Visual Materials
Jay T. Last Collection of Horticulture Prints and Ephemera
You might also be interested in
Image not available
Series II. Horticulture Prints and Ephemera (large size)
Visual Materials
This series contains over 50 large-size printed items related to horticulture in the United States from approximately 1846 to 1921, with the majority of items dating from 1865 to 1910. The series is comprised mainly of lithographed advertising and documentary prints depicting flowers, fruits, vegetables, and trees offered by various seed suppliers. These materials consist of color-printed, hand-colored, and uncolored images that range in size from approximately 11 x 14 inches to 25 x 35 inches. Notable holdings include prints from seed merchants Briggs & Bro., Crosman Bros., and James Vick of Rochester, New York; D.M. Ferry & Co. of Detroit, Michigan; and Jerome B. Rice & Co. of Cambridge, New York.
priJLC_HORT
Image not available
Jay T. Last collection of military prints and ephemera
Visual Materials
The Jay T. Last collection of military prints and ephemera contains approximately 4,900 printed items from 1785 to 1966, with the majority of material dating from 1860 to 1900. The collection consists of prints depicting primarily American battle scenes, forts, camps, prisons, and military officers; advertising ephemera with military-related images, more than 3,000 Civil War-era patriotic envelopes, and over 100 Civil War-era song sheets.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). Small-size items measuring less than 8 x 10 inches are described broadly at the series level; large-size items and small-size items between 8 x 10 inches and 11 x 14 inches are fully inventoried, and all printers, artists, and publishers are indexed by name. The collection has nearly 400 large-size items comprised mainly of lithographic and engraved prints including printed illustrations of battlefields, certificates and contracts, and portraits of major military and political figures during wartime. Small-size items in the collection number almost 4,500 items and are comprised mainly of patriotic envelopes (also known as patriotic covers) from the American Civil War. Other stationery such as postcards and printed billheads and letterheads (with and without manuscript text) are found in this series, as well as advertising ephemera with military-related illustrations. The collection mainly includes prints and ephemera related to the American Civil War, both contemporaneous and commemorative in nature. The American Revolutionary War, the Mexican-American War, and the Spanish-American War are also represented. The images are primarily documentary or patriotic in nature and provide information about the American military, as well as the evolution of advertising strategies employed by businesses during periods of conflict in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 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_MIL
Image not available
Jay T. Last Collection of Science Prints and Ephemera
Visual Materials
The Jay T. Last Collection of Science Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 40 printed items related to science and natural history in the United States from 1840 to approximately 1921, with the bulk of the content dating from 1880 to 1900. Most items are lithographs, but engravings and woodcuts are also included. The collection deals with products, services, activities, and imagery relating to the pursuit of knowledge by observation and/or experimentation in the fields of physical science: astronomy, chemistry, earth science, ecology, oceanography, and physics; life science: biology, botany, and zoology; and pseudoscience: astrology, alchemy, occult beliefs, and phrenology. Scientific illustrations, equipment, lectures, and expeditions of discovery can be found here. As graphic materials, the collection highlights developing techniques and trends in printmaking while documenting the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers involved in the creative process. Materials are arranged in two series: small-size items (11 x 14 inches or less) and large-size items (more than 11 x 14 inches). Small-size items are described broadly at the series level; large-size items and select small-size items are fully inventoried with printers, artists, and publishers indexed by name. The collection includes 26 large-size items comprised mainly of astronomy and natural history prints. Small-size items number approximately 15 and contain a variety of materials, including trade cards, leaflets, documentary prints, and printed billheads and letterheads (with manuscript text). Notable items include a complete set of 15 astronomical drawing prints by E. L. Trouvelot published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1882 (Series II).
priJLC_SCI
Image not available
Jay T. Last Collection of Views Prints and Ephemera
Visual Materials
The Jay T. Last Collection of Views Prints and Ephemera consists of approximately 250 mostly lithographic items depicting physical locales, primarily in the United States. While the majority of the collection features lithographs of American views produced by American artists, printers, and publishers, there are also a few engravings and foreign prints. The collection dates from approximately 1815 to approximately 1921 and includes town and city views; pictorial maps and plans; images of landscapes and waterscapes; scenes of rural and wilderness areas; commercial and residential streets and individual buildings and structures; parks, bridges, and monuments; and a small number of interior views. Generic dwellings as well as homes of famous people are also contained here. The images often incorporate depictions of people, animals, street traffic, railroad trains, and structures but share a focus on place, as opposed to genre scenes of everyday life or company- or product-based advertisements. For advertisements or views of specific types of buildings see other Jay T. Last sub-collection subjects: e.g. for churches see Religion, for schools see Education, for grain mills see Food, and for breweries see Beverages. For monuments relating to the armed forces see Military. For views of the cosmos and natural phenomena occurring in the atmosphere see Science and Technology. The prints in this collection were produced for a variety of purposes including as art reproductions, as illustrations in books, and occasionally as promotional materials. They consist of color-printed and/or hand-colored images and uncolored images, and range in size from approximately 2 x 3 inches to 27 x 43 inches. The prints are organized geographically by region based on the four geographic regions of the United States recognized by the United States Census Bureau: Northeast, South, Midwest, and West, plus foreign views. 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). Small-size items measuring less than 8 x 10 inches are described broadly at the series level; large-size items and small-size items between 8 x 10 inches and 11 x 14 inches are fully inventoried, and all printers, artists, and publishers are indexed by name. The view prints provide rich resources for the study of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American printing history, visual culture, and social history. They offer evidence of developing techniques and trends in printmaking, and of the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers who created these items. As a visual historical record, this collection provides documentary evidence of the interplay between individuals and their environments, and their perceptions and interpretations of their surroundings. Prints in the collection document the topography, development, and promotion of towns and cities; urban planning; the impact of settlement, transportation, and infrastructure on both rural and urban environments; the architectural history of business and retail centers, civic buildings, and private residences; and perceptions towards wilderness and frontier areas. Information about social history emerges through the depictions of individuals and street scenes in many of these prints, including modes of transportation, leisure, and commercial activities.
priJLC_VIEW
Image not available
Jay T. Last Collection of Beverage Prints and Ephemera
Visual Materials
The Jay T. Last Collection of Beverage Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 3,240 printed items advertising beverage products and related businesses in the United States from the 1840s to the 1940s, with the bulk of the items spanning from 1850 to 1915. The collection consists largely of lithographed ephemeral items produced for American businesses affiliated with the manufacture, distribution, and sale of beverages such as coffee, tea, juice, milk, carbonated beverages, and alcoholic drinks including beer, wine, whiskey, and other liquors. Materials are arranged in two series: small-size items (11 x 14 inches or less) and large-size items (more than 11 x 14 inches). Small-size items are described broadly at the series level; large-size items and select small-size items are fully inventoried and all printers, artists, and publishers are indexed by name. The collection includes approximately 65 large-size items comprised mainly of lithographed advertising prints and product labels for tea, coffee, and spirits. Small-size items number nearly 3,200 and contain a variety of promotional materials including trade cards, calendars, die-cut scraps, booklets, and printed billheads and letterheads with manuscript text. The collection deals with beverage production, merchandising, advertising, and consumption -- including depictions of families and other groups drinking together -- and the images provide a resource for studying the history of American beer, liquor, coffee, tea, and carbonated beverage industries along with the evolution of their advertising in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Materials in the collection produced for manufacturers and distributors of alcoholic beverages also provide a perspective on their advertising strategies in the face of a growing temperance movement in the United States leading up to Prohibition. As graphic materials, the prints offer evidence of developing techniques and trends in printmaking, and of the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers involved in the creative process.
priJLC_BEV
Image not available
Jay T. Last Collection of Maritime Prints and Ephemera
Visual Materials
The Jay T. Last Collection of Maritime Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 1,150 printed items that pertain to travel, shipping, and other maritime-related activities and businesses in the United States primarily dating from the second half of the 19th century. The collection consists of advertising and promotional materials, business records, and illustrations produced for or relevant to steamship companies, sailing vessels, shipping entities, passenger lines, and related businesses and publications. 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). Small-size items are described broadly at the series level; large-size items are fully inventoried, and all printers, artists, and publishers are indexed by name. The collection has more than 55 large-size items comprised mainly of lithographic and engraved prints of ships, certificates and contracts, and advertising materials for passenger and shipping routes. Small-size items in the collection number approximately 1,100 and are comprised mainly of advertising and promotional ephemera and business documents. The vast majority of these items are bills of lading and steamship passes, but the collection also has trade cards, timetables, booklets, directory ads, menus, passenger lists, postcards, handbills, and printed billheads and letterheads with manuscript text. Subjects addressed within the collection include commerce, advertising, technology and engineering, and tourism as related to river, lake, and ocean travel mostly in the United States. The images are primarily promotional and provide information about the history of passenger travel and commercial shipping, as well as the advertising strategies employed by these industries in the 19th and early 20th centuries. As graphic materials, the items offer evidence of visual culture and printmaking techniques and trends, as well as information about the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers involved in the creative process.
priJLC_MAR