“The Miserable Character of the Picture”
August 31, 2021
"We really owe our readers an apology for the miserable character of the picture on the first page of the last number of our paper..." Why did Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion feel it had to apologize for a wood engraving in August 1851? Read the full article
Zooming in on the Declaration of Independence
July 29, 2021
The recent news that an engraved copy of the Declaration of Independence sold for $4.42 million reminds us that prints go beyond just pretty pictures. Our newest post lets you zoom in on the Declaration of Independence and the unanswered questions behind William Stone's 1823 facsimile engraving. Read the full article
A Conversation with New AHPCS President Allen Bernard
June 13, 2021
We are pleased to welcome Allen Bernard to the role of AHPCS President! Allen recently took the time to tell us about his print-collecting passions. Read the full article
Discovering Audubon’s Biggest Birds
April 26, 2021
John James Audubon's Birds of America (1827-1838) has always been worthy of superlatives. After the early prints were released, one newspaper proclaimed that Audubon was "executing the most magnificent work ever ventured upon..." Read the full article
Prints for the Parlor
March 29, 2021
In Annie Ellis's memoir, Life of an Ordinary Woman (1929), Annie remembered: There must have been many things Mama longed for (we never had any carpets or curtains), but after talking it over with [her husband] Henry, she decided to get something we could all enjoy! Their choice fell on a picture. The next question was, what picture? Read the full article
“One of My Most Enjoyable Prints”
February 21, 2021
Back in the early 2000s, I purchased a really fine etching done by Peter Moran (1841-1914) from AHPCS member-dealer Rona Schneider. I had met Rona years earlier, and she had always encouraged me in my research efforts. Read the full article
The Road to Prohibition
January 17, 2021
Did prints help outlaw liquor in the United States? On January 17, 1920, Prohibition went into effect in the United States. The 18th Amendment was ratified in 1919, but it gave the country a whole year to prepare for the actual outlawing of the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors." Read the full article
Print Prices in a Pandemic
January 4, 2021
Since the beginning of the pandemic, print sellers and collectors have been trying to figure out how to continue doing what they love in a socially distanced world. One of our dealer members was pleased to sell some prints online in early spring only to realize that because of local shelter-in-place rules, the purchased prints were trapped in a closed storage facility. Read the full article
Saving an Endangered Lithograph
December 28, 2020
On May 15, 1858, Colonel Thomas Pearson August ordered the First Regiment of Virginia Volunteers to assemble on May 22nd for a four-day encampment in Ashland, Virginia. This 1858 meeting... Read the full article
Little Snow-Ball
December 18, 2020
When collectors take the deep dive into popular 19th-century American prints, they often begin noticing similarities. In the days before robust copyright protections, images were shamelessly copied and reused. It... Read the full article