PW-50353-09 | Preservation and Access: Humanities Collections and Reference Resources | American Antiquarian Society | Prints for the Parlor: A Catalog of Engravings and Gift Book Illustrations, 1821-1876 | 5/1/2009 - 2/28/2012 | $162,349.00 | Lauren | B. | Hewes | | | | American Antiquarian Society | Worcester | MA | 01609-1634 | USA | 2009 | Art History and Criticism | Humanities Collections and Reference Resources | Preservation and Access | 162349 | 0 | 162349 | 0 | The cataloging and digitization of 600 separately published engravings and 2,700 engravings in gift books and literary annuals published from the 1820s through the 1870s.
This proposal seeks funding for cataloging and digitizing separately published American engravings published between 1820 and 1877 and engraved illustrations and related text in gift books issued in the same period. This body of materials is relatively inaccessible to historians of art, literature, publishing, culture, and society; yet it was this visual material that helped inform Americans about many aspects of their lives, including American history, religious iconography, European and American landscape and cities. Engravings gave physical presence to political, religious, and military leaders as well as providing visual information about social reforms. Likewise, gift book illustrations were purveyors of visual information on many topics. The volumes containing them were kept at hand for casual viewing on parlour tables and so had significant impact on their viewers. Scholars in many disciplines will find these records and digitized images helpful. |