The First Smithsonian Collection by Helena E. Wright

Author:Helena E. Wright [Wright, Helena E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-935623-63-2
Publisher: Smithsonian
Published: 2015-04-28T00:00:00+00:00

Putnam finally admitted to the Library’s possession of the Marsh prints, but at this point they were on public display and obviously considered part of the Library of Congress collection. He seemed to be willing to make a record of them but said nothing about restitution to the Smithsonian. Most tellingly, Putnam used the word transfer instead of the word deposit in reference to the Marsh prints, even though other Smithsonian items mentioned in this letter were identified as deposits. Putnam left no doubt about the Library’s position; to reinforce it, he sent on loan a volume with thirty-three pieces of flags captured by American ships in 1812 as material deemed more appropriate for the National Museum.56

Putnam favored leaving the prints in the Library, perhaps because he considered them to be more like books than museum objects. Prints were held in many library collections as well as in museums. Individual collectors like Marsh, Claghorn, and Sewall acquired both books and prints without much concern for separation by medium or format. The practice of extra-illustration was at its height at this time, and many collectors eagerly acquired prints that they used to embellish bound volumes.57 Distinctions between prints and books were not clearly defined or consistently observed, as reflected in their close affinities over centuries of collecting.

Another factor that contributed to the dispute over the collection was the cultural importance of prints. What Sinclair Hitchings has called “the great bull market in prints” extended from about 1870 all the way to the Great Depression, ending about 1930.58 Engravings and etchings continued to be sought after in the art market, and their acquisition represented significant achievements for institutions as well as for individual collectors. George W. Vanderbilt, in his palatial North Carolina home, Biltmore, completed in 1895, devoted a room to Dürer and displayed many prints in his “Madonna” room. Institutions vied with each other to capture the largest collections from the most important collectors. They exhibited their prints proudly, featuring these works almost like the trophy heads shot and mounted by big game hunters. In this environment it is no wonder that the two institutions vied for Marsh’s collection. Given Marsh’s early advocacy for the Smithsonian to become the national library and his formative role on both the Joint Committee on the Library and the board of regents, it is unfortunate that the two institutions he so favored should have contested the ownership of his prints.

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