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Catalog Data

Maker:
Sarony & Major  Search this
Physical Description:
hand-colored (image production method/technique)
ink (overall material)
paper (overall material)
Measurements:
image: 11 1/2 in x 8 1/2 in; 29.21 cm x 21.59 cm
overall: 14 in x 11 in; 35.56 cm x 27.94 cm
Object Name:
lithograph
Object Type:
Lithograph
Place made:
United States: New York, New York City
Date made:
1846
Description:
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class, and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This colored print is a rustic outdoor scene of man and woman seated and cuddling in a romantic, intimate pose. The man is dressed in knee socks, tight knee britches, short jacket, shirt, ascot and beret. The woman wears a long dress, plaid shawl, ribbon and bow in hair. A women's hat lies at their feet. The title and prose refer to a longer popular poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) entitled <I>Highland Mary</I>. A similar image was created a year after this print by Currier & Ives and colored by Sarony & Major.
The print was produced by Sarony & Major. Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896) was born in Quebec and trained under several lithography firms including Currier & Ives and H.R. Robinson. Sarony was also known for his successful experiments in early photography, eventually developing a cabinet-sized camera. In 1846, Sarony partnered with another former apprentice of Nathaniel Currier, Henry B. Major and created Sarony & Major Lithography firm. Joseph F. Knapp joined the firm in 1857. Sarony, Major & Knapp earned a solid reputation for lithography and the company was especially known for its fine art chromolithography. Unfortunately, by the 1870s, the firm shifted focus to the more profitable area of advertising. It also expanded to become the conglomerate known as the American Lithographic Company, successfully producing calendars, advertising cards, and posters. In 1930 they were bought out by Consolidated Graphics.
Location:
Currently not on view
Subject:
Chronology: 1840-1849  Search this
Courtship, love  Search this
Adornment  Search this
Related Publication:
Peters, Harry T.. America on Stone
Credit Line:
Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
ID Number:
DL.60.2267
Catalog number:
60.2267
Accession number:
228146
See more items in:
Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
Clothing & Accessories
Art
Peters Prints
Domestic Furnishings
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a1-27e3-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_324606