Jay T. Last Collection of Entertainment: Balls and Carnivals Prints and Ephemera, approximately 1840-1940, bulk 1875-1900

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Summary

Creators:
Last, Jay T.
Abstract:
The Jay T. Last Collection of Entertainment: Balls and Carnivals Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 150 printed items related to social and celebratory events primarily in the United States from the 1840s to 1940, with the majority of items dating from 1875 to 1900. The collection consists mainly of color lithographed invitations, programs, and tickets for various festive occasions including costumed dances and parties, such as Mardi Gras.
Extent:
approximately 150 items
Language:
English.

Background

Scope and content:

The Jay T. Last Collection of Entertainment: Balls and Carnivals Prints and Ephemera contains approximately 150 printed items related to social and celebratory events primarily in the United States from the 1840s to 1940, with the majority of items dating from 1875 to 1900. The collection consists mainly of color lithographed invitations, programs, and tickets for various festive occasions including costumed dances and parties, such as Mardi Gras.

Materials are arranged in two series: small-size items (11 x 14 inches or less) and large-size items (more than 11 x 14 inches). Items smaller than 8 x 10 inches in size are described broadly at the binder level; items larger than 8 x 10 inches in size are fully inventoried and all printers, artists, and publishers are indexed by name. The collection includes over a dozen large-size items comprised mainly of lithographed advertising posters for balls and pageants. Small-size items number over 100 and contain a variety of materials, including announcements, dance cards, invitations, posters, programs, and tickets; some items have manuscript text. Many of the invitations are ornately decorated die-cuts with features like ribbons or elaborate fold-out elements.

Mardi Gras-related items comprise a significant part of the collection, including material from secret Mardi Gras societies Krewe of Proteus, Knights of Momus, Mystick Krewe of Comus, and Rex. Other social societies like the Priests of Pallas and the Veiled Prophets are also represented in the collection. While the majority of the material is American, the collection contains one winter carnival program from Montreal, Canada.

The collection provides a resource for studying the history and evolution of American entertainment in the form of celebrations and pageantry through much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. As graphic materials, the prints offer evidence of developing techniques and trends in printmaking, and of the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers involved in the creative process.

Acquisition information:
This collection forms part of the Jay T. Last Collection of Graphic Arts and Social History, which was donated to the Huntington Library by Jay T. Last in 2005 as a gift in progress. The bulk of the balls and carnivals prints and ephemera were transferred to the Library between 2010 and 2014 .
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in the following 2 series:

  • Series I. Balls and Carnivals Prints and Ephemera (small size)
  • Series II. Balls and Carnivals Prints and Ephemera (large size)

Items are arranged numerically by call number and described in the following format:

  • Title of print. Date
  • Artist(s) (when known). Printer(s). Publisher(s)

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Note:

Finding aid last updated on January 22, 2020.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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