Press Kit
The Color Explosion: Nineteenth Century American Lithography from the Jay T. Last Collection
Oct. 17, 2009–Feb. 22, 2010
Boone Gallery
When a young German playwright named Alois Senefelder developed a new printmaking process in the 1790s, little did he know that his discovery would start a communication revolution. Lithography, or flat-surface printing, transformed the exchange of information and the behavior of everyday life for the next century and beyond. This technique brought art, literature, music, and science to the masses; gave rise to product advertising and consumer culture; educated a growing middle class; and turned commercial printing from a craft into an industry. Lithography also colorized a predominantly black-and-white print world.
The Color Explosion presents more than 200 examples of 19th-century American lithography from The Huntington’s Jay T. Last Collection of Lithographic and Social History. Advertising posters, art prints, calendars, certificates, children’s books, color-plate illustrations, historical views, product labels, sales catalogs, sheet music, toys & games, and trade cards are just some of the artifacts that will be included in this comprehensive exhibition.
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Stage
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Stage
| California & Oregon Stage Company advertising poster, color lithographed by Britton & Rey (San Francisco), ca. 1870.
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American Autumn
| “American Autumn,” lithographed by Thomas Sinclair (Philadelphia), 1867. |
| Baltimore Oysters | Trade card for J. Ludington & Co.’s Baltimore Oysters, lithographed by The Calvert Lithographing Co. (Detroit), ca. 1890.
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| Chicago RR | Advertising poster for Chicago and Alton Railroad’s “Reclining-Chair Route,” lithographed by Ballin & Liebler (New York), ca. 1885. |
Clipper
| Trade card for Clipper Lawn Mowers, unidentified lithographer, ca. 1895. |
| El Darien | Product label for El Darien Tobacco, lithographed by Heppenheimer & Maurer (New York), ca. 1880. |
Football
| Parlor foot-ball board game, created and lithographed by the McLoughlin Brothers (New York), 1891. |
Hall’s
| Advertising poster for Hall’s Hair Renewer, unidentified lithographer, ca. 1885. |
| Mandeville face | Advertising poster for Mandeville & King Superior Flower Seeds, lithographed by Karle Lithographic Co. (Rochester, N.Y.), ca. 1895. |
Mandeville figure
| Advertising poster for Mandeville & King Superior Flower Seeds, illustrated by Louis Rhead (New York), ca. 1895.
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Muscatel
| Product label for Rancho Chico Muscatel Raisins, lithographed by A. L. Bancroft & Co. (San Francisco), 1880.
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Red Elephant
| Product label for H. H. Reynolds’ Red Elephant tobacco, lithographed by Isaac Friedenwald (Baltimore), ca. 1885.
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Yule Tide
| Product label for Yule Tide Brand Oranges, lithographed by Los Angeles Lithographic Co., ca. 1895.
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