TidesNet—Online Collections Entry Detail

DescriptionA small late 19th century lithographic print titled “St. Croix River, Calais, Me.” The print is about 4 1/4 inches high and 6 1/2 inches wide. It shows a bucolic scene along the shores of the river separating Maine and New Brunswick with cows, a farm house and farm, sailing vessels, and what appears to be an outcrop of the Devil’s Head landmark in the background. The print is the work of J. H. Bufford's Sons Lithographers of Boston and dates to about 1860. The lithographic form of printing was invented at the end of the 18th century and became a prevalent form of reproducing a wide range of “art” scenes in the first half of the 19th century. John Henry Bufford was part of these greatly expanding lithographic endeavors. Bufford was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1810. He studied and worked under the well known Pendleton lithography shop in Boston for a few years between 1829 and 1831 while also working on his own. Later he moved to New York City to work as a pictorial artist with the even better known Endicott and Nathaniel Currier lithography shop while continuing, again, to work on his own. He returned to Boston in 1840 and worked for various printing and publishing firms, sometimes in partnership with his brother-in-law, sometimes alone. His businesses thrived until the late 1860s, when photolithography became a widely available, less expensive alternative to the more traditional lithography. Bufford died in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1870. We located his “St. Croix River, Calais, Me.” print in Pennsylvania. It is the only print of his that we know of set in Washington County, Maine. Photo caption: Late 19th century lithographic print titled “St. Croix River, Calais, Me.” The print is the work of J. H. Bufford's Sons Lithographers of Boston and dates to about 1870. ST. CROIX RIVER, CALAIS, MAINE! Small 19th century lithographic print (about 4.25" high x 6.5" wide) of the St. Croix River at Calais, Maine that recently came into our collections. We located the print in Pennsylvania. It's the work of J. H. Bufford's Sons Lithographers of Boston and dates to about 1870. See: http://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/trade_card_j_h_bufford_and_sons_thefloralbabies.htm