 19 and 20
Johannes De Witt Brinckerhoff (1812-1889), Brinckerhoff’s Heliographic Likenesses, Developed in Colors from Nature, at the St. Nicholas Gallery… New York [title from label on front pastedown] ([New York City: Brinckerhoff, ca. 1856]). 20 mounted salted paper prints. Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2016- in process

Preserving the Fall of Babylon

At something over seven feet long, this nineteenth-century circus poster is too big to fit in any of our flat files. Note how it falls over the side of our largest unit.

For years, this beautiful print had been folded and crushed into small drawers along with several hundred other circus posters and broadsides. Today, it came back from our conservation lab cleaned, flattened, and rehoused.

Thanks to Ted Stanley, Special Collections Paper Conservator in our Preservation Office, we are nearing the end of an almost year-long project to repair and restore the fragile posters and broadsides in our Barnum and Bailey Circus collection.

The artist of this work is not well known today. A resident of Ohio for his entire life, John Rettig (1855-1932) is known for his murals in the Cincinnati Masonic Temple, for the set decoration he painted in Ohio theaters, and for his poster designs. In 1886, Rettig was commissioned to paint the panoramic scenery for a spectacle entitled The Fall of Babylon, which would take the place of the annual procession of the Order of Cincinnatus.

With seating for 8,000, the spectacle was the largest of its kind in Ohio. Each year following, a different theme was added to the pageant, including the Fall of Rome, the Fall of the Aztec Empire, and many more. According to the Biographical Dictionary of Panoramists (http://www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/uploads/uploads/biographical_dictionary_of_panoramists2.pdf)

The Fall of Babylon was sold and exhibited at St George Park on Staten Island, New York (today a parking lot) in 1887. For this Imre Kiralfy’s Grand Spectacular Company provided over 1,000 ballet dancers.” Kiralfy moved the performance to many other large American cities and eventually sold it to the joint firm of P.T. Barnum and J.A. Bailey.

As with other posters designed by Rettig, this one was chromolithographed and produced in large numbers. Since most were pasted to walls and billboards, few have survived. There is no date or location on the poster so that it could be used wherever the show was performed. Our collection holds over two dozen posters and streamers for The Fall of Babylon in its many variations.
John Rettig, The Fall of Babylon. Designed and painted by John Rettig (Cincinnati: Barnum and Bailey, ca. 1895). Chromolithograph. Graphic Arts Collection

Ahí Va El Golpe (There Goes the Punch)

Ahí Va El Golpe (Mexico, 1955-1956). 20 issues: numbers 5-9,11-21,23-26. Letterpress and lithographs. Graphic Arts Collection GAX in process

Under the direction of Alberto Beltrán Garcia (1923-2002), this Mexican satirical magazine flourished for only two years. Beltrán was an active member of the Taller de Gráfica Popular (The People’s Print Workshop or TGP, see: http://pudl.princeton.edu/collections/pudl0012) then later, worked as deputy director for graphics for the newspaper El Día. On his own time, he drew, printed, and self-published several journals including Ahí Va El Golpe (There Goes the Punch) and El Coyote Emplumado (The Feathered Coyote).

We are fortunate to have acquired 20 rare issues of the first, ephemeral publication from the 1950s. Each issue has only four to six pages, primarily caricatures. Fellow TGP member Leopoldo Méndez contributed several illustrations.

Full Disclosure

As he tosses books into the flames, the Prince of Wales says, “Echod this is a fine Stroke, my observations on the Family & Letters, all burned, John Bull will still be left in the Dark, & he must pay for it at last.” The Duke of Portland (seen here) replies, “And the Duchess will think me as Chaste as Joseph—So much for my Darling.”

Isaac and George Cruikshank, Burning the Memoirs, April 24, 1809. Etching with hand coloring. Graphic Arts Collection GC022 Cruikshank

Beginning in 1803, actress Mary Anne Clarke (1776-1852) became the mistress of Frederick Augustus, Prince, Duke of York and Albany (1763-1827), the second son of King George III. Although he provided a mansion and generous allowance, she wanted more.

Clarke used her influence with Frederick (who was Commander-in-Chief of the British Army) to obtain promotions for anyone who paid her price. In January 1809, the scheme was made public and by March, Frederick was forced to resign.

Isaac Cruikshank and his 16-year-old son George worked together to caricature Mary Anne and Frederick, publishing their print on April 24, 1809. Thomas Rowlandson beat them by a few days, with two caricatures: Burning the Books, on April 21, and A Piece Offering!! on April 22. The Graphic Arts Collection holds at least 32 prints on the controversy.

Clarke, seen at the far right, was paid a large sum to keep her diaries secret but in the end, could not keep quiet.

This scandalous case raised a cloud of pamphlets, some of which are very amusing, and most of them full of falsehoods; but the most curious of all was Mrs. Clarke’s own book, ‘The Rival Princes,’ in which she freely discussed the attitude towards each other of the Dukes of York and Kent, and attacked the leaders of the party who had brought on the investigation, especially Wardle, M.P. for Salisbury, and Lord Folkestone. This work was answered by two of much weaker character, The Rival Dukes, or Who is the Dupe? and The Rival Queens, or What is the Reason? by P. L. McCallum, a spy upon Mrs. Clarke, who prided himself on being the real author of the investigation. – Henry Morse Stephens for the Dictionary of National Biography

See also: A Letter to Mrs. Clarke: on her Late Connection with the Duke of York, and the charges preferred against His Royal Highness by G. L. Wardle, Esq. by a Friend to Church and State (London: Printed for and published by J. Bell …, 1809). Rare Books 14463.999 v.27

Mary Anne Clarke (1776-1852), The Rival Princes ; or, A Faithful Narrative of Facts, relating to Mrs. M.A. Clarke’s political acquaintance with Colonel Wardle, Major Dodd, &c. &c. &c., who were concerned in the charges against the Duke of York (London: printed for the author, and published by C. Chapple, 1810). Firestone 14463.361.25

The Ten Birth Tales and the Legend of Phra Malai

The Graphic Arts Collection is fortunate to have acquired a mid-nineteenth century illustrated folding Funeral Book/Book of Merit containing a collection of Buddhist texts in Pali and Thai languages, in Khmer (Cambodian) script. Executed in watercolor, gilt, and ink, the stories include the legend of Phra Mali and the Ten Birth Tales. Although it is not dated, this wonderful volume is likely from Central Thailand between 1850 and 1900.

This large folding leporello of heavy paper (probably made from mulberry bark) is comprised of 48 leaves penned in a single neat hand in Khmer script and completed on both recto and verso. The work includes 17 paintings: 8 pairs of vibrant watercolors, several embellished with gilt, and one full double-page panel depicting scenes in Hell.

The British Library online notes: “The production of illustrated folding books ranks as one of Thailand’s greatest cultural achievements. They were produced for different purposes in Buddhist monasteries and at the royal and local courts, as well. First of all, such books served as teaching material and handbooks for Buddhist monks and novices. Classical Buddhist literature, prayers (Sutras) and moral teachings were also read to the lay people during religious ceremonies. The production of folding books-–and even sponsoring their production–was regarded as a great act of merit making. Therefore, folding books quite often are a kind of “Festschrift” in honour of a deceased person.”

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/remarkmanu/thai/index.html

Thanks to the assistance of Deborah Cotham and Dr Jana Igunma at the British library, we believe that the present example is one such funeral book, most probably completed by one scribe in Khmer script, though the language of the text is a mixture of Pali and Thai. I quote their notes in full:

The first part of the manuscript refers to the ten qualities of the Buddha, which are usually illustrated by the Buddha’s last Ten Birth Tales (Thai thotsachat). This section would be written in Pali, the language of the Buddhist canon. Funeral books were often commissioned by family members in order to make merit on behalf of the deceased person and to ensure that their family would not end up in hell, but be reborn in one of the Buddhist heavens. Thus the manuscript also includes the legend of Phra Malai, the famous Buddhist Saint, who traveled to the Buddhist heavens and hells.

During his visits to hell (naraka), Phra Malai was said to bestow mercy on the creatures suffering there, and who implore him to warn their relatives on earth of the horrors of hell and how they can escape it through making merit on behalf of the deceased, meditation and by following Buddhist precepts. Indeed, one of the most striking of the illustrations found in the present example, is the double-page depiction of the horrors of hell. Most of the text is in black ink on thick paper, most probably made from the bark of the khoi tree (streblus asper).

The first part in particular, has been accurately and quite beautifully penned and with great care taken, suggesting the work of a skilled scribe. It is impossible to say whether he also illustrated the work, although academics believe that they were more often the work of a different artist. A number of the vibrant illustrations have been embellished with in gilt, which further added value and prestige to such manuscripts, and a way of earning further merit on behalf of the deceased. In this instance, some of the images appear to have been influenced by Western painting techniques, suggesting that the painter may have been a student experimenting with new styles and techniques.

The legend of Phra Malai, a Buddhist monk of the Theravada tradition said to have attained supernatural powers through his accumulated merit and meditation, is the main text in a nineteenth-century Thai folding books (samut khoi). He figures prominently in Thai art, religious treatises, and rituals associated with the afterlife, and the story is one of the most popular subjects of nineteenth-century illustrated Thai manuscripts.

Thanks to Martin Heijdra, Ph. D. 何義壯, Director, East Asian Library, for his help with this acquisition.

For further information see Henry Ginsburg, Thai Art and Culture. Historic manuscripts from Western Collections (London: British Library, 2000).

Princess Louise Scottish Hospital for Limbless Sailors & Soldiers

James Craig Annan, John Reid, George Eyre-Todd, and William Guy, The Princess Louise Scottish Hospital for Limbless Sailors & Soldiers at Erskine House (Glasgow: Printed for Private Circulation [by] James MacLehose and Sons … 1917). 38 photogravures by Annan. Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2016- in process

While Thomas Annan is remembered for documenting the slums of Glasgow in the mid-nineteenth century, his son James Craig Annan also used his camera to record daily life and social reforms in Scotland well into the twentieth century.

The Erskine mansion and its gardens above the Clyde River were purchased by John Reid on behalf of the Scottish people and opened as a rehabilitation hospital on June 6, 1917. This sumptuous work, printed on the occasion of the formal opening, documents the mansion and its various workshops devoted to limb making, wood carving, and basket making.

James Craig Annan (1864–1946), is not mentioned anywhere in the book except in Reid’s acknowledgements, seen here. Annan learned to make photogravures in Vienna, where he traveled with his father in 1883. Together, they bought the rights for Great Britain and Ireland, and practiced the craft in the family’s photography studio, which continues to flourish in Glasgow.

Erskine is still the charity that looks after injured servicemen in Scotland but now there is a new hospital in the grounds of the old one. To learn more about the hospital, see: https://www.erskine.org.uk/

To stay in the old mansion, now a hotel, see: http://www.clydewaterfront.com/clyde-heritage/erskine/erskine-house

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