The Little Playmates
date: label: date made
content: ca 1850
name: label: maker
content: Sarony & Major
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
label: Description (Brief)
content: These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class, and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
label: Description (Brief)
content: This is a black and white print; full length of three children. The girl and boy are on either side of a baby that is seated on a stool or outdoor cushioned bench. All three children are in fancy dress.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The print was produced by Sarony & Major. Napoleon Sarony and his partner Henry B. Major were former employees of Nathaniel Currier prior to establishing their firm in New York City in 1846.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Children
label: Subject
content: Furnishings
label: Subject
content: Flowers
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: Clothing & Accessories
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content: Art
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content: Peters Prints
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content: Domestic Furnishings
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Peters, Harry T.. America on Stone
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.2225
label: catalog number
content: 60.2225
label: accession number
content: 228146
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 12 in x 8 1/2 in; 30.48 cm x 21.59 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 18 in x 13 1/4 in; 45.72 cm x 33.655 cm