New Addition to Rare Books

Over the past few months, the USF library has been conducting an inventory project of all the general collection holdings. The librarians are in the process of fixing catalog records, changing labels, and general maintenance of the thousands of books, CDs, and DVDs. From this process a few treasures have been discovered, which is where the archives steps in.

This week a book was brought to my attention and after some research I made the decision to move it to our Rare Books collection. The 1889 edition of American Artists and Their Works: A Series of Etchings, Photo-Etchings, Photogravures, and Engravings, After Designs and Paintings by the Most Celebrated Artists, Volume II is a collection of fully illustrated drawings, original sketches, and etchings of original paintings or sculptures.

Volume II highlights the work of nineteen well-known American artists of the 19th century, including:

Maud Humphrey
Frederick Stuart Church
F. O. C. Darley
James Carroll Beckwith
Moses Jacob Ezekiel
Charles Stanley Reinhart
Alfred Waud
Charles Henry Miller

The book was published by Boston firm Estes & Lauriat and contains over 100 plates with etchings, photo-etchings, and woodcut illustrations. Each artist page has an accompanying biography, as well.  As I was flipping through the pages I found three images which I really enjoyed. Two are from illustrator Frederick Stuart Church (1842-1924) and the third is from painter F.O.C. Darley (1822-1888).

Idyl by Frederick Stuart Church, original etching
News From the Front by F.O.C. Darley, photo-etching from an original painting

The Mermaid by F.S. Church, original etching

Currently, I am on the lookout for the first volume of American Artists and Their Works, which is a treasure waiting to be found in the library's general collection. For now, the second addition can be viewed in the Archives reading room during our regular hours. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 2, 2015 at 5:10 PM

    Good choices to showcase some of the treasures of the library.

    ReplyDelete

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