Archives of American Art

Louis A. Holman papers and Holman's Print Shop records

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.holmloui
Creators:
Holman, Louis A. (Louis Arthur), 1866-1939
Holman's Print Shop
Goodspeed's Book Shop
Dates:
ca. 1870-1977
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2.7 Linear feet
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Letters, writings, a scrapbook, printed material, and files on printmakers documenting Holman's career as a Boston print dealer at Goodspeed's Book Shop and the Holman Print Shop.
Scope and Contents
Included are correspondence with customers, publishers, family, museums, galleries, and others concerning Holman's business and expertise in the field of prints, ca. 1890-1941; a typescript "What Does a Print Seller Look for in a Print?"; a scrapbook of clippings about the Holman Print Shop, 1931-1937; clippings; advertisements; and exhibition announcements and catalogs.
Scope and Contents
Also included are artist/subject files containing letters and printed materials on Joseph Andrews, Timothy Cole, John Sanderson Datziel, Arthur Heintzelman and the book Old Maps and Their Makers. Included in the Andrews file is a ledger book, ca. 1851-1869, with clippings on his "Plymouth Rock." The Cole file has letters from and about Cole, cancelled checks, biographical sketches, notes, lists of works, clippings, reproductions of work, a bookplate designed by Cole, and photographs of Cole.
Scope and Contents
ADDITION (1.4 linear ft.): Biographical material; memorabilia; diaries, 1925-1938, detailing the running of a print dealership; notes, writings, and lectures; business and financial records, among them guestbooks kept by Holman's Print Shop from its founding until its closing, recording signatures, remarks, and several caricatures from noted artists and collectors; printed material; Richard Holman's research file on John Foster's "A Map of New-England," including correspondence with several noted mid-20th century authorities on American printing and printmaking history, in particular Ray Nash; and photographs.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Illustrator, art editor, and print dealer; Boston, Mass. Holman was born on Prince Edward Island, Canada, and began work in the bookselling and publishing business in Canada. He moved to Boston in 1889, where he attended Cowles Art School and studied with the painter Charles Woodbury. Holman travelled extensively and contributed illustrations and articles to various popular magazines and worked as art editor of New England Magazine and the Youth's Companion. In 1915, he established a print department at Goodspeed's Book Shop, leaving in 1930 to open his own firm, Holman's Print Shop, where he was joined by his son, Richard Bourne Holman, who ran the firm after Louis' death in 1939 until 1977.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated 1991 and 1997 by William Greenbaum, a print dealer. According to Greenbaum, other business records of Holman's Print Shop may have been discarded.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Prints, American Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wood-engraving Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Prints -- Collectors and collecting -- Massachusetts -- Boston Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Prints -- 19th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Prints -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Map printing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Collectors and collecting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Engravers (printmakers) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gallery owners Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art dealers -- Massachusetts -- Boston Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art galleries, Commercial -- Massachusetts Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cole, Timothy, 1852-1931 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Andrews, John Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Datziel, John Sanderson Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Heintzelman, Arthur William, 1891-1965 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Holman, Richard Bourne, 1903- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nash, Ray, 1905- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions