Jay T. Last Collection of Fashion: William Hunt Business Ephemera, 1861-1916

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Summary

Creators:
Last, Jay T.
Abstract:
The William Hunt Business Ephemera, a subset within the Jay T. Last Collection of Fashion Prints and Ephemera, contains promotional materials accumulated by jeweler William Hunt of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. About 125 items from approximately 1861-1916 focus on merchandise and supplies solicited to Hunt, mainly by jobbers and manufacturers of jewelers' and watchmakers' tools, parts, products, and services.
Extent:
approximately 125 items
Language:
English.

Background

Scope and content:

The William Hunt Business Ephemera, a subset within the Jay T. Last Collection of Fashion Prints and Ephemera, contains promotional materials accumulated by jeweler William Hunt of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. About 125 items from approximately 1861-1916 consist mainly of advertisements received by Hunt from jobbers and manufacturers of jewelers' and watchmakers' tools, supplies, and services. Advertisements for household objects such as silverware, servingware, utensils, toothpicks, pens, and ornamental items are also included, as is a small number of advertisements for clothing and other fashion accessories.

The materials predominantly consist of leaflets, handbills, price lists, and billheads with manuscript text, as well as small catalogs, envelopes, and trade cards.

Biographical / historical:

William Hunt was born in Dunbar Township, Pennsylvania, on February 2, 1836. He became apprenticed to jeweler and watchmaker Henry W. S. Rigdon of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1850 for 4 1/2 years. Following four years of employment elsewhere, Hunt opened his own successful watch, clock, and jewelry repair shop in 1858 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He began adding merchandise by 1860, and in subsequent years the repair shop grew into a sizable mercantile business that remained in operation through at least 1912.

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 fashion ephemera was transferred to the Library between 2010 and 2013 . The Hunt records described in this finding aid were acquired en bloc in 2014 by the Library and are organized according to size and correspondent.
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in the following two series:

  • Series I. William Hunt Business Ephemera (small size)
  • Series II. William Hunt Business Ephemera (large size)

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 September 23, 2016.

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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