Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
An experiment in perfection
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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
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Visual Materials
Image of yellow poppies in a circle design with title lettering arched above.
ephJLC_CIT_000530
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Visual Materials
Image of golden poppies with fields of flowers, orange trees, a house and mountains in background.
ephJLC_CIT_000531
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Visual Materials
Image of title block lettering on a diagonal line with two lemons on a branch at upper left and an unwrapped Sunkist lemon logo at lower right.
ephJLC_CIT_000532
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Visual Materials
The Jay T. Last collection of agriculture prints and ephemera contains roughly 2,115 items from approximately 1818 to 1924, with the majority of material dating from 1850 to 1900. The collection consists mainly of advertising prints and ephemera related to crop, hay, livestock, and dairy farming, including the tools, equipment, supplies, and structures used for cultivating soil; raising, harvesting, and storing crops; irrigating land; growing grasses for animal fodder; marking territory lines or separating fields and pastures; and boarding, breeding, feeding, rearing, tending, and selling farm animals. Agricultural machinery and implement companies dominate. Manufacturers and dealers of fertilizer, windmills, and fencing supplies are also represented, as are veterinary medicine, items used to collect or make dairy products, and items used on horses such as blankets, halters, harnesses, horseshoes, nails, saddles, and riding whips. Certificates issued by or pertaining to agricultural societies and organizations are also found here. The collection's prints and ephemera are primarily promotional in nature and provide information about American farming and agriculture-related industries, as well as the evolution of advertising strategies employed by these businesses in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Materials in this collection also provide a perspective on American membership and participation in various agricultural societies and organizations. As graphic materials, the items offer evidence of printmaking techniques and trends, as well as information about the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers involved in the creative process.
priJLC_AGR_003450