Skip to main content

Joseph Boggs Beale's Illustrations of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Wreck of the Hesperus

 Collection
Identifier: M340

  • Staff Only
  • Please use the Collection Organization section below to place requests.

Scope and Contents

Twelve pen and ink and watercolor illustrations, created for lantern slides, of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Wreck of the Hesperus. Each illustration measures 12 3/4 x 12 3/4 inches.

Dates

  • Creation: 1894

Creator

Biographical / Historical

Joseph Boggs Beale was born in 1841 in Philadelphia. He was educated at the Central High School in Philadelphia, graduating in 1862. A talented artist, he won a competitive examination to become the professor of art at Central High School where he taught for several years and also attended classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1863 he enlisted in the 33rd Pennsylvania Volunteers and became the regimental artist, serving for a few months. After the war Beale shifted from teaching to a career in professional art and his illustrations appeared in Harpers Weekly and Frank Leslie's Weekly, where he became an "artist reporter." In 1870 he moved to Chicago to work for Baker and Company, a firm that supplied wood engravings to clients, returning to Philadelphia in 1881 to begin a 39-year career as the foremost magic-lantern artist in the Briggs Company, and nationwide. Beale died in 1926.

Extent

2.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Joseph Boggs Beale (1841-1926) was a prolific and nationally respected magic-lantern artist for Casper W. Briggs and Sons in Philadelphia from 1879 until his death in 1926. Collection includes twelve pen and ink and watercolor illustrations by Beale, created for lantern slides, of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Wreck of the Hesperus.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of American National Insurance Company, 2017

General

Ink and watercolor illustrations; hinge-mounted on acid free 8 ply mats.

Title
Guide to Joseph Boggs Beale's Illustrations of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Wreck of the Hesperus
Status
Unprocessed
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine 04011 Repository

Contact:
3000 College Station
Brunswick Maine 04011 USA
(207) 725-3288