Did you know that SJSU Archives and Special Collections has a historic collection of hundreds of fine art prints that can be accessed in the Reading Room (by appointment, once we are open again) and used in your classes? No?! That might be because it has only been available again since January…but it is true!
History of the Collection. The prints in the Humanities Art Collection (MSS 2019.07.08) were bought by the library for art and humanities instruction and reference from the early twentieth century until the 1980s, but have only recently been made accessible again. The majority were acquired and used by the campus community for decades, but the old card catalog records were never transferred to the library’s electronic databases. Those acquired before the early-1980s could be viewed in the Art Reading Room in the old North Library building, and were stored in what was essentially a broom closet known colloquially as the ‘Treasure Room.’ When the Clark Library opened in 1982, the old North Library became part of the Walquist Library Complex, and the Special Collections Department moved into a larger space on the 3rd floor. In the 1980s, library and arts faculty continued to purchase and donate new prints to the collection. While it is likely that the majority of the prints were transferred or acquired by the Special Collections Department by that time, it is possible that a small number of prints may have been still circulating as part of the ‘Media Department’ collection, a set of filing cabinets on the 2nd floor of the Clark Library, and then transferred when the libraries moved into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in 2003.
When the library moved into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, the prints were put into oversized filing cabinets in the vaults of Special Collections & Archives, where they remained virtually untouched until last year. Since there were so many unhoused oversized materials, the reading room staff decided to inventory the drawers to begin working through the backlog. When I started going through the first drawers and came across a signed Matisse print, it became clear that processing this collection needed to be a priority!
From July 2019 to January 2020, I rehoused the prints in large-format archival folders, identified the artist and title, and organized them as an archival collection. While many had information written on their paper frames, some were identifiable from acquisition slips, and others required more research using the image and signature. Those that were library-mounted on paper frames and cardstock were protected by either interleaving them with acid free paper or removing them from the frames, and then housing them in archival folders. Making this collection cataloged and accessible has been painstaking work, but it is enormously satisfying to know that our students and faculty have access to this extraordinary art collection again.
Collection Highlights. Since this collection of prints was purposefully purchased for studying the arts and humanities, it is wide-ranging in its scope and content. It has a representative sampling of different genres of prints such as fine art prints, botanical illustrations, and satirical cartoons. The fine art prints reflect major artistic styles with examples of abstract art, expressionism, pop art, realism, and surrealism.
Pierre Joseph Redouté, Rosa Damascena aurora. Rosier Aurore Loniatowska
Wayne Thiebaud, Street Religion, 1951
While the bulk of the materials are from circa 1750-1980, there are several early European prints, including Old Masters such as Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Hans Leonhard Schäufelein (1480-1540), Hermans zoon van Rijn Rembrandt (1606-1669), Salvador Rosa (1615-1673) and Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778).
Albrecht Dürer, John the Baptist and the Saint Onuphrius in the Wilderness. Circa 1503-1504.
A major strength of the collection lies in its large number of satirical 18th and 19th-century English prints. There are full sets of William Hogarth’s print series and illustrations, ‘Industry and Idleness,’ ‘A Harlot’s Progress,’ ‘Don Quixote,’ and ‘Hudibras,’ as well as many other individual engravings.
William Hogarth, Industry and Idleness: Apprentices at their Looms. Plate I. 1747
Lastly, the collection was intended to represent major types of printmaking, including relief (wood cut and wood engraving), intaglio (engraving and etching), lithography and screen printing. Many of these are especially interesting for learning and teaching about technical aspects of print making and art history. For example, this Edgar Degas print is from a cancelled plate, meaning that it has fine lines drawn through the original etching to indicate it was not part of the original edition:
Edgar Degas, Manet Seated, Turned to the Right.
This historic print collection offers so many avenues for enriching humanities and arts teaching and research at SJSU. We are thrilled to make these prints publicly accessible again and are looking forward to seeing how our campus community will use them.
Access. This collection has not yet been digitized, but there is a detailed Finding Aid available online with an item-level catalog of the prints with artist, title, year and any notes (such as technique or condition). The finding aid is arranged in series by geographical origin (Asia, Europe, North and South America, Unknown), and then by the nationality of the artist. While the reading room is still closed due to Covid-19 and staff only has limited access to the vaults, we can answer research questions about the collection and individual prints. Once in-person access has recommenced, the physical collection can be studied in the Reading Room and/or reserved for class showings. Please contact us at special.collections@sjsu.edu for more information.
Post written by Monica Keane.
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