Dear Captain Butler,
I am
writing to respond to your reference request, and as I understand it you are
currently in the stages of writing a book on the print revival in Britain and
America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In
your email you expressed an interest in researching more current resources on
the topic and were having a difficult time finding the most up-to-date information
on current research, projects, and trends. As a librarian at a large university,
I highly suggest that you take a look at different university library’s
LibGuides, particularly at universities, such as mine, that offer a PhD in art
history. LibGuides can be filled with rich resources to help guide you through
your research process and are frequently updated so that they can stay abreast on
new publications and other helpful resources.
To
assist you in your research pursuits I have outlined below and included links
to 10 current and scholarly online sources for you to peruse. I have included
websites and blogposts that are constantly posting new information and updated frequently,
as well as a few scholarly journal publications that have multiple volumes
published throughout the year. Some of the sources I have listed are broader in
scope, but include information that may be of particular interest to you and
your research.
1. The Old Print Gallery Blog
The Old Print Gallery Blog—An Exploration of
Prints and Maps could not be more useful! I highly recommend taking a look
at this blog as it is updated constantly and features a wide variety of
postings. Each posting is categorized and you are able to search all of the
posts and also browse each category. Specifically for your research, I
recommend taking a look at “19th Century Prints,” “American Views,” “Early
20th Century,” “Foreign Views,” “Prints,” as well as each category
for a specific printmaking technique. While each of these categories does not
have individual monthly postings, they have all been updated within the last
year. The Old Print Gallery is one of
the largest and most diverse print and map shops in the United States. In
addition to their blog, they also publish a semi-annual journal entitled Showcase, in both traditional and
digital media forms, which features a wide variety of articles on historic
prints and maps in the gallery’s current collection with beautiful
illustrations.
2. Antique Prints Blog
Written
by an independent prints scholar and dealer, this blog began strong in 2009
with dozens of posts published monthly. While the posts slowed down a bit in
frequency during recent years, the author seems to be picking up momentum again
and has published several posts each month over the past year. Antique Prints Blog is about original
prints from the 17th to the early 20th century, with a primary focus on
historical prints from the Western tradition of the 18th and 19th centuries. The
information the author publishes in each blog entry is geared towards anyone
interested in the subject of antique prints; including, novices, dealers,
collectors, and scholars. This blog may be of great use to your research as it
provides contemporary commentary on your research topic by a scholar and is
updated frequently.
3. Art in Print
Published
six times each year, Art in Print is
an excellent resource filled with critical and scholarly writing about
historical and contemporary prints and acts as a centralized resource on print
information, news, and events for the museum, collector, artist, scholar, and
print dealer communities. This is a subscription journal available in both
print and digital formats. This journal would be useful to you as it publishes
articles and contemporary scholarly research on historical printmaking.
4. INK Blog
https://artinprint.org/ink-blog/
Written
by an independent print specialist and critic, INK is published as an open access blog by the journal Art in Print. The blog is updated
bi-monthly and provides broad observations and synthesis of trends, current
research, and events related to the print world. This blog may be of interest
to your research as it publishes current trends and upcoming events related to
the print world.
5. Picture This—Prints & Photographs
Division at the Library of Congress
Picture This is the official
blog of the Prints an Photographs Division at the Library of Congress. The archive
for the blog goes back to 2011 and is filled with posts right up to the current
month. This resource is updated very frequently, with 2-6 posts every month.
The posts feature images, commentary, and information on current research and
projects from the Prints and Photographs Division’s vast holdings, which
contain more than 14.5 million photos, posters, cartoons, architectural
designs, and historical and fine art prints. While the information published on
this blog is broader in scope than your research topic, as the posts discuss
the wide range of collection objects in the Prints and Photographs Division,
information and commentary on British and American 19th and 20th
century prints within the collection’s holdings can definitely be found.
6. Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide
http://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/
Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide is a scholarly, peer-reviewed,
e-journal dedicated to the study of nineteenth-century painting, sculpture,
graphic arts, photography, architecture, and decorative arts across the globe. Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide
publishes 2-3 issues per year and also frequently publishes book and exhibition
reviews on their website. The journal’s goal is to demonstrate the
interconnectedness of the artistic achievements of different nations across the
globe. The chronological scope of the journal exceeds the 19th
century, with content coverage stretching from the American and French
Revolutions, to the outbreak of World War I. While Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide covers more than just
printmaking, this journal may be of use towards your research as its articles
can provide insight on global printmaking and its possible influences on the
British and American print revival and the extent of the journal’s chronological
coverage centers on exactly the time period in which you are focusing your
research.
7. The British Museum Blog
http://blog.britishmuseum.org/category/prints-and-drawings/
Updated
frequently with a constant flow of new blogposts ranging in topics, the British
Museum’s Blog allows you to search by category, with a specific category
designated for prints and drawings. The posts listed under the category “prints
and drawings” are as current as last month, and while there are not many
postings specifically under the prints and drawings categories as of yet, it
seems to be a promising resource for information. This blog can provide you with the latest news
on current research, upcoming exhibitions, and diverse projects relating
specifically to historical printmaking in Britain.
8. Printed Editions Blog
With
several posts each month, Printed
Editions is a website dedicated to fine prints by Old Masters, Modern
Masters, and contemporary artists. This resource, geared towards collectors and
dealers, seeks to inform their audience about the world of prints—categorizing
their blogposts by subject. For your research purposes, I would suggest
reviewing the recent posts in the category “Prints by Movement” as there are
definite postings relating to your research. Each post displays images of
prints with added scholarly and critical commentary, as well as outside links.
9. Print Quarterly
Print Quarterly is
a subscription journal dedicated to the art of the print with chronological
coverage from the time of the prints origins to the present day. Unfortunately,
this journal is only published once a year, so it may not be as current as you
are looking for; however, the articles within each volume published over the
last few years may be of use to your research.
10. Professional Organizations
A great way to stay current is
through professional organizations, such as The American
Historical Print Collectors Society, The American Antiquarian Society, and
American Printing History Association. Professional organizations are
constantly promoting current awareness through their published journals, annual
conferences, and social media accounts. While I have only listed three here,
there are so many professional societies and organizations that can provide you
with current resources and great research tools.
·
The
American Historical Print Collectors Society (AHPCS)
Membership
to this society includes a subscription to their newsletters, journal, and
imprint; however, current awareness on trends in the historical printmaking
community can be gained without a membership. AHPCS’s website includes the
organization’s blog and links to their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts.
·
The
American Antiquarian Society
The
American Antiquarian Society’s library houses the largest and most accessible
collection of printed materials up until 1876. This chronological scope only briefly
covers the time periods to which you are focusing your research, but the digital
collection, research tools, programs and events information, and posts on their
blog, Past is Present, may be of use
to your research on late 19th Century American print revival.
·
American Printing History Association
The American
Printing History Association is an
international membership organization that
encourages the study of the history of printing and related arts and
crafts. Resources that the association offers includes an annual three-day conference and a lecture series, a
scholarly journal entitled Printing History
and other special publications and programs.
I hope you find these sources
helpful. Good luck with your research and please feel free to contact me if you
need any more assistance.
Sincerely,
Abby
No comments:
Post a Comment