John Trumbull served as an aide to General George Washington (1732–1799) during the Revolutionary War. After leaving the army, he studied with the great American history painter Benjamin West (1738–1820), who encouraged him to paint the war scenes he had experienced. Trumbull thus conceived his “national history” series of paintings, which included The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton. Gift of Junius Spencer Morgan, Class of 1888. John Trumbull, Battle of Princeton Prints Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
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The U.S. Post Office opened its first San Francisco branch in 1848. No mail was delivered to the gold fields, so miners waited each morning for the post office to open. This lithograph, made after a drawing by H. F. Cox, depicts four lines at the post office, for Spanish-language service, general delivery, parcel delivery, and newspaper pickup. American Prints Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
This hand-colored engraving mocks the supporters of the Stamp Act. Published on the same day that the act was repealed, the print became so popular that the publisher could not keep pace with the orders he received, and it became one of the period’s most copied satirical prints. Acquired with support from the Barksdale-Dabney-Henry Fund. British Prints Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
This leather-covered pine box commemorates the repeal of the Stamp Act from England to America. It is embossed with the monogram of King George III (r. 1760–1820) and inscribed “GR | Stamp Act Rep’d | March 18, 1766.” Inside, the box is lined with pages from an agricultural journal. It was owned by John Witherspoon (1723–1794), the sixth president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Gift of William Patton Woods, Class of 1884. Museum Objects Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
Gift of Mrs. Charles Mayhoff. Museum Objects Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
In 1839, Henry Walton set up his studio in Ithaca, New York, where he made several lithographs depicting the charms of the rural community. He continued to produce views of upstate New York until he joined the gold rush to California in 1851. Gift of Leonard L. Milberg, Class of 1953. Leonard L. Milberg ’53 Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
John James Audubon’s nickname was the “American Woodsman,” an image he encouraged by wearing a buckskin coat and oiling his hair with bear grease. equally ambitious project, The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–1848). The American lithographer John T. Bowen (ca. 1801–1856) drew the plates from watercolors like this one, and the work was produced in Philadelphia, making Quadrupeds a truly American production. Gift of John S. Williams, Class of 1924. John James Audubon Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.