[Walter L. Pforzheimer collection of Century Company illustrations]
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of 142 drawings and watercolors by twenty-seven artists who were commissioned by the Century Company to create illustrations for their popular periodicals The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine and St. Nicholas Magazine, in particular to illustrate stories for children. Most of the drawings have paper labels or production marks in crayon on their versos indicating the magazine, volume number, and projected page number where the images were to appear, the section of the magazine (such as "Open Letters" to the editor or the “In Lighter Vein” departments), prices paid to the artists, and notes such as “Plate wanted,” “Blueprint at once,” and “Great Haste!” While many prominent illustrators from the era are included in the collection, those represented by the largest number of drawings are Reginald B. Birch (10), Harrison Cady (9), Oliver Herford (22), Charles M. Relyea (47), and I. W. Taber (8).
Dates
- 1879-1914
Creator
- Pforzheimer, Walter L. (Walter Lionel), 1914-2003 (Collector)
- Benda, Wladyslaw T. (Wladyslaw Theodore), 1873-1948
- Birch, Reginald B., 1856-1943
- Blaisdell, E. Warde
- Blum, Robert Frederick, 1857-1903
- Blumenschein, E. L. (Ernest Leonard), 1874-1960
- Bransom, Paul, 1885-1979
- Brennan, Alfred, 1853-1921
- Cady, Harrison, 1877-1970
- Church, Frederick S. (Frederick Stuart), 1842-1924
- Cox, Kenyon, 1856-1919
- Edwards, George Wharton, 1859-1950
- Gaul, Gilbert William, 1855-1919
- Harker, G. A.
- Herford, Oliver, 1863-1935
- Kemble, E. W. (Edward Windsor), 1861-1933
- Lungren, Fernand, 1857-1932
- Lutz, Edwin George, 1868-1951
- Nuttall, Charles
- Post, Charles Johnson, 1873-1956
- Potthast, Edward, 1857-1927
- Price, Norman, 1877-1951
- Raleigh, Henry, 1880-1945
- Relyea, C. M. (Charles M.), 1863-1932
- Storer, Florence Edith
- Taber, I. W. (Isaac Walton), 1857-1933
Language of Materials
Captions in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Walter L. Pforzheimer Collection of Century Company Illustrations is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Walter L. Pforzheimer (Yale 1935, 1938L), 1955.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by artist, and by size thereunder.
Extent
2.1 Linear Feet (17 boxes)
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The collection consists of 142 drawings and watercolors by twenty-seven artists who were commissioned by the Century Company to create illustrations for their popular periodicals The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine and St. Nicholas Magazine, in particular to illustrate stories for children. Most of the drawings have paper labels or production marks in crayon on their versos indicating the magazine, volume number, and projected page number where the images were to appear, the section of the magazine (such as "Open Letters" to the editor or the “In Lighter Vein” departments), prices paid to the artists, and notes such as “Plate wanted,” “Blueprint at once,” and “Great Haste!” While many prominent illustrators from the era are included in the collection, those represented by the largest number of drawings are Reginald B. Birch (10), Harrison Cady (9), Oliver Herford (22), Charles M. Relyea (47), and I. W. Taber (8).
Walter L. Pforzheimer (1914-2003)
Walter L. Pforzheimer (Yale 1935, 1938L), lawyer, intelligence officer, and book collector.
Century Company (1881-1933)
The Century Company was an American publisher of books and magazines. Founded in 1870 in New York City as Scribner and Company, a subsidiary of Charles Scribner's Sons, it was purchased in 1881 by Roswell Smith and renamed the Century Company. The firm's magazine, Scribner's Monthly, also founded in 1870, was renamed The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine in 1881; it ceased publication in 1930. The Century Company also became the publisher of the children's periodical St. Nicholas Magazine, which had been founded by Scribner and Company in 1873; it ceased publication in 1940. In 1933 the Century Company merged with publisher D. Appleton & Company to form the Appleton-Century Company, Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
- Benda, Wladyslaw T. (Wladyslaw Theodore), 1873-1948
- Birch, Reginald B., 1856-1943
- Blaisdell, E. Warde
- Blum, Robert Frederick, 1857-1903
- Blumenschein, E. L. (Ernest Leonard), 1874-1960
- Bransom, Paul, 1885-1979
- Brennan, Alfred, 1853-1921
- Cady, Harrison, 1877-1970
- Century Company
- Century illustrated monthly magazine
- Children's literature -- Illustrations
- Children's periodicals, American
- Church, Frederick S. (Frederick Stuart), 1842-1924
- Cox, Kenyon, 1856-1919
- Edwards, George Wharton, 1859-1950
- Gaul, Gilbert William, 1855-1919
- Harker, G. A.
- Herford, Oliver, 1863-1935
- Illustrators -- United States -- 19th century
- Illustrators -- United States -- 20th Century
- Kemble, E. W. (Edward Windsor), 1861-1933
- Lungren, Fernand, 1857-1932
- Lutz, Edwin George, 1868-1951
- Nuttall, Charles
- Periodical illustrations -- United States -- 19th century
- Periodical illustrations -- United States -- 20th Century
- Pforzheimer, Walter L. (Walter Lionel), 1914-2003
- Post, Charles Johnson, 1873-1956
- Potthast, Edward, 1857-1927
- Price, Norman, 1877-1951
- Raleigh, Henry, 1880-1945
- Relyea, C. M. (Charles M.), 1863-1932
- St. Nicholas (New York, N.Y.)
- Storer, Florence Edith
- Taber, I. W. (Isaac Walton), 1857-1933
- Watercolors (paintings) -- United States -- 19th century
- Watercolors (paintings) -- United States -- 20th Century
- Title
- Guide to the Walter L. Pforzheimer Collection of Century Company Illustrations
- Author
- by Beinecke Staff
- Date
- 2014
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.