The Brooklyn Bridge turns 137 years old today! After more than 13 years of construction, the bridge opened on May 24, 1883, connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn across the East River. At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Its distinctive architecture has inspired art in a variety of mediums–including prints. Here Read More
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My First Currier & Ives Print
By James S. Brust It was October 8, 1974, though at the time I made no special effort to remember the date. Driving up the coast of Maine at the start of an autumn trip through New England, I stopped at a cluttered, musty antique barn. Having grown up in New York City, I was Read More
Examining Historic Prints During a Pandemic
Invisible enemies have long been an elusive subject to illustrate. But throughout print history, artists have tried their hand at capturing various angles of disease. When epidemics strike, we can try to pull back into our own print collections to see examples of medical prints, diagnostic illustrations, maps and surveys used as tracing tools, and Read More
Horses and Fanny Palmer: “The one thing Mrs. Palmer could not draw was a horse.”
Fanny Palmer was one of Currier & Ives’ most important and prolific artists — and her oeuvre of nearly 300 prints gives the impression of artistic invincibility. But in the small book Currier & Ives (1950), Frederic A. Conningham notes: “The only type of work she did not do was the horse racing print. According Read More
Tip of the Hat to Currier & Ives
The American Antiquarian Society has lots of examples of fully lithographed books—made with both lithographic images and text—including titles by Bret Harte, children’s picture books, and inexpensive comic text. One great example in AAS’s collection is titled Wreck-Elections of a Busy Life and was published in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1867. The entire volume is a humorous Read More