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Catalog entry

inv. 473
Maniac
The Maniac; The Maniac: The Music Composed & Dedicated as a Token of Respect , to Mrs. C. E. Habicht. By Henry Russell
1840
Lithograph on paper
11 5/8 x 8 1/4 in. (29.5 x 21 cm)
1840
Pub. Parker & Ditson, 135 Washg St
Price $1 nett
Thayer's Lithographic Press
F.H. Lane del.
On view at the Cape Ann Museum

Commentary

Lane designed this sheet music cover, which was printed by Thayer's, and published by Parker & Ditson.

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Types of Objects:   Sheet Music »

Historical Materials
Below is historical information related to the Lane work above. To see complete information on a subject on the Historical Materials page, click on the subject name (in bold and underlined).

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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.

illustration
Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.
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publication
Arouse ye gay comrades
Bufford (in image); Thayer (lith.)
1840
Parker & Ditson
Courtesy American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.

Dedicated to the Tiger Boat Club.

Image: American Antiquarian Society
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illustration
Brightly, Boys, Brightly: A Rowing Quartet
Boston Public Library, Music Collection, 8050.44#12

Comp. Marshall S. Pike, Esq.

Image: Boston Public Library
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publication
Clipper Polka
Aborsong, publisher
1851-1856
Paper, ink
13 x 10 in (33.02 x 25.4 cm)
Peabody Essex Museum (M26784)

"composed and inscribed to Colonel Baquiere, Owner of the "America" Schooner, 1851-1856"

Image: Peabody Essex Museum
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publication
Mammoth Cod Quickstep
Unknown
1839
T. Moore's Lithography, Boston
12 1/2 x 9 1/2 in.
20 x 16 3/4 in (Framed)
Cape Ann Museum, Museum Purchase (2014.089.2)
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illustration
North-End Forever – Hull Street Guards
John Holloway
1838
Boston Public Library, Sheet Music Collection, S.80#12
Image: Boston Public Library
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artwork
Soft Glides the Sea, Bounding and Free
Pendleton's Lithography
1831
Lithographic sheet music
11 x 7 1/4 in.
Boston Athenaeum
Image: Boston Athenaeum
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illustration
The America Schottisch
Wm. Hall & Son, publisher
Late 19th century
Ink, paper
13 x 10 in (33.02 x 25.4 cm)
Peabody Essex Museum
Image: Peabody Essex Museum
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illustration
The Clipper America Polka, sheet music cover
J.O. Sheppard, publisher
late 19th century
Ink on paper
13 x 10 inches
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass. (M26750)
Image: Peabody Essex Museum
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Benjamin W. Thayer (1814–75) was a lithographer operating in Boston from 1840–47 and 1851–53. According to an advertisement in the Boston Transcript, Thayer took over 204 Washington Street in 1840, the shop previously run by William S. Pendleton and Moore. Until 1845, he ran B. W. Thayer & Co. in conjunction with his brother-in-law, John H. Bufford, and John E. Moody. In 1846, Thayer left his partnership with Bufford, and opened a fancy goods store at 208 Washington Street, although he still listed himself as a lithographer. After not appearing in the Boston Directory from 1848–49, Thayer is recorded as having reentered his partnership with Bufford at 204 Washington Street and worked there until 1853, when he sold the shop to S. W. Chandler & Co. Thayer & Co. printed sheet music covers, theatrical posters, views of buildings and town views. After his lithography career, Thayer became a wealthy real estate broker and shareholder of multiple newspapers.

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

publication
1841 Bay State Democrat 6.26.1841
6.24.1841
Newspaper
p. 2

"A Memorial. A large-sized print has lately been published by Mr. Simon Whitney, (B.W. Thayer & Co. Lithographers,) intended as a memorial of the late President. The design is happily conceived and the work executed in a manner calculated to do credit to the artist..."

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publication
Arouse ye gay comrades
Bufford (in image); Thayer (lith.)
1840
Parker & Ditson
Courtesy American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.

Dedicated to the Tiger Boat Club.

Image: American Antiquarian Society
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illustration
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
E. Ruggles
1840
Frontispiece to "Bowdoin Poets"
Edited by Edward P. Weston
Published by Joseph Griffin, Brunswick
"E. Ruggles, del. Thayer, successor to Moore, Boston"
Collection of Melissa Geisler Trafton

Engraver listed as "Thayer, successor to Moore, Boston""E. Ruggles, del."

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Provenance (Information known to date; research ongoing.)

See IMPRESSIONS tab for provenance.

Exhibition History

2017–18 Cape Ann Museum: Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Massachusetts, Drawn From Nature & on Stone: The Lithographs of Fitz Henry Lane [Impression: American Antiquarian Society (inv. 389)].

Published References

Wilmerding 1963: "The Lithographs of Fitz Hugh Lane," p. 33.
Wilmerding 2005: Fitz Henry Lane, ill. 10, text, p. 26, The Maniac. [Impression: Library of Congress (inv. 706)].
Craig 2006a: Fitz H. Lane: An Artist's Voyage through Nineteenth-Century America, fig. 24, text, pp. 53-54. [Impression: Boston Athenaeum (inv. 514)].
Cape Ann Museum 2017: Drawn from Nature & on Stone: the Lithographs of Fitz Henry Lane, fig. 39, Maniac. [Impression: American Antiquarian Society (inv. 389)]. ⇒ includes text

Impression information

American Antiquarian Society (inv. 389)

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Photo: Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society (inv. 389)
1840 Pub. Parker & Ditson, 135 Washg St Price $1 nett Thayer's Lithographic Press F.H. Lane del.
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.

American Antiquarian Society (inv. 707)

enlarge
Photo: Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society (inv. 707)
1840 Pub. Parker & Ditson, 135 Washg St Price $1 nett Thayer's Lithographic Press F.H. Lane del.
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts

Boston Athenaeum (inv. 514)

enlarge
Photo: Boston Athenaeum (inv. 514)
The Maniac
Printed under central image left to right: F.H. Lane del., Thayer's Lithographic Press.
Boston Athenaeum, Gift of Charles E. Mason, Jr., 1976 (1976.67)

Boston Public Library (inv. 591)

no image available
The Maniac
F.H. Lane, del. Thayer's Lithographic Press Pub. by Parker & Ditson, 135 Washington St.
Boston Public Library

Johns Hopkins University (inv. 767)

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Photo: Johns Hopkins University (inv. 767)
1840 Pub. Parker & Ditson, 135 Washg St Price $1 nett Thayer's Lithographic Press F.H. Lane del.
Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music, Sheridan Libraries, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

Library of Congress (inv. 706)

no image available
1840 Pub. Parker & Ditson, 135 Washg St Price $1 nett Thayer's Lithographic Press F.H. Lane del.
Library of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia

The New York Public Library (inv. 495)

no image available
The Maniac: The Music Composed & Dedicated as a Token of Respect , to Mrs. C. E. Habicht. By Henry Russell
Stamped lower right: Copy right.
The New York Public Library, Gift of David McNeely Stauffer (110063)

Related historical materials

Lithography
Citation: "Maniac, 1840 (inv. 473)." Fitz Henry Lane Online. Cape Ann Museum. http://fitzhenrylaneonline.org/catalog/entry.php?id=473 (accessed December 3, 2024).
Record last updated August 15, 2017. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
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