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Harry T. Peters collection of pictorial newspaper illustrations

Call Number

PR 49

Date

circa 1845-1920 (bulk, 1860-1890), inclusive

Creator

Peters, Harry Twyford, 1881-1948

Extent

119 folder(s) (approximately 10,500 prints)

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The collection, compiled by Harry T. Peters, includes approximately 10,500 prints (mostly black and white wood engravings) from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Harper's Weekly, and other publications from circa 1845 to 1920. Subject matter includes entertainment, sports, ships, politics, views of New York City, and other topics.

Biographical / Historical

Harry Twyford Peters was a coal merchant, sportsman, and pioneer in collecting and writing in the field of American lithography. Peters was born in 1881 in Greenwich, Connecticut. He graduated from Columbia College in 1903, and then joined his father's profitable coal business, Williams & Peters. He remained at the firm until his retirement in 1945.

Collecting as an activity was well-known to a young Harry Peters. His father Samuel Twyford Peters was a collector of Chinese ceramics. His uncle Henry O. Havemeyer was a noted collector of French paintings. Havemeyer is said to have encouraged Peters to collect American prints, as they were not frequently collected at the beginning of the 20th century. Peters, an avid sportsman, was later said to have begun his collection of Currier & Ives prints after seeing one of their prints of the famous horse Lady Suffolk. He began to collect sporting prints, and later expanded his interest to the entire oeuvre of the firm. He later collected work by other American lithographing firms as well.

Peters eventually published several books on American prints and printmakers, and his work is generally credited for reviving interest in the lithographic work of the firm Currier & Ives. His 2 volume "Currier & Ives, Printmakers to the American People," was published in 1929 and 1931. "America on Stone," a more general history of lithography, also came out in 1931, and was followed in 1935 by "California on Stone," which included an iconography of the Gold Rush and California. In 1942 a one-volume edition of the Currier & Ives set was published, which became a bestseller and was included in the Book-of-the-Month Club.

Peters became a member of N-YHS in 1930, and a Fellow in 1946. In 1947 he was awarded the New-York Historical Society's 5th Gold Medal for Achievement in History for his outstanding contributions to the history of graphic arts and social history.

Peters exhibited show dogs and horses throughout his life, and frequently served as a judge at Westminster Kennel Club shows. He served as Master of the Meadow Brook Hounds for twenty-three years. Harry Peters died on June 1, 1948.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into two series: general subjects and places/geographical views.

Scope and Contents

The Harry T. Peters Collection of Pictorial Newspaper Illustrations spans the period from circa 1845 to 1920 and contains approximately 10,500 wood engravings depicting daily life and news events of the late 19th century. The collection is organized into two series: general subjects and places/geographical views.

The vast majority of the illustrations in the collection are black and white wood engravings, but a few earlier woodcuts and some later halftone prints are also included. Most of the collection's single and double-page sheets are from the leading American pictorial journals: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (1855-1922) and Harper's Weekly (1857-1916). Other publications include Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion (begun in 1851, from 1855-1859 was known as Ballou's Pictorial), the New York Illustrated News, and Scientific American (begun in 1845). Some earlier (1840s-50s) views are cut from the Illustrated London News (begun in 1842). Many images are full sheets, so that the publication and date are clearly visible; some images have been cut so that no identifying information can be found.

Images show aspects of daily life, important news and cultural events, and fanciful illustrations on a wide variety of topics. In many cases, images found in this collection are difficult to find elsewhere, as photography was not fully in use as a documentary format, and as the ephemeral nature of many of the events pictured did not warrant a separately-issued lithograph or engraving. While images pertaining to a certain geographic region have been grouped together, the researcher is encouraged to look through the "subject" folders as well as through geographic views, as one is likely to find additional images in both places. There appears to be substantial overlap between some of the categories. Subject categories were created by N-YHS staff after the donation of the collection, and have not been changed.

Numerous artists are represented, and the work of several leading illustrators has been grouped together. These are William M. Cary, Arthur B. Frost, Winslow Homer, Thomas Nast, Howard Pyle, and Frederic Remington.

Series I. General subjects includes clippings sorted by general subject. The largest categories are entertainment, sports, ships, and politics. Engravings sorted by artist can be found in this series.

Series II. Places holds clippings sorted by location. The majority of these deal with New York City, particularly its buildings and events. Beyond the New York metropolitan region, large sections include images of Philadelphia, Chicago, and international locations.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, contact the Print Room Librarian at printroom@nyhistory.org.

Access to the material is restricted because it is quite fragile, as newsprint from the period has turned brittle. Some documents are already damaged. Consequently, patrons are required to use N-YHS's photocopies of the material. After using the copies, should a patron wish to see a particular original(s), they will need to consult and make arrangements for special handling with the reference librarian.

Use Restrictions

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 20 exposures of stable, unbound material per day. 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

The collection should be cited as: Harry T. Peters Collection of Pictorial Newspaper Illustrations, PR 49, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, New-York Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Harry T. Peters, 1946. Later, disparate gifts of similar material were added to the collection by N-YHS staff.

Related Materials

Other contemporary newspaper illustrations can be found throughout the Geographic File (PR 020) and the Subject File (PR 068). The New-York Historical Society Library holds the bound originals of many of the illustrated newspapers named above. The N-YHS Manuscript Department holds a collection of Peters's letters to Jesse Merritt (call phrase: AHMC-Peters, Harry Twyford).

The Museum of the City of New York holds Peters's collection of Currier & Ives prints. The Smithsonian Museum of American History holds Peters's collection of lithography that formed the basis of his 1931 book "America on Stone."

Collection processed by

Jenny Gotwals, May 2006; migrated to ArchivesSpace by Elise Winks, May 2020.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:25 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Processing Information

The collection was physically rehoused and cataloged, likely in the 1990s or early 2000s. A folder-level inventory was created in a Word document by Jenny Gotwals in May 2006. In May 2020 archivist Elise Winks combined data from the catalog entry and the inventory into an on-line finding aid.

Repository

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