Valuable paper and counterfeit presentments: Alfred Jones, the American Art-Union, and antebellum bank note engraving

The antebellum era was a time of paper—there were newspapers and magazines to read, advertising bills to recognize, and money in the pocket to evaluate. Both the bank note companies and art unions emphasized the quality of the artists they hired, and publicized these works for their taste and nation...

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Main Author: Lett, Telesia Amanda
Other Authors: Hills, Patricia
Language:en_US
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2144/38997
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spelling ndltd-bu.edu-oai-open.bu.edu-2144-389972019-12-22T15:11:57Z Valuable paper and counterfeit presentments: Alfred Jones, the American Art-Union, and antebellum bank note engraving Lett, Telesia Amanda Hills, Patricia Barrett, Ross Art history Alfred Jones American Art-Union American Bank Note Company Bank notes Counterfeit Engraving The antebellum era was a time of paper—there were newspapers and magazines to read, advertising bills to recognize, and money in the pocket to evaluate. Both the bank note companies and art unions emphasized the quality of the artists they hired, and publicized these works for their taste and nationalizing sentiments. These groups set out to produce a product that encouraged consumer confidence in paper in exchange for something more lasting, such as a painting in oil or a gold coin. The link between these two ideas and the creators of that ineffable quality that lent confidence to both the bank note and the fine art engraving was the engraver himself. Navigating this modern, paper economy in both realms were engravers such as Alfred Jones (1819-1900), a man who made his way in the financial and art worlds, and whose ambitions and career serve as a case study to explore the rapid changes in the demand for images during the Nineteenth Century. Chapter one situates Jones and his colleagues in their historical era and illuminate how cultural, political, and technological advances created a market where engraving could flourish. Chapter two examines Jones’s role within the art unions of the day, and how those groups advertised the skill of engravers, such as Jones, to bolster notions of value in the prints they issued. Chapter three looks more closely at the images created by engravers, and investigates their role in establishing and reinforcing a national visual lexicon that could unify the idea of the nation even as it was unraveling. Chapter four discusses the confusion surrounding counterfeit engravings during the antebellum period and the efforts bank notes companies undertook to highlight the skill of their engravers to reassure the general public of their worth. The burins of Jones and his cohort, through their work in fine arts organizations and bank note companies created images accessible to the average citizen, images these consumers could recognize and assign a value. They applied their talents to works on paper that illustrated the making of the American self in the years before the Civil War. 2019-12-17T16:28:23Z 2019-12-17T16:28:23Z 2019 2019-11-13T20:01:43Z Thesis/Dissertation https://hdl.handle.net/2144/38997 0000-0002-0505-7626 en_US
collection NDLTD
language en_US
sources NDLTD
topic Art history
Alfred Jones
American Art-Union
American Bank Note Company
Bank notes
Counterfeit
Engraving
spellingShingle Art history
Alfred Jones
American Art-Union
American Bank Note Company
Bank notes
Counterfeit
Engraving
Lett, Telesia Amanda
Valuable paper and counterfeit presentments: Alfred Jones, the American Art-Union, and antebellum bank note engraving
description The antebellum era was a time of paper—there were newspapers and magazines to read, advertising bills to recognize, and money in the pocket to evaluate. Both the bank note companies and art unions emphasized the quality of the artists they hired, and publicized these works for their taste and nationalizing sentiments. These groups set out to produce a product that encouraged consumer confidence in paper in exchange for something more lasting, such as a painting in oil or a gold coin. The link between these two ideas and the creators of that ineffable quality that lent confidence to both the bank note and the fine art engraving was the engraver himself. Navigating this modern, paper economy in both realms were engravers such as Alfred Jones (1819-1900), a man who made his way in the financial and art worlds, and whose ambitions and career serve as a case study to explore the rapid changes in the demand for images during the Nineteenth Century. Chapter one situates Jones and his colleagues in their historical era and illuminate how cultural, political, and technological advances created a market where engraving could flourish. Chapter two examines Jones’s role within the art unions of the day, and how those groups advertised the skill of engravers, such as Jones, to bolster notions of value in the prints they issued. Chapter three looks more closely at the images created by engravers, and investigates their role in establishing and reinforcing a national visual lexicon that could unify the idea of the nation even as it was unraveling. Chapter four discusses the confusion surrounding counterfeit engravings during the antebellum period and the efforts bank notes companies undertook to highlight the skill of their engravers to reassure the general public of their worth. The burins of Jones and his cohort, through their work in fine arts organizations and bank note companies created images accessible to the average citizen, images these consumers could recognize and assign a value. They applied their talents to works on paper that illustrated the making of the American self in the years before the Civil War.
author2 Hills, Patricia
author_facet Hills, Patricia
Lett, Telesia Amanda
author Lett, Telesia Amanda
author_sort Lett, Telesia Amanda
title Valuable paper and counterfeit presentments: Alfred Jones, the American Art-Union, and antebellum bank note engraving
title_short Valuable paper and counterfeit presentments: Alfred Jones, the American Art-Union, and antebellum bank note engraving
title_full Valuable paper and counterfeit presentments: Alfred Jones, the American Art-Union, and antebellum bank note engraving
title_fullStr Valuable paper and counterfeit presentments: Alfred Jones, the American Art-Union, and antebellum bank note engraving
title_full_unstemmed Valuable paper and counterfeit presentments: Alfred Jones, the American Art-Union, and antebellum bank note engraving
title_sort valuable paper and counterfeit presentments: alfred jones, the american art-union, and antebellum bank note engraving
publishDate 2019
url https://hdl.handle.net/2144/38997
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