33
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(ART.)
Extensive archive of New York artist Henry Grant Plumb.
11 boxes
(15 linear feet), including: 18 framed original works by Plumb and others * approximately
60 of his unframed smaller watercolors and oil paintings * 4 of his sketchbooks from the
1870s * More than 200 pencil and ink sketches * 8 works by other artists in Plumb’s circle
* More than 100 photographs of Plumb’s works * Approximately 300 letters from Plumb
to his family, including many illustrated letters sent from Europe, 1874-78 * More than
300 letters received by Plumb, many regarding his work, or from fellow artists, 1858-1926
* 10 family photograph albums * 4 of his pocket diaries, 1873-1909 * Plumb’s palette,
portrait studio sign, paint box, and other artifacts * and much more.
Vp, bulk 1858-1930
[3,000/4,000]
Henry Grant Plumb (1847-1930) had a long career as an artist in a diverse range of styles
and media, exhibiting as a landscape artist, doing portraiture and commercial art, and employed
as a lithographer and art instructor. Raised in rural Sherburne, Chenango County, NY, he
studied art at Cooper Union in Manhattan, and was apprenticed to a lithography firm in
1864. He attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1874 to 1878, and returned to
New York City for the remainder of his long career. He taught at Cooper Union for 35 years,
and was also active in the Salmagundi Club and the Artists’ Fund Society.
This extensive archive of Plumb’s artwork, correspondence and family papers includes original
landscapes he exhibited at the Salmagundi Club, and others which were reproduced as popular
chromolithographs. Children and mice were recurring themes in much of his decorative genre
work, but the hundreds of original works by Plumb in this archive are difficult to summarize.
The collection also features letters signed by fellow artists Louis Maurer, Charles Schreyvogel,
and Conrad Freitag, and original signed artwork by Freitag, Carl Hirschberg, and Arthur
Turnbull Hill. Plumb’s letters from the 1860s and 1870s discuss not only his training at
Cooper Union and the École des Beaux-Arts, but also the Civil War. His letter dated 17
April 1865 describes the reaction to the Lincoln assassination in New York: “A few stubborn
copperheads . . . were not allowed to say every thing they would have liked to, & some who did
I understand were beaten pretty well & one fellow was thrown off a ferry boat.”
We recommend that bidders consider transportation arrangements beforehand, as the cost of
shipping may be prohibitive. An inventory is available upon request.
34
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(AVIATION.)
Pair of photographs of Glenn H. Curtiss on an early test
flight of his Flying Boat.
Albumen photographs, each about 4 x 6 inches, on original
plain card mounts; manuscript captions on verso; minor dampstaining and wear.
Lake Keuka, Hammondsport, NY, 23 July 1912
[1,000/1,500]
These two photographs depict renowned aviation pioneer Glenn H. Curtiss in flight with
passenger George H. Guy of the New York Electrical Society. They were apparently testing the
Curtiss Model F, an improved version of his pioneering Model E Flying Boat with a new
v-shaped hull. It became the first hydroplane in wide production. The earlier photo is captioned
“Sliding at 50 miles: just about to rise,” and the later one (a crisper image) reads “Rising from
the water. The boat soon flies at 60 miles an hour, and before the wind from 60 to 100 miles.”
