Chromolithography: The Art of Color
Historical

[ Exhibition index ]

With up-to-date costumes and timely hairdos, the timeless subject of life's cycle appears in George Cram's "Life and Age of Man / Life and Age of Woman." Widespread since the advent of the printing press, visual reminders of life's fragility were especially popular with Victorian Protestants, a largely Anglo, Calvinist group whose beliefs centered on God's sovereignty and man's weakness. Through mourning jewelry and post-mortem portraits, they expressed both awareness of human mortality and belief in eternal life. Like the portraits, the "Life and Age of Man . . ." print could be framed to decorate a parlor or bedroom wall; on rollers (as seen here), it might serve as a teaching tool for a classroom or Sunday School.

Cram's "Life and Age of Man . . ." is identical in composition to those published by firms like Currier & Ives earlier in the nineteenth century (which likewise drew on European precedents) -- only time-sensitive details changed. Military uniforms, ladies' hairdos, and costume silhouettes were altered to appeal to the style-conscious middle class, who would have been the likely viewers/consumers of a fashionable reminder of an eternal theme. A very scarce interpretation of one of the most popular themes in Western print culture. $950

"Battle of Tippecanoe. November 7th 1811." Chicago: Kurz & Allison, 1889. Chromolithograph. 17 1/2 x 25. Very good condition.

A colorful image by Kurz & Allison, showing the Battle of Tippecanoe, where future president, William Henry Harrison, made his name as a general. Typically of the prints by this firm, the event is overstated with Victorian melodrama. The vivid colors show the US Army's dramatic battle in Indiana just before the War of 1812. As much a reflection of the taste of the print buying public as of the events portrayed in them, this print is a wonderful document of Victorian times. $700

Go to page with more historic chromolithographs by Kurz & Allison.

Pairs of popular prints on the theme of a soldier heading off to war and then returning appeared in this country as early as the Mexican-American War. This pair appeared at the end of the Philippine-American War. $350

There are quite a number of Civil War chromolithographs listed in our Civil War pages

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©The Philadelphia Print Shop Last updated March 13, 2021