Louis Prang. PRANG AMERICAN ALBUM II (Views, Butterflies, Birds, and Flowers). L. Prang & Co., 1864.

Price: US$600.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: Octavo. Binding VG+, rebacked, handsome, with original brass clasps. Contents generally VG with some light foxing, though some cards are soiled, some are worn, and a few are both. Cards are tucked in (not pasted in) using the provided corner mounts and can be removed. This album contains twelve chromolithographs of Central Park, eight of Niagara, sixteen of Butterflies and Moths, sixteen of song birds, thirty-six of flowers, and twelve of berry blossoms. In the early 1860s, American popular culture was dominated by three fads: the illustrated envelope, Cartes de Visite, and Prang Album Cards. The envelope craze only lasted a few years. CDVs had staying power and continued to be produced into the 20th century. Prang Album Cards thrived for a bit over a dozen years. The Prang Lithography Co. of Boston introduced the chromolithographic card sets in 1862 consisting of twelve cards each. They were an immediate success. The sets fell into several broad categories: Birds (Song birds, hummingbirds, etc.), Flowers (wildflowers by season, roses, etc.) Plants (Sea mosses, wood mosses, etc.) Views (Central Park, the Hudson, etc.), Religious (Pilgrim's Progress, the Ten Commandments, etc.) and miscellaneous (Puzzle or Magic cards , Funny Characters, etc.). Additionally, Prang produced American Card Albums to house the sets. They came in all sizes, some housing as few as twelve cards, the most common housing 100, and a monstrous album that housed 1,000. Each set was sold in an illustrated envelope. Unfortunately, most collectors trimmed the envelope down to its front panel to accompany the cards in the albums. What distinguished the series was Prang s fine color work. The cards were and are beautiful. This album testifies to that.

Seller: Periodyssey, Northampton, MA, U.S.A.

Louis Prang. PRANG AMERICAN ALBUM I (Birds and Flowers). L. Prang & Co., 1864.

Price: US$600.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: Octavo. Binding VG+, rebacked, handsome. Contents VG, with some spotting. Cards are tucked in (not pasted in) using the provided corner mounts and can be removed. Containing forty chromolithographs of American Birds and fifty-six of American flowers, all published by L. Prang & Co. of Boston in 1863 or 1864. In the early 1860s, American popular culture was dominated by three fads: the illustrated envelope, Cartes de Visite, and Prang Album Cards. The envelope craze only lasted a few years. CDVs had staying power and continued to be produced into the 20th century. Prang Album Cards thrived for a bit over a dozen years. The Prang Lithography Co. of Boston introduced the chromolithographic card sets in 1862 consisting of twelve cards each. They were an immediate success. The sets fell into several broad categories: Birds (Song birds, hummingbirds, etc.), Flowers (wildflowers by season, roses, etc.) Plants (Sea mosses, wood mosses, etc.) Views (Central Park, the Hudson, etc.), Religious (Pilgrim's Progress, the Ten Commandments, etc.) and miscellaneous (Puzzle or Magic cards , Funny Characters, etc.). Additionally, Prang produced American Card Albums to house the sets. They came in all sizes, some housing as few as twelve cards, the most common housing 100, and a monstrous album that housed 1,000. Each set was sold in an illustrated envelope. Unfortunately, most collectors trimmed the envelope down to its front panel to accompany the cards in the albums. What distinguished the series was Prang s fine color work. The cards were and are beautiful. This album testifies to that.

Seller: Periodyssey, Northampton, MA, U.S.A.