Jay T. Last Collection of Agriculture Prints and Ephemera

The Jay T. Last Collection of Agriculture Prints and Ephemera contains roughly 2,315 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.

Materials are arranged in two series: small-size items (11 x 14 inches or less) and large-size items (bigger than 11 x 14 inches). Most small-size items are described broadly at the series level; selected small-size items and all large-size items are fully inventoried, with all printers, artists, and publishers indexed by name. The collection has 125 large-size items comprised mainly of lithographs and engravings, including advertising prints, certificates, and promotional materials. Small-size items number over 2,000 and are comprised mainly of trade cards, leaflets, handbills, stationery, calendars, price lists, and catalogs from various businesses.

Materials are further divided into two subseries: Implements and Supplies, and Livestock. Implements and Supplies includes fences, fertilizers, farm machinery and implements, and windmills. Livestock includes breeding, dairying, food, and veterinary medicine for livestock, and a variety of products and services relating to horses and blacksmithing.

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 perspectives on the role of horses in American daily life, and on membership and participation in various 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.