Catalog entry

Pendleton's was the first lithography shop in Boston and created some of the finest prints from the time period. The firm was founded by brothers, William S. and John Pendleton, in 1826 at Harvard Place. Prior to this firm, William Pendleton had founded the Senefelder Lithographic Company in 1825 with Abel Bowen. (The 1831 Gloucester map was printed by the Senefelder Lithographic Company, and perhaps provided an introduction for Lane to Pendleton.) In 1828, John left Boston to pursue various opportunities in Philadelphia and New York. In the absence of his brother, William built Pendleton's into a well-regarded lithographic shop until 1835 when he sold the shop to his bookkeeper, Thomas Moore. At Pendleton's, many prominent artists were taught, including John H. Bufford, Robert Cooke, Nathaniel Currier, and Lane. The artists at Pendleton's were responsible for producing a variety of materials including maps, plans, portraits, fashion plates, topographical views, music covers, advertisements, and historical prints.

Much of this information has been summarized from Boston Lithography 1825–1880 by Sally Pierce and Catharina Slautterback.

One of the first uses of lithography, after its invention in France in the late eighteenth century and its development in America, was for sheet music covers. The music itself was printed from engraved copper plates, which was necessary for the clarity and evenness demanded by the public for the music. However, lithography provided a quick and inexpensive way to provide enticing pictorial title pages, or covers, for sheet music. Pendleton's shop produced the first lithographic sheet music cover printed in the United States in 1826. Much of Lane's work at Pendleton's involved sheet music covers, and examples here by other artists show some of the conventions around the designs.

This information has been summarized from Boston Lithography 1825–1880 by Sally Pierce and Catharina Slautterback.