Category Archives: Medium

mediums

The Punishments of China / Les Punitions des Chinois

“Burning a man’s eyes with lime” in Les Punitions des Chinois, représentés en vingt-deux gravures: avec des explications en Anglais et en Francais (London: Guillaume Miller; Printed for W. Miller by W. Bulmer, 1801). Twenty-two hand colored stipple engravings by John Dadley (1767-1817). Graphic Arts Collection GAX in process. References: Abbey Travel 532 (1804 edition); Colas 2010; Cordier Sinica 549

Preface. The Chinese code of penal laws is compiled in such a manner as to have a punishment appropriated for every crime; a series of these is displayed in the following Plates. The wisdom of the Chinese Legislature is no where more conspicuous than in its treatment of robbers, no person being deomed [sic] to suffer death for having merely deprived another of some temporal property, provided he neither uses, nor carries, any offensive weapon. This sagacious edict renders robbery unfrequent; the daring violator of the laws, hesitating to take with him those means which might preserve his own life, or affect that of the plundered, in the event of resistance, generally confines his depredations to acts of private pilfering; and a robbery, attended with murder, is, of course, very rarely perpetrated.

The manner of beheading.
Conducting an offender into banishment.
Close confinement.
Punishment of the wooden collar.

George Henry Mason, The Punishments of China. Illustrated by twenty-two engravings: with explanations in English and French (London: Printed for W. Miller by W. Bulmer, 1801). Graphic Arts Collections GAX in process.

1. A culprit before a magistrate; 2. A culprit conveyed to prison; 3. A culprit conducted to trial; 4. An offender undergoing the bastinade; 5. Twisting a man’s ears; 6. Punishment of the swing; 7. Punishing a boatman; 8. Punishing an interpreter; 9. The rack; 10. Torturing the fingers; 11. Burning a man’s eyes with lime; 12. A malefactor chained to an iron bar; 13. Punishment of the wooden collar; 14. A man fastened to a block of wood; 15. A malefactor in a cage; 16. Punishment of a wooden tube; 17. Hamstringing a malefactor; 18. Close confinement; 19. Conducting an offender into banishment; 20. A malefactor conducted to execution; 21. The capital punishment of the cord; 22. The manner of beheading.

Rowlandson’s metrical illustrations for Dance of Death

Thanks to our generous donor Dickson Q. Brown, Class of 1895, the Princeton University Library not only holds the original parts for William Combe’s English Dance of Death, but also fifteen proofs hand colored by Rowlandson. Here are a few:

Father Time! ‘tis well we are met:–
I am dispos’d to fume and fret,
To see that mortals have the power
Thus to prolong Life’s fleeting hour;
To see them thus display the art
That blunts my unavailing dart;
And, though the fatal arrow’s sped,
To make men live when they are dead:
While you with placid eye look on,
Nor blame the mischief that is done:
Nay, suffer the records to last
When many an age is gone and past.

William Combe (1742-1823), English Dance of Death: in twenty-four monthly numbers, from the designs of Thomas Rowlandson, accompanied with metrical illustrations, by the author of “Doctor Syntax” (London: Printed by J. Diggens … : Published at R. Ackermann’s Repository of Arts … and to be had of all the book and print-sellers in the United Kingdom., 1814-1816). 24 pts. in 1; 74 leaves of plates, in aquatint designed by Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827). Graphic Arts Collection (GA) Rowlandson 1814 and 1814.2

The earliest use of “metrical illustrations” that I’ve found is 1634: George Wither, A collection of emblemes, ancient and moderne: quickenend with metrical illustrations, both morall and divine. Frontispiece by William Marshall and the emblem of Crispijn of the Passe.

Los Viernes de Cuaresma en Morelos

This winter the Mexican muralist, illustrator, and printmaker Sergio Sanchez Santamaria finished a portfolio of linocuts titled Cuaresma en la Region Cuautla, Morelos. Santamaria not only designed but also cut and printed the edition of 10 at his studio in Tlayacapan.

When the Graphic Arts Collection purchased copy 1/10, we also received the original printing block for plate 4, “Dedicado a la Santísima Virgen del Transito de la Capilla del Plan en Tlayacapan, lo curioso es que la virgin es del Pueblo de Tepoztlán pero ella decidió quedarse en Tlayacapan.”

In the state of Morelos, Mexico, there is a tradition of celebrating the six Friday’s before Easter, in a different town or village. This annual cycle of religious and trade fairs starts in Tlayacapan and then moves to Cuautla, Tepalcingo, Tepotzlan, Totolapan and back to Tlayacapan.

Santamaria has created eight bold linocuts depicting the celebrations. He has also written a short essay describing the different towns visited each Friday and noting their specific rituals.

Serio Sanchez Santamaria, Cuaresma en la Region Cuautla, Morelos (Tlayacapan [Mexico], 2015). Cover, colophon and eight linocuts, each signed and titled. Copy 1 of 10. Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2015- in process

Sergio Sanchez Santamaria studied at the great “La Esmeralda,” Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura, y Grabado in Mexico City, counting among his teachers, Alberto Beltrán, Francisco Moreno Capdevila and Adolfo Mexiac.

Buffalo Bill Cody

[Can you read the name?]

William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846-1917) was an American scout, Pony Express rider, bison hunter, and showman. He opened Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show in 1883 and continued to perform these extravaganzas until he went bankrupt in 1913.

“His partner that first season was a dentist and exhibition shooter, Dr. W.F. Carver. Cody and Carver took the show, subtitled “Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition,” across the country to popular acclaim and favorable reviews, launching a genre of outdoor entertainment that thrived for three decades and survived, in fits and starts, for almost three more. . . . In 1899, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West covered over 11,000 miles in 200 days giving 341 performances in 132 cities and towns across the United States. In most places, there would be a parade and two two-hour performances. Then the whole show would be struck, loaded, and moved overnight to the next town. Europeans (and their armies) were often as fascinated by the ingenuity and efficiency behind the scenes as they were by the show itself. Not many shows could match Buffalo Bill’s in scale, but all subscribed to similar regimens.” Wild West Shows: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West by Paul Fees

The Graphic Arts Collection holds three panoramic photographs of Cody’s Wild West shows, each inscribed “Terre Haute” on the verso. According to the Buffalo Bill Museum archive, different versions of the Wild West Show played in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1901, 1907, 1911, and 1913. One of these visits is depicted in these panoramic photographs. http://www.buffalobill.org/pdfs/buffalo_bill_visits.pdf .
We are also trying to make out the name of this Indiana photographer.
See also Helen Cody Wetmore, Last of the great scouts: the life story of Col. William F. Cody, “Buffalo Bill,” as told by his sister, Helen Cody Wetmore (Chicago: Duluth Press Pub. Co., 1899). Rare Books Off-Site Storage Rollins 3062

Lorenzo Homar’s poster art

A recent offer of Latin American posters led to a search of the Graphic Arts Collection’s 114 screen printed posters designed by the Puerto Rican artist Lorenzo Homar (1913-2004). From 1951 to 1956 Homar worked as a graphic artist and director of the Graphics Section of Division de Educación a la Comunidad (DivEdCo) and in 1957 organized the Graphic Arts Workshop at the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, which he directed until 1973.

“Earning my living as an artist-craftsman,” wrote Homar in 1960, “I try to honor my trade with the maximum of my efforts regardless of the type of work involved. A seal, an illustration or an idea for a painting or engraving; everything that happens around us is worthwhile looking at.”

Homar was one of the first designers profiled when the American Institute of Graphic Arts began their “design journeys” series in 2005. “Lorenzo Homar was a pivotal figure of the fields of design and plastic arts during the second part of the 20th century. While his artistic production encompassed a large number of works across an array of media, his largest contribution to Puerto Rican arts was through his posters and printed engravings. He was a leader behind the popularization and internalization of the afiche, a commemorative medium equivalent to the poster. As a graphic designer and artist, Homar served as a teacher, a mentor and an inspiration for a group of Puerto Rican artists who collectively became known as Generación del Cincuenta (Generation of the Fifties).” http://www.aiga.org/design-journeys-lorenzo-homar/

The posters, along with several hundred other drawings, prints, carved blocks, and other work has been digitized and can be enjoyed at: http://pudl.princeton.edu/collections/pudl0033 .

Update: previously listed as a poster, the following is a signed and numbered fine art print:

Lorenzo Homar (1913-2004), Quote from José de Diego (1866-1918), 1971. Serigraph. Signed and numbered 33/35. Graphic Arts Collection GA 2007.04022. “De la tormenta el iracundo empuje. No has de balar como el cordero triste, sino rugir,como la fiera ruge! ¡Levantate, Revuelvete, Resiste! ¡Haz como el toro acorralado: muge! ¡O como el toro que no muge : embiste!”

Alfred Bendiner

The Graphic Arts Collection holds 74 original drawings by the Philadelphia artist Alfred Bendiner (1899-1964). By far the largest is this 4 x 5 foot pastel design labeled on the verso “wine festival,” possibly for The Century Association in New York where Bendiner was an active member.

Alfred Bendiner (1899-1964), Wine Festival, [1953]. Pastel. Approximately 122 x 150 cm. (4 x 5 feet). GC034 Alfred Bendiner Collection. Gift of Alfred and Elizabeth Bendiner Foundation.

Transcription: “Prétendre qu’il ne faut pas changer de vins est une hérésie ; la langue se sature ; et, après le troisième verre, le meilleur vin n’éveille plus qu’une sensation obtuse” (To argue that we should not change the wine at dinner is heresy; the tongue becomes saturated; and after the third glass, the best wine arouses no more than a dull sensation) — Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)

William Stillman Disappears

[above] William James Stillman (1828-1901), Athens, ca. 1869. Albumen silver prints. Graphic Arts Collection GA 2008.00003. Funds provided by the Friends of the Princeton University Library.

[below] William James Stillman (1828-1901), The Acropolis of Athens (London: Printed by the Autotype Company for F.S. Ellis. 1870. Carbon prints. Graphic Arts Collection 2015-0062E. A joint purchase and gift from the Program in Hellenic Studies with the support of the Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund and matching funds provided by a gift of The Orpheus Trust to the Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, in honor of the 35th anniversary of Hellenic Studies at Princeton. Additional funds provided by the Friends of the Princeton University Library.

Thanks to a recent photography request, we noticed that the 19th-century photographer William Stillman used his own figure in the preparatory albumen silver print of the eastern portico of the Parthenon, view looking northward, and showing Mount Parnes in the extreme distance. But when the carbon print was finalized and published in his book The Acropolis of Athens the next year, the figure is no longer included in the picture.

Perhaps he felt it was a distraction from the beauty of the architect? No matter the reason, the earlier albumen silver print has become one of the most loved of Stillman’s photographs.
Stillman-012c

Stillman-012b

291

fifth2 Thanks to the New York Public Library’s newly released digital collections, we can better understand the history of modern American photography.

In 1907, Alfred Stieglitz ran a small gallery on New York City’s Fifth Avenue called the Little Galleries of the Photo-Sucession, affectionately known as 291 (the building’s address). Soon after a celebrated exhibit of Auguste Rodin’s drawings in 1908, Stieglitz’s landlord took note of the gallery’s success and doubled the rent. Unable to raise the money, 291 was closed.

Thanks to the help of millionaire Paul Haviland, Stieglitz signed a lease on a new space in the building next door to his original gallery, at 293 Fifth Avenue. “The wall between the two buildings had been removed during a previous renovation, however, so by all appearances the new gallery seemed to share the same address as the old one.” (see Dorothy Norman, Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer (1973), pp. 75-80).

Stieglitz and his colleagues continued to call the gallery 291 until it closed in 1917. fifth

http://www.nypl.org/research/collections/digital-collections/public-domain

Henry Martin exhibit

The work of cartoonist Henry Martin, Class of 1948, will be on display at Pennswood Village in Newtown, PA, beginning this Sunday, 10 January 2016. Titled “Through the Years at The Inquirer: An Extensive Collection of Cartoons by Hank Martin,” the show features work that Martin published at the Philadelphia Inquirer. There will be an opening reception in Pennswood’s Passmore Lounge from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Refreshments will be served

Martin’s cartoon posted above and below with the caption, “That’s Harry Phillipston and his wild imaginings,” was published in Punch on 25 August 1982.

“Work Outstanding among the Tiger’s features is the art-work. Bernie Peyton, Bill Brown and Henry Martin are three excellent cartoonists who can transplant ideas from brain to paper with considerable finesse. Their composite work outranks that of any of their predecessors, with the possible exception of Henry Toll, originator of the little sloe-eyed Princeton tiger, and A. M. Barbieri, both of whom toiled on the magazine in the past decade.”–Daily Princetonian, 71, no. 156, 20 November 1947

The Pennswood Art Gallery is located in Pennswood Village, a continuing care retirement community, at 1382 Newtown-Langhorne Road, Newtown PA. All are welcome.

Henry Martin, Class of 1948, “That’s Harry Phillipston and his wild imaginings,” 1982. Pen and ink on paper. Published in Punch on 25 August 1982. Graphic Arts collection

Mont Orgueil Castle, Jersey

On leaf 54 of the 19th-century photography album compiled by Richard Willats and held at Princeton University is a very early calotype of a seaside town with a castle in the background. That structure has now been identified by Mike Sunier as Mont Orgueil Castle, Jersey.

For the last few years, Mr. Sunier has been researching and writing historical articles for the local Jersey newspaper, the Jersey Evening Post. A new piece is expected soon concerning the Willats album, its many portraits of Jersey residents, and the views it offers of local landmarks. Up until now, we were transcribing the handwritten note in the album as “Query Jersey/or Guernsey.” Thanks to Mr. Sunier’s good work, we can now correct that.

If you would like to see more of the Willats album, click on the permanent Link: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/k930bx11x. The castle is found on leaf 54.

The London Dailymail posted a similar photograph, so we can compare the Mont Orgueil Castle and Grouville Bay of today with the view from the 1840s. To read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2324807/The-real-Jersey-shore-Gourmet-grub-wonderful-walks-Channel-Island-haven.html#ixzz3wOmWArHs

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