Philadelphia on Stone expands its survey to Washington, D.C.

 

Philadelphia on Stone Project Assistant Linda Wisniewski completed two survey trips to Washington, D.C. in March, first to the Library of Congress, and a few weeks later to the Smithsonian Institution. The goal was to find lithographic prints unique to these repositories to include in this major project, generously funded by the William Penn Foundation. The physical enormousness of these institutions and the vast amount of material housed in each required two full weeks of carefully-planned surveying, and navigational assistance by colleagues familiar with their collections related to 19th-century Philadelphia commercial lithography. The differing rules and regulations at each institution made for very different research experiences.

 

Jefferson Building, Library of Congress, March 2009.

In the Prints and Photographs Department at the Library of Congress (LOC), Dr. Sara W. Duke, Curator of Popular & Applied Graphic Art, worked closely with Ms. Wisniewski to survey unprocessed items in the Marian S. Carson and Popular Graphic Arts Collections to reveal close to three dozen lithographs known to be unique to that institution. The trip produced an abundance of relevant material, including this advertising print showing William W. Cansler’s Paper-Hanging Warehouse (entry number 456 in Nicholas B. Wainwright’s Philadelphia in the Romantic Age of Lithography). The lithograph had not been found in any of the Philadelphia collections surveyed thus far.

 

On stone by W.H. Rease; NR. William W. Cansler’s Paper-Hanging Warehouse, N.E. corner of Arch & Seventh Sts. Philadelphia, ca. 1845. To obtain a high resolution copy and permission to use this image, please contact the Prints and Photographs Department, Library of Congress.

 

In addition to surveying LOC’s graphics collection, Ms. Wisniewski also studied the papers of Horace and Anne Montgomerie Traubel, son and daughter-in-law of prominent Philadelphia lithographer Maurice H. Traubel, in the Manuscript Division. The papers include personal correspondence, transcriptions, advertising cards, and billheads of Maurice and his lithographer sons Emile G. and Lothario Traubel. The collection exposed the Traubels’ involvement in literary and artistic groups in the Philadelphia area, and provided a glimpse into their private lives, full of financial struggles and Maurice’s suicide in 1897.

At the Smithsonian Institution, the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana within the Archives Center supplied examples of the business ephemera of Philadelphia lithographers. Billheads with addresses, dates, and building facades, advertising cards, and price lists will greatly augment the creation of the online biographical dictionary that will document the careers of more than 500 lithographers active in Philadelphia between 1828 and 1878.

Other advertisements were discovered within the Smithsonian’s Graphic Arts Collection with the assistance of Ms. Helena Wright, Curator of Graphic Arts. An advertisement showing an idyllic Gothic castle created by Philadelphia lithographer David Chillas demonstrates his ability to print in colors. Upon closer inspection, it was noticeable that this work specimen was also hand-colored with great care.

 

Collage of advertising cards for lithographic, job, and card printers, Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Archives Center at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

 

David Chillas, Lithographer. 30 S. 3rd St. Philada. [ca. 1855] To obtain a high resolution copy and permission to use this image, GA 09640, please contact the Graphic Arts Collection at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

 

The Harry T. Peters Collection, housed at the Division of Home and Community Life at the Smithsonian, was also mined for relevant lithographs. The searchable online catalog, “America on Stone,” facilitated the survey, which was augmented by review of the original prints with the assistance of the department’s Museum Technician, Ms. Jennifer Strobel. The full breadth of John L. Magee’s The Second Match Game for the Championship, a detailed pictorial account of the baseball championship between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Brooklyn Atlantics held in Philadelphia on October 22, 1866 became more evident from an in-person review. Through the survey, Ms. Wisniewski garnered the players’ names and game statistics included as details on the print.

 

John L. Magee. The Second Great Match Game for the Championship, between the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia and the Atlantics of Brooklyn, on the Grounds of the Athletics, Fifteenth & Columbia Avenue, Phila., Oct. 22nd, 1866. The names of each player and the umpire, and inning scores are included near the title. Formed in 1860 by James N. Kerns, the Philadelphia Athletics helped establish the National Association of Professional Baseball Players (NA) in 1871. Harry T. Peters, "America on Stone" Lithography Collection, National Museum of American History, Behring Center, Smithsonian Institution.

 

With the information gathered at the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution, the Philadelphia on Stone project continues in earnest to expand its catalog of lithographs and shed more light on the personal and professional lives of the lithographers. Much of this information will be included in the on-line biographical dictionary, which will be available on our digital catalog, ImPAC, within the next year.
 
The completion of the Washington, D.C. survey work leaves only one institution for Ms. Wisniewski to explore – the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Stay tuned!