#openvaults

Favrile was the name coined by Louis Comfort Tiffany for an iridescent glass his company patented in 1894. Favrile was derived from an Old English word, febrile, meaning hand-wrought or hand crafted. Tiffany changed the word slightly and used it as a trade name for his factory-made glass.

Favrile glass was made by treating molten glass was with metallic oxides in specific combinations to create its deep color and iridescent luster. Most of the formulas for making Tiffany art glass were created by Arthur J. Nash, who managed the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company in Queens, New York. The company started producing Favrile objects in 1896. This bowl is an example of the color marketed as “Mazarin Blue.”

The Lick Observatory, on the 4,200-foot summit of Mount Hamilton just east of San Jose, California, is named for its benefactor, James Lick (1796-1876). Lick was an American carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences. At the time of his death, he was the wealthiest man in California, and left the majority of his estate to social and scientific causes. Lick’s interest in astronomy and telescopes began in the 1860s and shortly before his death in 1876, he designated a large bequest to build an observatory and a telescope “superior to and more powerful” than any yet made.

It would take Lick’s board of trust several years to construct the world’s first mountaintop observatory to house the world’s largest refracting telescope at that time. With a 36-inch (91-centimeter) diameter lens, The Great Lick Refractor was first used in January 1888. The dome housing the telescope is 60 feet (18 meters) in diameter.

In 1887, during construction of the observatory, James Lick’s body was moved to Mount Hamilton and entombed in the foundation supporting the great telescope, according to his wishes. His will stipulates that fresh flowers are to be on his grave, always.

Images: Unknown photographer, Lick Observatory, Distant General View, East Side Mount Hamilton California, ca. 1890, Albumen silver print

Unknown photographer, The Great 36 inch Telescope of the Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton California, ca. 1890, Albumen silver print

In honor of National Bike Month, occurring every May here in the U.S., here are two studio photographs of cyclists posing with their machines. The penny-farthing, or high-wheeler, bicycle was popular from around 1870 through the early 1890s. The name penny-farthing comes from the British penny and farthing coins, one much larger than the other, so that the side view of the bicycle resembles a penny leading a farthing. Since they were directly driven with pedals attached to the axle, the large front wheel allowed faster speeds. With solid tires, the larger wheel also gave a smoother ride on rough roads and cobblestones, but hitting a rock or a rut or hard braking could pitch the rider forward over the handlebars. High-wheelers were ridden almost exclusively by daring young men.  

The safety bicycle, introduced in the 1880s, was made possible by innovations in technology, such as chain drive, gearing, and pneumatic tires. The seats and frames of safety bicycles often had spring suspension to smooth the ride over unpaved roads. With its lower center of gravity and relative ease of operation, the safety bicycle supplanted the high-wheeler and made cycling a popular activity for women and children as well as men and started the bicycle craze of the 1890s.    

Images: L. R. Phillips (active 1888-1897), George Norris, 1888, Albumen silver print

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) had a lifelong passion for reading and writing. He authored his first book, The Naval War of 1812, at the age of 23 and earned a reputation as a serious historian. The book later became required reading at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Over the course of his lifetime, Roosevelt authored 38 books on a variety of topics including history, public affairs, the military, hunting, and exploring the outdoors.

After the death of his first wife in 1884, Roosevelt set off to the frontier, eventually settling a ranch in the Dakota Territory with business partners. He met the unique characters of the Bad Lands--mountain men, degenerate buffalo hunters, Indians, and cowboys--and observed the changes to the West as it became more populated.  

This book, Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail, is a collection of essays that was first serialized in The Century magazine. Frederic Remington (1861-1909), then a 26-year old artist working as an illustrator, received the commission to provide 83 illustrations for the stories. The assignment was important to Remington's early career and forged a lifelong connection with Roosevelt.

Remington’s engraved illustrations portray Roosevelt’s subjects in situations and compositions that Remington would return to thematically throughout his career. 

When the U.S. Postal Service decided to issue a commemorative postage stamp in honor of the fine arts, they enlisted the Society of American Graphic Artists to sponsor a competition for its design. The winner was modernist painter Stuart Davis (1892-1964). The design is based on a color lithograph he made in 1957 entitled Detail Study for Cliché.

The first-class rate stamps were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C., on a Giori press, producing a total of 125,800,000 stamps. The Giori press—named for its inventor, Gualtiero Giori—permitted two-color or even three-color engraving from a single plate, in one pass through the press. The key technology was its rubber inking rollers. The surfaces were precisely cut, applying each ink selectively to parts of the same plate. Even so, the arrangement of the three colors on this stamp required the sheets to be run through the press twice.

Officially known as U.S. #1259, the stamp was issued to the public December 2, 1964, never having been seen by the artist, who died in June of 1964.

Artist Maxfield Parrish was known for his illustration work in advertising, magazines, and posters, often depicting female figures in idyllic landscapes with distant mountains, classical stone architecture, and a vibrant color palette. Here we see a simplified, yet bold, poster design with areas of flat, subdued color.

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts held a poster show in April 1896 and used Parrish's image both as the cover of the exhibition catalogue and to advertise the show throughout Philadelphia. In response to the growing interest in collecting posters, the Academy marketed a limited number of posters, such as this one, which included Parrish's signature in pencil beneath the image.

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway began as a line connecting St. Louis and Iron Mountain, Missouri, to deliver iron ore. Later, it extended southwest to Texarkana and connected with the International & Great Northern and Texas & Pacific Railways operating in Texas, promoted on this map as the “Great Short Line Between Texas and St. Louis and the North and East.” The back of the map lists routes and timetables.

This map shows Fort Worth as the end of the line for the Texas & Pacific. By 1883, the T&P would extend west to El Paso. An important route to the north, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway, is not shown on this map. The M-K-T, known as the” Katy,” built a line south from Kansas through Indian Territory connecting to the Houston & Central Texas Railway at Denison, Texas, in 1874. The Iron Mountain and the Katy were vital links from Texas to the expanding nationwide system of railroads.