Details
Creator McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
Contributor Newsam, Albert, 1809-1864.
Carlin, John, 1813-1891, correspondent.
Gallaudet, Thomas, 1822-1902 correspondent.,
Clerc, Laurent, 1785-1869 correspondent.,
Brown, John A., b. 1810. correspondent.,
Pyatt, Joseph O. correspondent.,
Duval, Peter S., 1804 or 5-1886, correspondent.
Hutton, Abraham B., 1798-1870, correspondent.
Pennsylvania. General Assembly. House of Representatives, correspondent.
McAllister, John A. 1822-1896, former owner.
Title Albert Newsam Papers. 1833-1864 (inclusive).
Physical Description 2 boxes 1.63 linear ft.
Description The Albert Newsam Papers holds correspondence and documents sent to, written by, and about the artist. Some of the material relates to the Gallaudet Monument Association, which was organized to collect funds from the deaf community nationwide to raise a monument to Thomas H. Gallaudet (1787-1851) on the grounds of the American Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb (now the American School for the Deaf) in Hartford, Connecticut. Newsam designed the monument, and was vice president for fundraising in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. The collection also holds a circa 1835 folio album, titled “Principles of Perspective,” which is thought to be in Newsam's hand and functioned as his workbook on the subject.
Notes Letters from Albert Newsam to John A. McAllister are in the Library Company's John A. McAllister Papers (McA MSS 001); in those letters, Newsam writes accounts of his life at the Living Home and the work he is pursuing while there. The Library Company's Print Department holds several portrait prints by Newsam.
On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org.
Biographical / historical note Albert Newsam (1809-1864), was a deaf artist who was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and orphaned at an early age. Through devious means he was taken to Philadelphia where, by good fortune, he was admitted in 1820 to the recently established Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. Newsam had exhibited great talent as an artist while young man, and became an apprentice with Philadelphia lithographer Col. Cephas G. Childs (1793-1871) in 1827, after which he became the principal artist with the noted printer Peter S. Duval (1804 or 05-1886). A master copyist, portraitist, and chromiste, Newsam is generally credited with helping to elevate the art of lithography in the United States. His career ended suddenly in 1859 when he suffered a stroke that affected his vision and coordination; he spent his final years at Dr. John A. Brown's Living Home for the Sick and Well, near Wilmington, Delaware, a situation arranged for him and funded by a committee of friends that included John A. McAllister.
Subject Newsam, Albert, 1809-1864.
American Asylum, at Hartford, for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb.
Gallaudet, T. H. (Thomas Hopkins), 1787-1851 -- Monuments.
Gallaudet Monument Association.
Deaf artists.
Genre Receipts (financial records).
Certificates.
Drawings.
Letters.
Albums.
Perspective projections
Provenance McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, former owner.
Location Library Company of Philadelphia| MSS | McA MSS 003
Accession number (McAllister)