Jay T. Last Collection of Agriculture Prints and Ephemera: Finding Aid
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c89g5r3g Online items available Jay T. Last Collection of Agriculture Prints and Ephemera: Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Charla DelaCuadra. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Prints and Ephemera The Huntington Library 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org © November 2019 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Jay T. Last Collection of priJLC_AGR 1 Agriculture Prints and Ephemera: Finding Aid Overview of the Collection Title: Jay T. Last Collection of Agriculture Prints and Ephemera Dates (inclusive): approximately 1818-1924 Bulk dates: 1850-1900 Collection Number: priJLC_AGR Collector: Last, Jay T. Extent: approximately 2,315 items Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Prints and Ephemera 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org Abstract: The Jay T. Last Collection of Agriculture Prints and Ephemera contains roughly 2,315 items from approximately 1818 to 1924, with the majority of material dating from 1850 to 1900. The collection consists mainly of advertising prints and ephemera related to crop, hay, livestock, and dairy farming, including the tools, equipment, supplies, and structures used for cultivating soil; raising, harvesting, and storing crops; irrigating land; growing grasses for animal fodder; marking territory lines or separating fields and pasture lands; and boarding, breeding, feeding, rearing, tending, and selling farm animals. Language: English. Note: Finding aid last updated on November 19, 2019. Access Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services. Publication Rights The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher. Preferred Citation [Item title, Call number]. Jay T. Last Collection of Agriculture Prints and Ephemera, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Provenance This collection forms part of the Jay T. Last Collection of Graphic Arts and Social History, which was donated to the Huntington Library by Jay T. Last in 2005 as a gift in progress. The bulk of the agriculture prints and ephemera were transferred to the Library between 2010 and 2013. Background The Jay T. Last Collection is an unparalleled archive of printed paper artifacts that documents American lithographic, social, and business history. The collection began in the early 1970s when physicist and Silicon Valley pioneer Jay Last moved to Southern California and started collecting citrus box labels he found at local flea markets and rummage sales. As his collection grew, Last realized that these labels conveyed important information about commercial printing, graphic design, and social history, and he expanded his collection to include other forms of American visual culture. Today this collection contains more than 200,000 lithographic prints, posters, and ephemera of mostly nineteenth- and early twentieth- century American origin and represents works by more than five hundred lithographic companies. Scope and Content The Jay T. Last Collection of Agriculture Prints and Ephemera contains roughly 2,315 items from approximately 1818 to 1924, with the majority of material dating from 1850 to 1900. The collection consists mainly of advertising prints and ephemera related to crop, hay, livestock, and dairy farming, including the tools, equipment, supplies, and structures used for cultivating soil; raising, harvesting, and storing crops; irrigating land; growing grasses for animal fodder; marking territory lines or separating fields and pastures; and boarding, breeding, feeding, rearing, tending, and selling farm animals. Agricultural machinery and implement companies dominate. Manufacturers and dealers of fertilizer, windmills, and fencing Jay T. Last Collection of priJLC_AGR 2 Agriculture Prints and Ephemera: Finding Aid supplies are also represented, as are veterinary medicine, items used to collect or make dairy products, and items used on horses such as blankets, halters, harnesses, horseshoes, nails, saddles, and riding whips. Certificates issued by or pertaining to agricultural societies and organizations are also found here. 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). Most small-size items are described broadly at the series level; selected small-size items and all large-size items are fully inventoried, with all printers, artists, and publishers indexed by name. The collection has 125 large-size items comprised mainly of lithographs and engravings, including advertising prints, certificates, and promotional materials. Small-size items number over 2,000 and are comprised mainly of trade cards, leaflets, handbills, stationery, calendars, price lists, and catalogs from various businesses. Materials are further divided into two subseries: Implements and Supplies, and Livestock. Implements and Supplies includes fences, fertilizers, farm machinery and implements, and windmills. Livestock includes breeding, dairying, food, and veterinary medicine for livestock, and a variety of products and services relating to horses and blacksmithing. The collection's prints and ephemera are primarily promotional in nature and provide information about American farming and agriculture-related industries, as well as the evolution of advertising strategies employed by these businesses in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Materials in this collection also provide perspectives on the role of horses in American daily life, and on membership and participation in various societies and organizations. 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. Alternative Form of Materials Available Visit the Huntington Digital Library: Jay T. Last Collection to view digitized items from this collection. Related materials in the Huntington Library • Jay T. Last Collection of Fairs and Expositions Prints and Ephemera Includes additional certificates and other materials related to agricultural exhibitions. • Jay T. Last Collection of Horticulture Prints and Ephemera • Jay T. Last Collection of Horticulture: Page Seed Company Business Correspondence • Jay T. Last Collection of Household Prints and Ephemera Includes insecticides and other related pest control products. The Huntington Library Historical Prints Collection contains three related items (priHHC_AGR_0000017; priHHC_AGR_0000018; priHHC_AGR_0000019) that are listed in the "Related Materials" section at the beginning of Series II in this finding aid. Arrangement The collection is arranged in the following series and subseries: Series I. Agriculture Prints and Ephemera (small size) • Subseries A. Implements and Supplies (small size) • Subseries B. Livestock (small size) Series II. Agriculture Prints and Ephemera (large size) • Subseries A. Implements and Supplies (large size) • Subseries B. Livestock (large size) Indexing Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog. Genres Billheads. Business cards. Catalogs. Chromolithographs. Ephemera. Ephemera -- United States -- 19th century. Ephemera -- United States -- 20th century. Engravings. Handbills. Jay T. Last Collection of priJLC_AGR 3 Agriculture Prints and Ephemera: Finding Aid Intaglio prints. Leaflets (printed works). Letterheads. Lithographs. Price lists. Printed ephemera. Promotional materials. Relief prints. Stationery. Trade cards. Subjects Advertising -- Agriculture. Advertising -- Machinery industry. Agricultural exhibitions -- Pictorial works. Agricultural implements -- Pictorial works. Agricultural laborers -- Pictorial works. Agricultural machinery -- Pictorial works. Agricultural machinery industry -- Pictorial works. Agricultural machinery industry. Agricultural machinery. Agriculture -- Pictorial works. Agriculture. Animals -- Pictorial works. Chickens -- Pictorial works. Children -- Pictorial works. Families -- Pictorial works. Farmhouses -- Pictorial works. Farms -- Pictorial works. Fences. Fertilizer industry -- Pictorial works. Fertilizer industry. Fertilizer. Horses -- Pictorial works. Indians of North America -- Pictorial works. Livestock -- Pictorial works. Men -- Pictorial works. Women -- Pictorial works. Printer, Publisher, Artist Index The following is a complete list of printers, publishers, and artists represented in the individually cataloged items in this collection. A.L. Clarke & Co. Ackerman, James, 1815 or 1816-1864 American Lithographic Co. Avery, A. S. Baker, Geo. H. (George Holbrook), 1827-1906 Bonheur, Rosa, 1822-1899 Bosqui Eng. & Print. Co. Britton & Co. Jay T. Last Collection of priJLC_AGR 4 Agriculture Prints and Ephemera: Finding Aid Brooks Bank Note Co. Bufford, John Henry, 1810-1870 Charles Van Benthuysen & Sons Chubbuck, Thomas, -1888 Clapp, Matthews & Co. Clay & Richmond Cosack & Co. Courier Company Crow, Franklin Currier & Ives Curtis & Childs De Lappe,