Maryland Historical Society
Baltimore, MD
410-685-3750
http://www.mdhs.org
More Than Meets the Eye: Maryland History
in Prints, 1750-1900
The Maryland Historical Society announces
the opening of More Than Meets the Eye: Maryland History in Prints, 1750-1900.
The exhibition opened July 16, 1999 and runs through January 16, 2000 (closed
temporarily from October 18 - November 23). Including over 35 prints from
the MHS's collection, More Than Meets the Eye provides a fascinating
glimpse into the political and social trends that shaped the state's history
in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Although produced mainly for commercial purposes, Maryland
prints of the late 18th and 19th 
centuries were highly prized and viewed by the public
with great interest. The prints presented in the exhibition at the MHS explore
four themes from Maryland's history: immigration, rowdyism (riots and unruly
gatherings), evangelical religion and reform movements, and changes imposed
upon Maryland's landscape by the rapidly increasing population. Says curator
Laura 
Rice,
"These specific prints were selected because they provide a good cross-section
of the MHS's collection as a whole. They also, quite literally, illustrate
some of the more significant trends in Maryland's history and afford the
viewer a unique opportunity to view Maryland's past through the lens of
eighteenth and nineteenth century lithographs."
The prints being exhibited, according to Rice, were not
regarded as fine art when they were made. However, says Rice, "It is
truly remarkable how good they are and how well they manage to convey their
messages, whether they be advertising a hotel, a railroad, a volunteer fire
company, or a 
printing
company." Adds Rice, "People, when these prints were made, did
collect them. Some of these lithographs were printed as trading cards and
manufacturers gave them out as premiums with a purchase. People would try
to 'collect all five,' much as kids might collect baseball cards today,"
she explains.
In addition to curating the exhibition at the MHS, Rice
is also authoring a new book that will be published by the Press at the
Maryland Historical Society in the winter of 1999-2000. The book, Maryland
History in Prints:: 1752-1900, will be approximately 350 pages in length
and will contain 320 images (80-100 of which will be in full color).
Images from top to bottom: Canvas Back Duck, drawn fom Nature
by John James Audobon, Lithograph Printed and Sold by J. T. Bowen, 10.8
x 19.3 cm; Phoenix Line, "Safety Coaches," Moses Swett,
Invt. et Del., c. 1835, Lithograph of Endicott and Swett, NY; The Thomas
Viaduct, drawn on stone by Thomas Campbell, 1835, Lithograph.
Read more about the Maryland Historical
Society in Resource Library Magazine
For further biographical information on selected artists
cited in this article please see America's
Distinguished Artists, a national registry of historic artists.
rev. 10/18/10
Search Resource
Library for thousands of articles and essays on American art.
Copyright 2010 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights
reserved.
centuries were highly prized and viewed by the public
with great interest. The prints presented in the exhibition at the MHS explore
four themes from Maryland's history: immigration, rowdyism (riots and unruly
gatherings), evangelical religion and reform movements, and changes imposed
upon Maryland's landscape by the rapidly increasing population. Says curator
Laura 
Rice,
"These specific prints were selected because they provide a good cross-section
of the MHS's collection as a whole. They also, quite literally, illustrate
some of the more significant trends in Maryland's history and afford the
viewer a unique opportunity to view Maryland's past through the lens of
eighteenth and nineteenth century lithographs."