Category Archives: Medium

mediums

From Jersey to Princeton and Back Again

Congratulations to Mike Sunier, who saw the Richard Willats photography album online and published an article about the 19th-century photographers in Jersey, in the 21st-century Jersey Evening Post.

Click here to see the album yourself: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/k930bx11x

Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands, off the coast of Normandy, France.

For more information on the history of their early photographers, see also: http://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/The_beginnings_of_photography_in_Jersey

Friedrich Wilhelm Kloss’s Sketchbook

The Graphic Arts Collection is pleased to have acquired a rare sketchbook belonging to the architectural draughtsman Friedrich Wilhelm Kloss (1805-1875). The small volume’s 40 foliated leaves hold 78 drawings, mostly city and landscape views but also a few genre scenes, plant studies, costume sketches, and other fascinating details Kloss recorded around 1828.
Kloss spent most of his life in Berlin in the circle of the architect Friedrich August Stüler (1800-1865) who, with royal patronage, transformed Berlin. Kloss specialized in highly finished topographical and architectural watercolor views. Thanks to this sketchbook, we can now chronicle his time in Rome, which he captured in seventeen architectural views including Vesta Temple; view of St. Peter from the Gianicolo; view of St. Peter with Castel san Angelo and Tiber; Porta dell Popolo; bridge over the Tiber; Forum Romanum; Venus Temple; Concordia Temple; Sant’Onofrio; Temple of Antonio; the lake in Villa Borghese gardens; Villa Pamphili; gardens of Villa Medici; courtyard view of a Roman palace; and several unidentified views. He also visited Tivoli, Venice, Florence, and the ruins in Paestum and Portici.

There are also four pages of autographs, where German artist friends living in Rome recorded their names at the end of Kloss’s sketchbook as a sign of friendship. He notes, “Am latten Abend im Künstlerverein hier Roma, als ich den Künstlern Lebewohl sagte, haben dieselben ein Gleiches gethan und zur Erinnerung ihre Namen hier eingetragen” (on the last evening at the German Artists Society in Rome, when I [i.e. Kloss] said farewell, the artists did the same and in memory of our friendship signed their names).

This is a very early document showing that there was a formal association, a Künstlerverein, of German artists in Rome. A total of seventeen German artists residing in Rome, mostly painters, but also the odd sculptor or etcher, signed their names and some also gave the city of their birth. They are listed here in the order they appear in the sketchbook:

August Hopfgarten – Zur Erinnerung an Rome (i.e. ‘in memory of Rome’) [lived in Rome 1827-32]; J[ohann] Bravo [lived from 1827 in Rome]; G. Baumgarten aus Dresden; Friederich Peller aus Weimar [Rome 1826-31]; Dr. Carl Schunterman; Adolph Loehser; Adolph Kaiser aus Weimar [Rome 1828-30]; H[erman] W[ilhelm] Bissen [Rome 1823-35, sculptor, favourite pupil of Thorvaldsen]; August Riedel aus Bayreuth [Rome March 1828-29, and again from 1832]; Kühne aus Eisleben; August Richter aus Dresden [Rome 1826-30, draughtsman]; [Franz] Nadorp [Rome from Jan. 1828, etcher]; A[nton] Draeger aus Trier [lived in Rome since 1821]; Friedrich Mosbrugger aus Konstanz [Rome Dec. 1827-1829]; Bernhard Neher von Biberach [Rome 1827-31]; Eduard Erhad aus Graudenz in Westpreussen [Rome 1826-30]; Rudolf Freytag zur Erinnerung Rom ’28 [Rome 1825-30, again 1840-43, sculptor]; Joseph Anton Koch Rome [Rome 1795-1812, and 1815-1839], Kloss has written above Koch’s name ‘Ausgezeichneter Landschaftsmaler’ (i.e. ‘excellent landscape painter’), while Koch himself, a notorious womaniser, used the opportunity to greet a lady friend, Louise Oesterreich, from afar in the knowledge that Kloss would report his greetings to her in his native Berlin, he helpfully also furnished her address, ‘Louise Oesterreich, Mauerstra[sse] no. 65, eine Treppe hoch, bitte ich höflich zu grüssen’; [August] W[ilhelm] Schirmer [Rome 1827-31].

Friedrich Wilhelm Kloss (1805-1875), Sketchbook of Rome, Tivoli, Florence, Venice, and the ruins of Paestum, ca. 1828. Pencil, pen and wash drawings. Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2016- in process

Changeable Photographic Furniture, A New Want Supplied

At the back of each issue of The Philadelphia Photographer are a few pages of advertising, many with original photographs illustrating the products.

In the issue for December 1867 is this ad from E. & H.T. Anthony & Company spotlighting “Changeable Photographic Furniture.” It reads: “The introduction of the new cabinet card rendered necessary new accessories in the way of furniture to make an attractive picture; and, at the request of some of our customers, we have got out a set of Imitation Furniture of wood, richly ornamented and painted of suitable photographic color, which furnishes eighteen different changes for the low price of eighty dollars cash.

By aid of this set, you can show in your pictures the following among others: a parlor organ open, a parlor organ shut, a book-case, a secretary, a pier table, a bureau, etc., etc., etc. The above photograph shows many of the changes, but other will readily be made by the photographer. A few of Wilson & Hoop’s “urns and Vases” are introduced in these changes, but they are not included with the furniture.”

James Annan frontispieces

Frontispiece portrait of Henry James. Photograph by Alvin Langdon Coburn. Photogravure by James C. Annan in The Sense of the Past by Henry James (London: W. Collins Sons & Company, 1917). (RCPPA) PS2116 .S4 1917.

When collecting and exhibiting photography, very often the beautiful frontispieces for books are disregarded. Here are a few of the photogravures in the Princeton University Library. Note, partnerships were formed by Thomas Annan and Joseph Wilson Swan (Swan and Annan); and also by their sons James Craig Annan and Donald Cameron-Swan (Annan and Swan).

Frontispiece portrait of Sir Herbert B. Edwardes. Photograph by J. Mayall, Jr. Photogravure by James C. Annan and Donald Cameron-Swan in Memorials of the Life and Letters of major-General Sir Herbert B. Edwardes by His Wife (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, and Company, 1886). Firestone 1766.319 v.1.

Frontispiece portrait of Dr. Robert Watt. Photograph by unidentified artist. Photogravure by James C. Annan and Sons, Glasgow, in An Account of the Life and Work of Dr. Robert Watt by James Finlayson (London: Smith, Elder and company, 1897). Firestone 0109.957.34.

Frontispiece drawing by unidentified artist. Photogravure by James C. Annan and Donald Cameron-Swan in The Early Writings of William Makepeace Thackeray by Charles Plumptre Johnson (London: Elliot Stock, 1888). Firestone PR5638 .J6 1888

Thorington pastels

Our paper conservator, Ted Stanley, recently completed the cleaning, flattening, and rehousing of 42 charcoal and pastel drawings by J. Monroe Thorington, class of 1915 (1895-1989).

In his book, The Glittering Mountains of Canada: A Record of Exploration and Pioneer Ascents in the Canadian Rockies, 1914-1924, Thorington describes one of his many mountain trips:

“As the Freshfield Group, where we spent the days following, is described later, we shall here continue on the Waputik trails. It was July 21st when we descended Howse River to a point below the Glacier Lake stream. Alpine flora gives the river-flats a gay appearance and game tracks are everywhere—moose, bear, deer, and goat trails winding back and forth. Every evening we had watched, through binoculars, the big billy-goats come out to feed on the high alpland above the cliffs. And once, as we came late into camp, a cow moose with her calf plunged back into the timber.”

Here are a few of his almost life-size drawings of the Canadian wildlife.

What is a Dallastype?

“Although one of the earliest processes for the production of a printing block by means of photography,” begins an advertisement in the August 27, 1897 issue of The Photographic News, “one but rarely nowadays hears the name of ‘Dallastype’ mentioned in connection with photo-process work, and yet the results achieved by it are remarkably fine, and in the early days of mechanics engraving were much admired.”
The piece continues “Mr. Dallas has been quietly working at his process for many years, and improving and developing its capabilities, and has now decided to make it public, for which purpose he intends to open the ‘Dallastype and Dallastint School of Photographic Engraving,’ were he will give [instruction] to students in the art of producing pictures by his methods, which are free from the messy and cumbrous operations that characterise the zinco process. . . . Prospectus, with all particulars as to terms, &c., will be posted on application by letter to Mr. Duncan C. Dallas, 5, Furnival Street, Holborn, E.C.”

Duncan Campbell Dallas (ca. 1830-ca. 1890) had indeed been perfecting and publishing images with his Dallastype process for at least forty years. Depending on which history you read, he was either a crook or an unheralded talent.

In 1854, Paul Pretsch (1808-1873) patented photogalvanography (sometimes called photoelectrotype) and together with Roger Fenton (1819-1869) went on to establish the Photogalvanographic Company. Dallas was hired as the company manager.

To their surprise, Dallas was granted provisional protection for his own patent in June of 1856 on “Improvements in chemical preparations applicable to the photographic and photogalvanographic processes.” Pretsch and Fenton asked him to leave the company and many years of litigation followed.

In the September 11, 1863 issue of The Photographic News, Dallas published the abstract “Photo-Electric Engraving and Observations Upon Sundry Processes of Photographic Engraving.” Although the paper was submitted to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, it was ultimately deemed inadmissible by the Chairman and never presented to the organization. http://tinyurl.com/gsomauj

Dallas filed for another patent in May of 1866 and was again refused but moved ahead with his own company, advertising the Dallastype and Dallastint as ”cheap first class engraving, one shilling per square inch. A reliable substitute for wood engraving, faithfully reproducing in any size the artist’s or other original specimens for six stamps.”

Dallas wrote a letter to the British Journal of Photography, published in the March 5, 1875 issue, to protest Pretsch’s claim of developing the photogalvanography. “I had been the founder and organiser of the Photogalvanographic Company,” he claimed, “and had been robbed— I used the word deliberately—of the fruits of ray brain and hand labour by Mr. Paul Pretsch.”

Duncan C. Dallas, The … Londoniad: giving a full description [in verse] of the principal establishments, together with the most honourable and substantial business men, in the capital. The new, or twentieth Londoniad, 1876. p. 66-68

Later that year, in need of money, he tried to sell the process, publishing Proposal for Divulging the Dallastype Process of Photographic Engraving to Five Hundred Subscribers, or more, at £20 each ([London]: Duncan Campbell Dallas, 1875).

Dallas went on to publish a facsimile of the 1623 Shakespeare First Folio and then, several portfolios of Walter Crane’s illustrations for individual plays. Princeton University Library holds three of these volumes, illustrated with Dallastypes.

Walter Crane (1845-1915), Eight Illustrations to Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona; engraved & printed by Duncan C. Dallas (London: J.M. Dent, 1894). No. 43 of 650 copies; signed by Walter Crane and Duncan C. Dallas. Rare Books (Ex) Oversize 3925.633q

Walter Crane (1845-1915), Shakespeare’s Comedy of the Merry Wives of Windsor / presented in eight pen designs by Walter Crane; engraved & printed by Duncan Dallas (London: G. Allen, 1894). No. 165 of 650 copies. Rare Books (Ex) Oversize ND497.C85 A34q

Walter Crane (1845-1915), Eight Illustrations to Shakespeare’s Tempest, designed by Walter Crane; engraved & printed by Duncan C. Dallas (London: J.M. Dent, 1893). Graphic Arts Collection (GAX) Oversize 2007-0246Q

The Hagenbeck-Wallace Shows Combined

“Performers and crowd at Hagenbeck-Wallace shows. Holding forth a promise of elephants upon which to ride, popcorn to chew and the other attractions which time never dims, the Carl Hagenbeck and Great Wallace Shows combined will arrive in Indianapolis Sunday Aug. 23 for two performances … Three rings, two stages and a mile hippodrome track are included in the outfit.”

“…Strange as it may seem clowns are among the highest paid circus performers. The smallest salary paid to a clown with our show is $20 a week, which of course, includes board and transportation. There are more than half a dozen that are paid more than $100 a week and one who draws $400. Clown novelties are difficult to get. The funmakers tell us that a funny face will note always get a laugh. They must do the unusual thing.” –“Scenes In and Out of the “Big Top.” Indianapolis Star 16 Aug 1914: 3.

The Hagenbeck-Wallace Shows Combined, in Motion Pictures, 4 Big Reels. [below] Fifty Funny Fellows in Original Foolish Frolics,” 1911-1912. Circus Posters TC193.

The Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus was founded in 1907. Benjamin E. Wallace of Peru, Indiana, purchased the Carl Hagenbeck Circus and merged it with his own. The circus became known as the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus at that time, even though Carl Hagenbeck filed a lawsuit against the use of his name. Ultimately Wallace won the case and the name remained.

A Walk through Wordplay

The curators of the exhibition Wordplay: Matthias Buchinger’s Drawings from the Collection of Ricky Jay, gave a few Grolier Club members the rare treat of a personal gallery tour last night. Seen here are collector and co-curator Ricky Jay; Freyda Spira, Associate Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Nadine Orenstein, Drue Heinz Curator in Charge of the Department of Drawings and Prints (apologies for the poor quality of my photo).

Matthias_Buchinger,_a_phocomelic,_with_thirteen_scenes_repre_Wellcome_V0007014

Welcome Collection because my camera failed to capture Mr. Jay’s copy

As their website explains, “This installation of drawings, prints, and related ephemera by the German artist and performer Matthias Buchinger (1674–1739) explores for the first time the oeuvre of the so-called Little Man of Nuremberg. Standing only twenty-nine inches high, and born without hands or feet, Buchinger was celebrated in his own time as a draftsman and calligrapher as well as a magician and musician. He boasted a clientele that included noblemen, kings, and emperors, along with members of the public who visited him at inns and fairs from Leipzig to Paris and from London to Belfast.”

http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2016/wordplay

Of particular interest to visitors from Princeton was an enormous broadside for another physically challenged artist of the nineteenth century named Sarah Biffin (also spelled Beffin or Biffen, 1784-1850). The Graphic Arts Collection holds several of Biffin’s miniature portrait paintings but none the ephemeral publicity for her performances, such as the one seen at the MET.

Born with no arms or hands or legs or feet, Biffin taught herself to perform a variety of everyday tasks using her mouth and shoulders. She developed a talent for drawing and painting; became an expert seamstress; and performed these abilities before a crowd of spectators.

Biffin’s family contracted with Emmanuel Dukes, a traveling showman, to make her one of his sideshow attractions. She traveled from town to town, painting or writing for the public’s entertainment. Dukes publicized her as “The Eighth Wonder!” and pocketed all the proceeds from the sale of her watercolors.

Thanks to the patronage from George Douglas, the sixteenth Earl of Morton (1761-1827), Biffin was finally released from her contract and established a studio in the Strand, London, where she painted miniature portraits.

Sarah Biffin (1784-1850), Capt. James West, 1844. Watercolor on paper. Signed, l.c.: “Painted by Miss Biffin – without hands, 1844”. Gift of W. Allen Scheuch II, Princeton Class of 1976, given in honor of Meg Whitman, Princeton Class of 1977. Graphic Arts Collection GA 2011.01448

Oliver Twist with Cruikshank’s original plate

George Cruikshank (1792-1878), “A Fast [first?] Sketch, George Cruikshank, Oliver Twist” ca. 1838. Pencil on paper. Graphic Arts Collection

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. By “Boz”. [1st ed.] (London: R. Bentley: 1838). 3 v. Illustrated by G. Cruikshank. Contains the “fireside” plate, canceled in later issues and the plate substituted. Graphic Arts Collection (GA) Cruik 1838.2

In preparing for a visit from ENG 343 Word and Image: 19th Century Literature and Art, several editions of Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist have been pulled. Dickens famously did not like the final illustration and asked his artist, George Cruikshank, to draw another plate. Various editions over the years include one or the other of these illustration, etched in metal.

The matter supplied in advance of the monthly portions in the magazine, formed the bulk of the last volume as published in the book; and for this the plates had to be prepared by Cruikshank also in advance of the magazine, to furnish them in time for the separate publication: Sikes and his dob, Fagin in the cell, and Rose Maylie and Oliver, being the three last. Non of these Dickens had seen until he saw them in the book on the eve of its publication; when he so strongly objected to one of them that it had to be cancelled. “I returned suddenly to town yesterday afternoon,” he wrote to the artist at the end of October, “to look at the latter pages of ‘Oliver Twist’ before it was delivered to the booksellers, when I saw the majority of the plates in the last volume for the first time. With reference to the last one—Robe Maylie and Oliver—without entering into the question of great haste, or any other cause, which may have led to it being what it is, I am quite sure there can be little difference of opinion between us with respect to the result. May I ask you whether you will object to designing this plate afresh, and doing so at once, in order that as few impressions as possible of the present one may go forth? I feel confident you know me too well to feel hurt by this enquiry, and with equal confidence in you I have lost no time in preferring it.” John Forster (1812-1876), The Life of Charles Dickens (Leipzig, Tauchnitz, 1872-74): 191-92. Firestone Library (F) PR4581 .F677 1872

Bentley’s miscellany ([London : Richard Bentley], 1837-1868). (Cruik) 1837.6 vol. 5

Cruikshank replaced the final plate with this “Rose Maylie and Oliver (the Church version),” which is found in most copies.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), The Adventures of Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. With twenty-four illustrations on steel, by George Cruikshank. A new ed., rev. and cor. (London: Pub. for the author, by Bradbury & Evans, 1846). “For this edition the plates were ’touched up’ by Findlay and changed in several details with sometimes new backgrounds added.” cf. J. C. Thompson, Bibliography. In the 10 original numbers, with all the green pictorial wrappers, in perfect condition, uncut; green morocco case. Graphic Arts Collection (GA) Cruik 1838.21

La Milagrosa Imagen de Nuestra Señora del Carmen.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the patroness of the Carmelite Order, also the patron saint of Chile. Her image with triangular robes is ubiquitous throughout Catholic communities of Central and South America. Even José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) drew several prints of the Virgin Mary in this pose, as have countless others.

Within the Graphic Arts collection of plates, blocks, and stones is this unsigned etched and engraved copper plate, dated 1852, with the image of the Virgin Mary and the text: La Milagrosa ymagen de [Nuestra Señora] del Carmen, ano de 1852 (The miraculous image of Our Lady of Mount Carmen). Very possibly it was for the printing of a holy card.

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