First Lessons in Landscape Drawing (11 of 12 drawing cards in envelope)

11 (of 12) lithograph printed drawing cards in original envelope, 5.75 x 7 inches. Lacking the second card; light creasing to plate 6, else Very Good with light finger soil. Owner's signature, A. L. Carpenter, to envelope. Winterthur has the only copy in OCLC, along with a second set. The cards themselves are notable for the objects inserted within all the landscapes, thereby incorporating elements of industrial drawing, and distinguishing the American "landscape" from purely pastoral scenes associated with British countryside, etc.

William Newton Bartholomew taught, and largely lead, drawing education in Massachusetts from 1852-1871. Bartholomew had published a 5-part set of "Progressive Drawing Cards" back in 1860 and the fact of this set's publication is surprising. Drawing cards had waned in popularity, with publishers opting to produce more lucrative single-use drawing books. Bartholomew, who had shaped Massachusetts drawing education but was sidelined after the Drawing Act of 1881, had developed drawing books in direct competition to those published by Louis Prang, and the two had an openly contentious relationship. It's also odd that they have the "L. Prang & Co." imprint, and not "Prang Educational Company," the branch of the company specifically established for its art education books. A curious and rare set.