LOUIS KINNEY HARLOW (1850-1913) L. PRANG & CO'S / HOLIDAY PUBLICATIONS. 1896.
21 1/4x15 1/2 inches, 54x39 1/2 cm.
Condition B+: minor losses in lower left and upper right corners; creases and abrasions in margins and image. Printed on card.
Born near the cape in Wareham, Massachusetts, Harlow was an accomplished landscape painter, etcher and illustrator who worked for the Prang company throughout the 1890s, providing numerous illustrations for many of their books. Each fall, ahead of the holiday season, L. Prang would issue a series of holiday publications, cards, calendars, decorative prints and booklets. In the golden age of chromolithography, Prang was consistently considered one of the highest quality printers in America, and their printed reviews in the popular press throughout the 1890s speak to the popularity of their wares. Public Opinion magazine from Thursday, October 29, 1896 writes, "L. Prang & Co. (Boston) have issued an illustrated catalogue of their holiday publications. The excellence and dainty beauty of the Prang output have made it one of the most eagerly looked-for among the holiday publications" (p. 571). The most famous poster for Prang's holiday publications was done by Louis J. Rhead in 1896, who also designed a poster for their Easter Publications that same year. It seems the company may have once tried to use Thanksgiving as a selling time for their products, but the rarity of this poster suggests that it wasn't a successful campaign. Previously unrecorded.