Brown, William Henry "John Quincy Adams."

William Henry Brown.  "John Quincy Adams." From [facsimile of] Portrait Gallery of Distinguished American Citizens. 

New York: G.A. Baker & Co., 1931.  13 1/4 x 9 3/4.  Collotype print after lithograph by E.B. & E.C. Kellogg.  Framed.  Sold as is.

The book contained a rare group of prints taken from silhouettes cut by William Henry Brown (1808-1883), who was one of the most famous and best practitioners of the now almost lost art of silhouette cutting.  No later than 1843, Brown contracted with the noted Hartford lithographic firm of E.B. & E.C. Kellogg to issue a number of lithographs based on his silhouettes of “Distinguished American Citizens,” and this resulted in a bound volume of these prints.  The prints themselves are copyright dated 1844, and so it is not unlikely that they were issued separately beginning at that date.  Not only are these fascinating and unusual images of the men shown but the originals are quite rare as well.  In an interview in 1874, Brown stated that the bulk of the first edition was destroyed by fire.  This was perhaps the November 21, 1854 fire in the bindery of Case, Tiffany & Co., the binders of the portfolio.  Some complete editions of the folios and some of the individual prints did survive, but they are very scarce.  Here is an example from the later facsimile of collotype reproductions, issued in 1931 which made the images more accessible.