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Issachar Cozzens portfolio print collection

Call Number

PR 145

Date

1800-[1865], inclusive

Creator

Cozzens, Issachar, 1780-1865

Extent

0.3 Linear feet (72 prints)

Language of Materials

This collection is primarily visual. Any text is likely to be in English.

Abstract

Collection of early nineteenth century natural history and miscellaneous prints collected by Issachar Cozzens.

Biographical Note

Issachar Cozzens Jr. (1780-1865) was a New York distiller. He also had an interest in natural history and political history, and collected maps, manuscripts, and prints relating to these fields. It is thought that he obtained a sizeable number of Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill's papers from the cellar of the Almshouse in City Hall Park before it was destroyed by fire in 1854. Mitchill (1764-1831) was a noted professor of Natural History and print collector. Cozzens pasted these prints and maps, along with others of alternate provenance, in a large scrapbook.

Arrangement

Print numbers were assigned by Cozzens

Scope and Contents

The Issachar Cozzens Portfolio Print Collection spans the period from 1860 to ca. 1865 and primarily contains early prints related to natural history and New York topics. Cozzens assembled a scrapbook with engravings, certificates, caricatures, lithographs, drawings, and maps of the New York area, natural history specimens, buildings, portraits, and landmarks. Many of the prints in the scrapbook bear the initials "SLM," as Samuel L. Mitchill owned many of these prints before Cozzens acquired them. Cozzens pasted most of the documents onto a pink paper in the scrapbook and added his handwritten notes.

The collection includes early lithography by Arthur J. Stansbury, some of the first known lithographs to have been produced in New York City. Other lithographs are by Imbert and included engravings are by Alexander Anderson, Peter Maverick, and Francis Davignon. An early engraving by Alexander Anderson, a "Wheel of Fortune," is the only known impression of this print. Many natural history pages include drawings of fish, several made by Cozzens himself. The collection includes a copy of the Declaration of Independence and several learning charts, including a toxicological table, illustrations of the eye, and an outline of the Linnean system of classification. Portraits and geographical prints round out the collection.

After its acquisition by the New-York Historical Society, Cozzens' scrapbook was disbound and its components were distributed among several different departments. The following container list includes prints held by the Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections. A transcription of Cozzens' original list of prints (the original is held by the Society's Manuscript Department), with call numbers for those items now located in the General Library Collections, can be consulted in the repository.

For more in-depth information about the collection, its provenance, and some of its prints, see the article "Portfolio of a Curious Mind: The Issachar Cozzens Collection" by Jenny Gotwals in the New-York Journal of American History, Volume 65, Number 4, Fall 2004, pages 48-57.

Access Restrictions

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as Issachar Cozzens Portfolio Print Collection, PR 145, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchase, 1866.

Collection processed by

Jenny Gotwals

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:48:06 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from cozzens.xml

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024