Books and Manuscripts

(Philadelphia: Harrison Bros. & Co.), ca. 1885. Collection of 50 chromolithographic prints from the Harrison Bros. & Co. house paint trade catalogue, loose as issued; each plate with printed text on verso identifying paints used; each plate measuring 16 1/4 x 17 1/2 in. (413 x 444 mm). Portfolio with mounted paint reference cards wanting. Dampstaining, soiling, and scattered chipping and closed tears along edges of each plate.

A fascinating collection of late 19th-century American architecture and industry. This collection of 50 chromolithographic plates was issued by Philadelphia-based chemical manufacturers Harrison Brothers & Company as a catalogue of their ready-mix house paints for the consumer market. "About 1885 Harrison Brothers and Company of Philadelphia hired the team of Hazlehurst and Huckel to prepare drawings of residential architecture (and a few train stations) in the contemporary Queen Anne style. These were reproduced and published about 1885 as a portfolio of unbound lithographs illustrating a variety of exterior paint schemes in such fashionable color combinations as ochre, umber, terracotta, and moss green. The rather luxurious publication exceeded the boundaries of mere advertising: clearly the selection of house paint required a serious and educated artistic decision. The back of each lithograph bears the company's assertion that 'this illustration has been made with due regard to the effect of light and shade on the colors and is a true representation of the appearance of such a building when painted with Harrisons' "Town and Country" Ready Mixed Paints.' The reader is then referred to the full selection of paint swatches mounted in the rear of the portfolio." (In Pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement, Doreen Bolger, p. 437). Harrison Brothers and Company was a Philadelphia-based chemical and paint manufactory with offices and plant at 35th and Grey's Ferry Avenue. At the time they were the oldest chemical firm in the United States, and they survived until 1917, when they were absorbed by Du Pont.

Hazlehurt & Huckel was established in 1881 by Edward P. Hazlehurst (1853-1915) and Samuel William Huckel, Jr. (1858-1917). Hazlehurst, born in Kentucky and a one-time attendee of the University of Pennsylvania, worked under noted Philadelphia architects T.P. Chandler and Frank Furness. Huckel, born in Philadelphia, graduated from Central High School and then worked in the office of local church architect Benjamin D. Price. They quickly made a name for themselves for their residential homes, primarily in Philadelphia and New Jersey. They dissolved their partnership in 1899 when Huckel received a commission to redesign New York's Grand Central Station. Hazlehurt & Huckel buildings shown are Gate Lodge, Country House, Suburban Church, Seaside Residence, Railroad Station, Twin Cottages, Country School House, Old Colonial House, Street Scene, Hygeia House, Southern Planter's House, Small Country House, Small Railroad Station, Barn Building, Councilman's House and Stables, Seaside Cottage, Cottage/Clubhouse, and Brick Cottage.

A scarce artifact of late 19th-century Philadelphia industry, and an important record of turn-of-the century Philadelphia residential architecture. We have not been able to locate another set in the auction record.