MS 7413 John Walter Osborne lithographs of scenes in China
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: NAA MS 7413

USNM Accession Number 23775

USNM Catalog Number 151643
name: label: Creator
content: American Photo-Lithographic Company
label: Creator
content: Osborne, J. W. (John Walter), 1828-1902
place: label: Place
content: East Asia
label: Place
content: China
creator: label: Creator
content: American Photo-Lithographic Company
label: Creator
content: Osborne, J. W. (John Walter), 1828-1902
setName: label: See more items in
content: MS 7413 John Walter Osborne lithographs of scenes in China
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: John Walter Osborne (1828-1902) was a professional photographer, lithographer, and inventor, who developed the world's first commercially viable photolithographic process.  He was born in Ireland and emigrated to Australia in 1852.  In 1859, while employed by the Surveyor General of Victoria in Melbourne, he developed and patented a photolithographic transfer method suitable for copying maps. In 1864 Osborne emigrated to the United States. He set up the American Photo-Lithographic Company in Brooklyn, New York, and was contracted to print the official U.S. patent drawings between 1871 and 1874. His work also appeared in trade journals and advertising.  Later he lived in Washington DC, where he served as a printing consultant and patent expert.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 8 Lithographs (black-and-white, 11 x 7 inches)
unitdate: label: Date
content: March 1870
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The collection was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by J. W. Osborne in 1890.  The accesion record states that the collection contained 17 lithographs and 2 photographs.  Eight lithographs and one photograph were transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the National Anthropological Archives by Chang-su Houchins in July 1986.  The location of the remaining photograph and nine lithographs is unknown.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS7413
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Lithographs
label: Type
content: Works of art
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Some description based on research by Emily Hoover, summer volunteer, Department of Anthropology.  Titles supplied by the archivist are in square brackets [].
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Lithographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Works of art
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of eight (8) lithographs of scenes in China printed on thick white paper.  Each print bears a stamp "American Photo-Lithographic Co. Osborne's Process. New York" and the date.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The National Museum of American History holds a large collection of photomechanical prints created and collected by J. W. Osborne and donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1888 (Accession 23155).
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The National Anthropological Archives holds a photograph (Group Wearing Blankets and Fur Robes, Some with Baskets) donated with the lithographs in Photo Lot 97.