Purcell

Purcell — marelibri

Third Series of the New York Artists Class Manual or Landscape Lessons No. 3 publisher's title label on original slipcase

1845Best.-Nr. 375903New York: John C. Riker 1845. 20 of 36 lithographed views. Plus 8 pencil drawings on 6 sheets being based on the lessons one signed C.W.T. 7-1/2 x 5-3/4 inches. Publisher's marbled slipcase color lithographed label on the upper cover slipcase split at joints. 20 of 36 lithographed views. Plus 8 pencil drawings on 6 sheets being based on the lessons one signed C.W.T. 7-1/2 x 5-3/4 inches. An extremely rare series known to Drepperd only from the first part of which he found only a single example. "This set of drawing cards is so rich in American views that it is comparable to a miniature Currier and Ives portfolio . these same views are to be found in finished but unsigned paintings by mid-nineteenth century American amateurs ." Drepperd. Purcell served as the drawing master at the Mechanic's School and in 1841 was awarded a prize for the best water color drawing at the the American Institutute Annual Fair. In all Purcell issued six parts in the series under the general title The Artist's Class Manual each offered for sale priced separately. An 1847 advertisement by the publisher John C. Riker in The American Bookseller's Complete Reference Trade List details each part's composition: "No. 1 contains a series of elementary and cottage drawing lessons consisting of fifty cards . No. 2 consists of thirty-six cards . subjects elements of landscape drawing exhibiting varieties of trees with their characteristic foliage . No. 3 consists of thirty-six cards . 12 elementary and 24 advanced landscapes . No. 4 contains twelve colored subjects with full instructions in the use and mixing of colors . No. 5 consists of twelve colored lessons more advanced than No. 4 . No. 6 consists of the same number of colored subjects being the finishing lessons in the art." The prices for each part ranged from .63 cents to $1.25 getting progressively more expensive for the later numbers and each was contained within a separate slipcase. Examples of various parts are located in the collections of the New York Historical Society the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Yale Center for British Art i.e. from the Paul Mellon collection. Very rare on the market. Drepperd Amer. Drawing Books p. 15 John C. Riker unknown