Samuel Putnam Avery, Jr

Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904) was an American connoisseur and dealer in art. He was born in New York City where he studied engraving and was extensively employed by leading publishers. He began business as a dealer in art in 1865. In 1867 Mr. Avery was appointed commissioner in charge of the American art department of the Exposition Universelle in Paris. He was a founder, and for a long time, a trustee, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was a life member of important scientific, artistic and educational associations. He founded the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University in memory of his son Henry Ogden Avery, an architect of note, who died in 1890. In 1912 Avery Hall, in memory of father and son, was erected on the Columbia campus. Its first floor houses the Avery Library, now rated the richest collection in the country of works on architecture and the allied arts.

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Samuel Putnam Avery was an American print-publisher, collector and philanthopist. He married Mary Ann Ogden and together they had two sons, Samuel P. Avery jr (1847-1920) who also became an art dealer and collector, and Henry Ogden Avery (1852-90) who studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1852-90) and worked as an architect.

Life:

Avery trained as a copperplate engraver for a bank note company, and in the early 1840s began to work as a wood-engraver for Appleton's, the New York Herald and Harper's Magazine. He also produced illustrations for trade cards, religious tracts and children's adventure stories. By the late 1850s he had begun to collect drawings and small paintings by local artists, and in 1864 he became one of the first art dealers in America.

Avery was appointed the Art Commissioner for the United States at the French International Exhibition in 1867. It was at that time that Avery met JW and it was through him that a selection of JW's etchings and four paintings (Brown and Silver: Old Battersea Bridge (YMSM 33), Wapping (YMSM 35), Symphony in White, No. I: The White Girl (YMSM 38) and Crepuscule in Flesh Colour and Green: Valparaiso (YMSM 73)) were shown. Avery himself came to own a number of works by JW, including Portrait of Whistler with Hat (YMSM 23), Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother (YMSM 101), Subject Unknown (YMSM 157), Portrait of Mr Mann (YMSM 158), Sketch for 'Variations in Flesh Colour and Green: The Balcony' (M.319), Sketch of Maud (M.497), Three Peacock shutters (M.580) and Fighting Peacocks (M.581). In 1872 JW sent Avery a photograph of Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother (YMSM 101) by J. R. Parsons that showed the picture before it darkened. In 1874 he was responsible for the publishing in New York of the first catalogue of JW's etchings compiled by Ralph Thomas. As Secretary of the Union League Club, he organised the earliest exhibitions of JW's oils and etchings in America. Indeed, Avery was one of the first to make JW's etchings known in America and was responsible for introducing his work to patrons of some significance. The two men were in correspondence throughout the 1870s and into the 1880s.

Before leaving New York, Avery had liquidated his collection in order to buy works of art abroad. With the assistance of George A. Lucas, he not only bought works by Whistler but commissioned paintings from such artists as William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Jules Breton, Jean-Leon Gerôme and Ernest Meissonier. He made annual buying trips to Europe during the 1870s. His diaries provide valuable insight into the European art market. When Avery auctioned his acquisitions in New York, a large number of his works were bought by William Henry Vanderbilt, also a patron of Whistler.

Avery was a founder member and lifelong trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 1872 and donated a number of American pictures from his collection. He was instrumental in establishing a separate print room at the New York Public Library in December 1899, and presented it in 1900 with a gift of over 19,000 prints. He bequeathed part of his book collection to the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University, New York, in memory of his son Henry.

Bibliography:

Monneret, S., L'Impressionisme et son époque, Paris, 1978-79; Thomas, Ralph, A Catalogue of the Etchings and Drypoints of James Abbott MacNeil Whistler, London, 1874; Beaufort, Madeleine Fidell , Herbert L. Kleinfield and Jeanne K. Welcher (eds), The Diaries, 1871-1882, of Samuel P. Avery, Art Dealer, New York, 1979; Usher, Elizabeth R., Samuel P. Avery 1822-1904: Pioneer American Art Dealer, exhibition catalogue, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1979; Sieben-Morgan, R., Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904), Engraver on Wood: A Bio-bibliographical Study, MLS dissertation, Columbia University, New York, 1940; Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980; McClinton, K. M., 'Letters of American Artists to Samuel P. Avery', Apollo, vol. 120, 1984, pp. 182-87; MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995; Fidell-Beaufort, Madeleine, 'Samuel P. Avery', The Grove Dictionary of Art Online, ed. L. Macy, http://www.groveart.com (accessed 21 May 2002).

for layout only

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SAMUEL PUTNAM AVERY

BY THEODORE L. DE VINNE

SAMUEL PUTNAM AVERY, the eldest son of Samuel P. and Hannah Parke Avery, was born in the city of New York on

March 17, 1822. His father, of old New England

stock (a descendant of Dr. William Avery who

settled in 1650, at Dedham, Mass.), died during

the cholera season of 1832, leaving his oldest son,

then a boy but ten years old, with a brother and

three sisters, to begin the struggle for existence.

At a very early age he found employment in the

office of a bank-note engraver, where he had opportunities

to cultivate his inclination for the art

of design. While yet a boy he began to fill in his

spare time with engraving on wood, at which he

soon became proficient. Abandoning engraving

on copper and steel—an art then most difficult to

enter as a master to one who was young in years

and of slender purse—he undertook to make woodcuts

for publishers and printers.

He entered this field too soon. Printing was

then in a state of transition. The hand press was

still used for the printing of woodcuts, but the

pressmen who could properly print woodcuts

were few in number. What was worse, the result

of the financial panic of 1836, and of the great fire

of 1835 were still felt, and New York printers had

to be economical to the verge of penuriousness.

There were not many who could or would pay a

proper price for a good design or engraving.

Orders for engraving did not come unsought.

The positions of artist and printer were then

reversed. The few illustrated books of merit then

published like Harper's Pictorial Bible and Lossing

and Barrett's Field Book were really planned by

the artists, and were accepted by the publishers

only after much importunity. The period between

1840 and 1850 was that of the comic almanac

and the Dave Crockett picture book, the caricatured

valentine and the coarsest kind of woodcut,

and the outlook for a better appreciation of good

prints was not encouraging.

During these dreary years of hard work and

mean pay Mr. Avery was qualifying himself for

better things. He studied with zeal and thoroughness

the rules and principles that govern all kinds

of good art and good workmanship. From the

study of prints and painting he derived instruction

of value. To know why some pictures and prints

had been rising steadily in appreciation, while

others after brief popularity had fallen into permanent

neglect, was not to be ascertained by

accepting the popular verdict. Nor was it safe

to trust too much to the undefmable quality known

as inherent good taste. He had to search for

the many causes that helped to create meritorious

work, to thoughtfully read the writings and patiently

listen to the teachings of the critics of all

ages and countries, had to be eager to hear and

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

7>

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

7>

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

There were not many who could or would pay a

proper price for a good design or engraving.

Orders for engraving did not come unsought.

The positions of artist and printer were then

reversed. The few illustrated books of merit then

published like Harper's Pictorial Bible and Lossing

and Barrett's Field Book were really planned by

the artists, and were accepted by the publishers

only after much importunity. The period between

1840 and 1850 was that of the comic almanac

and the Dave Crockett picture book, the caricatured

valentine and the coarsest kind of woodcut,

and the outlook for a better appreciation of good

prints was not encouraging.

During these dreary years of hard work and

mean pay Mr. Avery was qualifying himself for

better things. He studied with zeal and thoroughness

the rules and principles that govern all kinds

of good art and good workmanship. From the

study of prints and painting he derived instruction

of value. To know why some pictures and prints

had been rising steadily in appreciation, while

others after brief popularity had fallen into permanent

neglect, was not to be ascertained by

accepting the popular verdict. Nor was it safe

to trust too much to the undefmable quality known

as inherent good taste. He had to search for

the many causes that helped to create meritorious

work, to thoughtfully read the writings and patiently

listen to the teachings of the critics of all

ages and countries, had to be eager to hear and

70

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

visible evidences are books and prints, for the

books are, as the old Roman poet has well said, "

more enduring than bronze." They live for

centuries, and every year adds to their value, and

in every generation new readers arise to thank the

kind forethought that put them in easy reach.

One of the most valuable of these collections is

that of the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia

College, which comprises about 15,000 volumes,

given with a proper endowment, by Mr. and Mrs.

Avery in memory of their deceased son, the architect,

Henry Ogden Avery. There is no collection

like it in the New World. It is doubtful whether

there is any as large, as accessible, and as generally

useful in any library of Europe. Of equal merit

is a great collection of prints and books on fine

arts now in the Lenox Library; soon destined to

become a part of the New York Public Library.

Whoever examines the hand-book of this collection

must be pleased not only at the diligence,

but at the exceeding good taste of the collector,

for here are prints of the best work of all the great

engravers. Among them are old books relating

to King Alfred of England and literary curiosities

that one hardly dare mention for the temptation

to expatiate on their merits would protract this

paper beyond a reasonable length.

Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art will

find in the upper galleries a wonderful collection

of Chinese and Japanese porcelains that were

collected many years ago by Mr. Avery. They

exhibit not only the delicacy and beauty of Oriental

art, but the patience and sagacity of the collector

who picked them up, bit by bit, piece by piece, in

many cities and from incongruous surroundings.

Nor has the Typothetae (New York master

printers) been neglected. Its scant collection of

thirty years ago was materially enriched by the

bequest of the late William C. Martin, and additions

have been made by many of its members,

but no one has been a more frequent or more helpful

contributor than Mr. Avery.

It is many years since Mr. Avery retired from

active business, but his diligence as a member of

literary and civic associations never abated. To

enumerate these societies is to show the many-

sidedness of the man. He was one of the founders

and always a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum

of Art, for many years secretary of the art committee

of the Union League Club, trustee of the

New York Library Association (Astor, Lenox

and Tilden foundations), ex-president of The

Grolier Club, vice-president of the Sculpture Society,

honorary member of the Architectural

League and of the Typothetae of the City of New

York, and corresponding member of many foreign

artistic societies. He was a member of the Century,

Union League, Players, City, Tuxedo and

other clubs; a member of the Civil Service Reform

Association, Sons of the Revolution, and of

the Society of Colonial Wars; life member of the

New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and of the American Museum of Natural

History; member of the American Geological,

Historical and Zoological Societies, of the National

Academy of Design and the Chamber of Commerce.

The new charter of the City of New York

specially appointed him a member of the Art

Commission which has to decide upon the merits

of all statues and mural paintings offered to the

city. This is the least of many evidences that

his opinion in all matters pertaining to fine arts

is considered as authoritative. His services in

this direction, as well as his active interest in the

cause of education, fairly earned for him the degree

of A.M., given some years ago by Columbia

College.

These are evidences of ability and activity,

and yet they do not fully represent the man.

One may grow old, may acquire distinction and

property, and yet be comparatively friendless;

but Mr. Avery is not only honored but beloved

in his declining years. On his seventy-fifth

birthday, March, 1897, a gold medal of artistic

design, modeled by Professor Scharff of Vienna,

was presented to him by seventy-five leading

citizens of New York. This was one way of

recognizing his public services, as well as their

appreciation of him as a man. Victor G. Brenner

of New York has also made a portrait medallion

of Mr. Avery. One of the last works of

Thomas Johnson, the engraver, was an etching of

the portrait of "his beloved friend, S. P. Avery." Loading...

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

7>

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

7>

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

One of Mr. A very's hobbies was the collection

of fine books in fine bindings. Friendships that

he had formed abroad in artistic and literary

circles had made him acquainted with foragers

of keener discrimination than are usually found

among dealers in old books, and they have helped

to add to his collection. To go through his

library is an education in bindings. One will

find there specimens of the best work of the oldest

Italian and the most modern French, German and

English binders. From the stamped missal of

vellum, with silver clasps, and the carved ivory

covers of medieval craftsmen, down to the carved

leather and the brilliant mosaic inlays of Pagnant,

one may find excellent examples of the handiwork

of able decorators of books for more than seven

centuries.

Mr. Avery's death was unexpected. He had "

grown old gracefully," and retained his activity

and usefulness to the last, even to marching in

procession on some recent day of festival with his

fellow soldiers of the 23d Regiment. For years

it had been his custom to spend the summer with

an invalid wife at Lake Mohonk. He left that

place with a daughter to transact some business

in this city, and to go on to Atlantic City where he

hoped that sea air would be of benefit, but a sudden

attack of illness compelled him to stop at his

home, 4 East Thirty-eighth Street, where he

steadily declined until he died August u, 1904.

In acknowledgment of a written tribute of love

paid to his memory by his associates of The Grolier

Club, Mrs. Avery testifies with earnestness to the

unvarying sweetness and serenity of her husband's

disposition during a union which lasted more

than sixty years. He never spoke ill of anyone

even when he had just cause. He did try to be

a peace maker as well as a benefactor.

Mr. Avery's survivors are his widow, Mary Ann

Ogden, a son, Samuel P. Avery, Jr., who, until

recently, succeeded his father in the control of

a picture gallery on Fifth Avenue, and a daughter,

the wife of the Rev. M. P. Welcher of Brooklyn.

Benjamin Parke Avery, his only brother, was

Minister to China under President Grant, and

died at Pekin in 1875. A sister married the Rev.

T. DeWitt Talmage and died in 1861.

At his funeral, a young man made this remark, "

I have lost my best friend. Every month, and

sometimes oftener, I was sure to receive from Mr.

Avery a note, inclosing kind words, a newspaper

clipping, or dainty little gifts, all tending to show

that I was loved and remembered." And an eminent

artist, now living abroad said to the writer

who told him of Mr. Avery's death, "The world

to me will never seem the same again." —

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, January,

19o5.

SAMUEL PUTNAM AVERY, one of the original Trustees of the Museum, died on August 11, 1904, after thirty-four years of

continuous service. Loading...

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

7>

Loading...

Loading...

EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

7>

Loading...

Loading...

EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

One of Mr. A very's hobbies was the collection

of fine books in fine bindings. Friendships that

he had formed abroad in artistic and literary

circles had made him acquainted with foragers

of keener discrimination than are usually found

among dealers in old books, and they have helped

to add to his collection. To go through his

library is an education in bindings. One will

find there specimens of the best work of the oldest

Italian and the most modern French, German and

English binders. From the stamped missal of

vellum, with silver clasps, and the carved ivory

covers of medieval craftsmen, down to the carved

leather and the brilliant mosaic inlays of Pagnant,

one may find excellent examples of the handiwork

of able decorators of books for more than seven

centuries.

Mr. Avery's death was unexpected. He had "

grown old gracefully," and retained his activity

and usefulness to the last, even to marching in

procession on some recent day of festival with his

fellow soldiers of the 23d Regiment. For years

it had been his custom to spend the summer with

an invalid wife at Lake Mohonk. He left that

place with a daughter to transact some business

in this city, and to go on to Atlantic City where he

hoped that sea air would be of benefit, but a sudden

attack of illness compelled him to stop at his

home, 4 East Thirty-eighth Street, where he

steadily declined until he died August u, 1904.

In acknowledgment of a written tribute of love

75

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

There were not many who could or would pay a

proper price for a good design or engraving.

Orders for engraving did not come unsought.

The positions of artist and printer were then

reversed. The few illustrated books of merit then

published like Harper's Pictorial Bible and Lossing

and Barrett's Field Book were really planned by

the artists, and were accepted by the publishers

only after much importunity. The period between

1840 and 1850 was that of the comic almanac

and the Dave Crockett picture book, the caricatured

valentine and the coarsest kind of woodcut,

and the outlook for a better appreciation of good

prints was not encouraging.

During these dreary years of hard work and

mean pay Mr. Avery was qualifying himself for

better things. He studied with zeal and thoroughness

the rules and principles that govern all kinds

of good art and good workmanship. From the

study of prints and painting he derived instruction

of value. To know why some pictures and prints

had been rising steadily in appreciation, while

others after brief popularity had fallen into permanent

neglect, was not to be ascertained by

accepting the popular verdict. Nor was it safe

to trust too much to the undefmable quality known

as inherent good taste. He had to search for

the many causes that helped to create meritorious

work, to thoughtfully read the writings and patiently

listen to the teachings of the critics of all

ages and countries, had to be eager to hear and

70

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

ciety, and of the American Museum of Natural

History; member of the American Geological,

Historical and Zoological Societies, of the National

Academy of Design and the Chamber of Commerce.

The new charter of the City of New York

specially appointed him a member of the Art

Commission which has to decide upon the merits

of all statues and mural paintings offered to the

city. This is the least of many evidences that

his opinion in all matters pertaining to fine arts

is considered as authoritative. His services in

this direction, as well as his active interest in the

cause of education, fairly earned for him the degree

of A.M., given some years ago by Columbia

College.

These are evidences of ability and activity,

and yet they do not fully represent the man.

One may grow old, may acquire distinction and

property, and yet be comparatively friendless;

but Mr. Avery is not only honored but beloved

in his declining years. On his seventy-fifth

birthday, March, 1897, a gold medal of artistic

design, modeled by Professor Scharff of Vienna,

was presented to him by seventy-five leading

citizens of New York. This was one way of

recognizing his public services, as well as their

appreciation of him as a man. Victor G. Brenner

of New York has also made a portrait medallion

of Mr. Avery. One of the last works of

Thomas Johnson, the engraver, was an etching of

the portrait of "his beloved friend, S. P. Avery."

74

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

visible evidences are books and prints, for the

books are, as the old Roman poet has well said, "

more enduring than bronze." They live for

centuries, and every year adds to their value, and

in every generation new readers arise to thank the

kind forethought that put them in easy reach.

One of the most valuable of these collections is

that of the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia

College, which comprises about 15,000 volumes,

given with a proper endowment, by Mr. and Mrs.

Avery in memory of their deceased son, the architect,

Henry Ogden Avery. There is no collection

like it in the New World. It is doubtful whether

there is any as large, as accessible, and as generally

useful in any library of Europe. Of equal merit

is a great collection of prints and books on fine

arts now in the Lenox Library; soon destined to

become a part of the New York Public Library.

Whoever examines the hand-book of this collection

must be pleased not only at the diligence,

but at the exceeding good taste of the collector,

for here are prints of the best work of all the great

engravers. Among them are old books relating

to King Alfred of England and literary curiosities

that one hardly dare mention for the temptation

to expatiate on their merits would protract this

paper beyond a reasonable length.

Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art will

find in the upper galleries a wonderful collection

of Chinese and Japanese porcelains that were

collected many years ago by Mr. Avery. They

72

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

paid to his memory by his associates of The Grolier

Club, Mrs. Avery testifies with earnestness to the

unvarying sweetness and serenity of her husband's

disposition during a union which lasted more

than sixty years. He never spoke ill of anyone

even when he had just cause. He did try to be

a peace maker as well as a benefactor.

Mr. Avery's survivors are his widow, Mary Ann

Ogden, a son, Samuel P. Avery, Jr., who, until

recently, succeeded his father in the control of

a picture gallery on Fifth Avenue, and a daughter,

the wife of the Rev. M. P. Welcher of Brooklyn.

Benjamin Parke Avery, his only brother, was

Minister to China under President Grant, and

died at Pekin in 1875. A sister married the Rev.

T. DeWitt Talmage and died in 1861.

At his funeral, a young man made this remark, "

I have lost my best friend. Every month, and

sometimes oftener, I was sure to receive from Mr.

Avery a note, inclosing kind words, a newspaper

clipping, or dainty little gifts, all tending to show

that I was loved and remembered." And an eminent

artist, now living abroad said to the writer

who told him of Mr. Avery's death, "The world

to me will never seem the same again." —

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, January,

19o5.

SAMUEL PUTNAM AVERY, one of the original Trustees of the Museum, died on August 11, 1904, after thirty-four years of

continuous service.

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

SAMUEL PUTNAM AVERY

BY THEODORE L. DE VINNE

SAMUEL PUTNAM AVERY, the eldest son of Samuel P. and Hannah Parke Avery, was born in the city of New York on

March 17, 1822. His father, of old New England

stock (a descendant of Dr. William Avery who

settled in 1650, at Dedham, Mass.), died during

the cholera season of 1832, leaving his oldest son,

then a boy but ten years old, with a brother and

three sisters, to begin the struggle for existence.

At a very early age he found employment in the

office of a bank-note engraver, where he had opportunities

to cultivate his inclination for the art

of design. While yet a boy he began to fill in his

spare time with engraving on wood, at which he

soon became proficient. Abandoning engraving

on copper and steel—an art then most difficult to

enter as a master to one who was young in years

and of slender purse—he undertook to make woodcuts

for publishers and printers.

He entered this field too soon. Printing was

then in a state of transition. The hand press was

still used for the printing of woodcuts, but the

pressmen who could properly print woodcuts

were few in number. What was worse, the result

of the financial panic of 1836, and of the great fire

of 1835 were still felt, and New York printers had

to be economical to the verge of penuriousness.

69

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

exhibit not only the delicacy and beauty of Oriental

art, but the patience and sagacity of the collector

who picked them up, bit by bit, piece by piece, in

many cities and from incongruous surroundings.

Nor has the Typothetae (New York master

printers) been neglected. Its scant collection of

thirty years ago was materially enriched by the

bequest of the late William C. Martin, and additions

have been made by many of its members,

but no one has been a more frequent or more helpful

contributor than Mr. Avery.

It is many years since Mr. Avery retired from

active business, but his diligence as a member of

literary and civic associations never abated. To

enumerate these societies is to show the many-

sidedness of the man. He was one of the founders

and always a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum

of Art, for many years secretary of the art committee

of the Union League Club, trustee of the

New York Library Association (Astor, Lenox

and Tilden foundations), ex-president of The

Grolier Club, vice-president of the Sculpture Society,

honorary member of the Architectural

League and of the Typothetae of the City of New

York, and corresponding member of many foreign

artistic societies. He was a member of the Century,

Union League, Players, City, Tuxedo and

other clubs; a member of the Civil Service Reform

Association, Sons of the Revolution, and of

the Society of Colonial Wars; life member of the

New York Genealogical and Biographical So-

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

The following resolutions were adopted by the

Trustees:

The early founders of the Metropolitan Museum

of Art have nearly all passed away. Presidents

Johnston, Marquand and Rhinelander have

gone over to the majority. It now becomes our

painful duty to record upon our minutes the death

of our late associate and friend, Samuel Putnam

Avery.

Mr. Avery was a member of the first board of

trustees of the Museum and was, until his death,

one of its most useful, active and intelligent

members. He brought to the service of the

Museum a large experience in the world of art, a

mind enriched by travel and trained by the observation

and study of the world's famous collections.

His conscientious devotion to all his duties

was remarkable. His business brought him in

frequent contact with the great painters of the

last half century, both at home and abroad, and

many of the best works of foreign masters passed

through his hands. After his retirement from

business his activity was continued in the several

public institutions in which he was a hard-working

trustee.

The Vanderbilt collection of pictures now on

exhibition in our galleries was made by the late

William H. Vanderbilt, who was a generous and

intelligent collector. Mr. Vanderbilt very wisely

called to his aid the expert assistance of Mr. Avery.

Mr. Avery was also a most discriminating collector of porcelains, bronzes, and other art objects,

and of fine books. His library was small but

choice, and was rich in bindings, executed by the

famous bibliopegists of the present and former

times. It is probable that Mr. Avery's name will

be best known and longest remembered by reason

of his extraordinary liberality (often concealed

from public observation) both to individuals and

institutions. A large proportion of the books,

prints, bronzes, etc., in The Grolier Club, were

presented by him. In nearly all of the art clubs

of the city will be found mementos of his thoughtful

consideration, and his gifts were not confined

to this city alone. This Museum is indebted to

Mr. Avery for a valuable collection of medals

by Roty, and a large number of paintings and art

objects, and he was a constant contributor to its

library. In Mrs. Avery's name he enriched the

Museum with a large collection of rare and valuable

antique silver spoons.

The bequest to the New York Public Library of

17,000 etchings, a collection representing the

patient and intelligent work of forty years, shows

how catholic Mr. Avery was in selecting art treasures

and how thoughtful he was for the public

welfare in distributing them during his lifetime.

In memory of a daughter who died in 1893 Mr.

Avery established a library in the Teachers'

College, giving his daughter's books, to which he

added many others. The crowning glory of Mr. Avery's beneficence Loading...

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

7>

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

One of Mr. A very's hobbies was the collection

of fine books in fine bindings. Friendships that

he had formed abroad in artistic and literary

circles had made him acquainted with foragers

of keener discrimination than are usually found

among dealers in old books, and they have helped

to add to his collection. To go through his

library is an education in bindings. One will

find there specimens of the best work of the oldest

Italian and the most modern French, German and

English binders. From the stamped missal of

vellum, with silver clasps, and the carved ivory

covers of medieval craftsmen, down to the carved

leather and the brilliant mosaic inlays of Pagnant,

one may find excellent examples of the handiwork

of able decorators of books for more than seven

centuries.

Mr. Avery's death was unexpected. He had "

grown old gracefully," and retained his activity

and usefulness to the last, even to marching in

procession on some recent day of festival with his

fellow soldiers of the 23d Regiment. For years

it had been his custom to spend the summer with

an invalid wife at Lake Mohonk. He left that

place with a daughter to transact some business

in this city, and to go on to Atlantic City where he

hoped that sea air would be of benefit, but a sudden

attack of illness compelled him to stop at his

home, 4 East Thirty-eighth Street, where he

steadily declined until he died August u, 1904.

In acknowledgment of a written tribute of love

75

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

is the architectural library presented to Columbia

University in memory of his son, Henry Ogden

Avery, a talented young architect. This library

is said, upon good authority, to be one of the best

in this country on this special subject.

Mr. Avery was a friend to all good men. His

regard for those favored with his intimate acquaintance

will always be a fragrant memory.

An hour spent in his company among the many

attractive objects in his private library was serenely

enjoyable. He was a man of the highest ideals,

who placed character above all other attainments.

As a well deserved recognition of his long and disinterested

service, a few friends presented him

with a gold medal on his seventy-fifth birthday.

His example will remain an inspiration for good

deeds. He has made the world better worth

living in for those who come after him.

J. PIERPONT MORGAN,

President,

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

RUTHERFURD STUYVESANT JNO. CROSBY BROWN

WM. L. ANDREWS JNO. L. CADWALADER

JOHN BIGELOW H. C. FAHNESTOCK

CHAS. STEWART SMITH EDWARD D. ADAMS

ROBERT W. DEFOREST GEO. A. HEARN

WHITELAW REID WM. CHURCH OSBORN

ELIHU ROOT FREDERICK DIELMAN

JNO. S. KENNEDY CHAS. F. McKiM D. O.

MILLS DANIEL C. FRENCH —

Thirty-fifth annual report of the trustees of the Metropolitan Museum

of Art, New York, 19o5.

79

490023

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

7>

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

slow to decide, had to critically compare the productions

of many masters before he could make

for himself just standards of proportion.

Many years passed before Mr. Avery met with

proper recognition as a competent judge of pictures

and prints. Mr. William T. Walters, a great

collector, was the first to discern his fitness, and

it was by his advice that Mr. Avery was induced

to abandon engraving on wood and give exclusive

attention to the purchase and sale of works of art.

But when recognition did come, it was hearty and

thorough. In 1867 he was appointed commissioner

of the American Art Department at the

Universal Exposition in Paris, where he made

many friends among foreign artists. No man in

America has done more to make Europeans acquainted

with the works of American painters;

and it is largely to his discernment that the picture

galleries of recent collectors have been filled with

works of permanent value. During the later

years of his life he was accepted by all as a wise

judge on all forms of artistic productions.

It is not, however, his expertness as a judge of

pictures that need be considered in this paper.

There is another phase of his character which will

be more gratefully remembered. The spoken

opinion given to-day is not always long remembered.

The good deeds that outlast a man's lifetime

and of which the visible evidences can be

found for years to come in many libraries are the

things that will be most kindly recalled. These

7>

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

One of Mr. A very's hobbies was the collection

of fine books in fine bindings. Friendships that

he had formed abroad in artistic and literary

circles had made him acquainted with foragers

of keener discrimination than are usually found

among dealers in old books, and they have helped

to add to his collection. To go through his

library is an education in bindings. One will

find there specimens of the best work of the oldest

Italian and the most modern French, German and

English binders. From the stamped missal of

vellum, with silver clasps, and the carved ivory

covers of medieval craftsmen, down to the carved

leather and the brilliant mosaic inlays of Pagnant,

one may find excellent examples of the handiwork

of able decorators of books for more than seven

centuries.

Mr. Avery's death was unexpected. He had "

grown old gracefully," and retained his activity

and usefulness to the last, even to marching in

procession on some recent day of festival with his

fellow soldiers of the 23d Regiment. For years

it had been his custom to spend the summer with

an invalid wife at Lake Mohonk. He left that

place with a daughter to transact some business

in this city, and to go on to Atlantic City where he

hoped that sea air would be of benefit, but a sudden

attack of illness compelled him to stop at his

home, 4 East Thirty-eighth Street, where he

steadily declined until he died August u, 1904.

In acknowledgment of a written tribute of love

75

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EDITORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS

is the architectural library presented to Columbia

University in memory of his son, Henry Ogden

Avery, a talented young architect. This library

is said, upon good authority, to be one of the best

in this country on this special subject.

Mr. Avery was a friend to all good men. His

regard for those favored with his intimate acquaintance

will always be a fragrant memory.

An hour spent in his company among the many

attractive objects in his private library was serenely

enjoyable. He was a man of the highest ideals,

who placed character above all other attainments.

As a well deserved recognition of his long and disinterested

service, a few friends presented him

with a gold medal on his seventy-fifth birthday.

His example will remain an inspiration for good

deeds. He has made the world better worth

living in for those who come after him.

J. PIERPONT MORGAN,

President,

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

RUTHERFURD STUYVESANT JNO. CROSBY BROWN

WM. L. ANDREWS JNO. L. CADWALADER

JOHN BIGELOW H. C. FAHNESTOCK

CHAS. STEWART SMITH EDWARD D. ADAMS

ROBERT W. DEFOREST GEO. A. HEARN

WHITELAW REID WM. CHURCH OSBORN

ELIHU ROOT FREDERICK DIELMAN

JNO. S. KENNEDY CHAS. F. McKiM D. O.

MILLS DANIEL C. FRENCH —

Thirty-fifth annual report of the trustees of the Metropolitan Museum

of Art, New York, 19o5.

79

490023

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

There were not many who could or would pay a

proper price for a good design or engraving.

Orders for engraving did not come unsought.

The positions of artist and printer were then

reversed. The few illustrated books of merit then

published like Harper's Pictorial Bible and Lossing

and Barrett's Field Book were really planned by

the artists, and were accepted by the publishers

only after much importunity. The period between

1840 and 1850 was that of the comic almanac

and the Dave Crockett picture book, the caricatured

valentine and the coarsest kind of woodcut,

and the outlook for a better appreciation of good

prints was not encouraging.

During these dreary years of hard work and

mean pay Mr. Avery was qualifying himself for

better things. He studied with zeal and thoroughness

the rules and principles that govern all kinds

of good art and good workmanship. From the

study of prints and painting he derived instruction

of value. To know why some pictures and prints

had been rising steadily in appreciation, while

others after brief popularity had fallen into permanent

neglect, was not to be ascertained by

accepting the popular verdict. Nor was it safe

to trust too much to the undefmable quality known

as inherent good taste. He had to search for

the many causes that helped to create meritorious

work, to thoughtfully read the writings and patiently

listen to the teachings of the critics of all

ages and countries, had to be eager to hear and

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

ciety, and of the American Museum of Natural

History; member of the American Geological,

Historical and Zoological Societies, of the National

Academy of Design and the Chamber of Commerce.

The new charter of the City of New York

specially appointed him a member of the Art

Commission which has to decide upon the merits

of all statues and mural paintings offered to the

city. This is the least of many evidences that

his opinion in all matters pertaining to fine arts

is considered as authoritative. His services in

this direction, as well as his active interest in the

cause of education, fairly earned for him the degree

of A.M., given some years ago by Columbia

College.

These are evidences of ability and activity,

and yet they do not fully represent the man.

One may grow old, may acquire distinction and

property, and yet be comparatively friendless;

but Mr. Avery is not only honored but beloved

in his declining years. On his seventy-fifth

birthday, March, 1897, a gold medal of artistic

design, modeled by Professor Scharff of Vienna,

was presented to him by seventy-five leading

citizens of New York. This was one way of

recognizing his public services, as well as their

appreciation of him as a man. Victor G. Brenner

of New York has also made a portrait medallion

of Mr. Avery. One of the last works of

Thomas Johnson, the engraver, was an etching of

the portrait of "his beloved friend, S. P. Avery."

74

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

tor of porcelains, bronzes, and other art objects,

and of fine books. His library was small but

choice, and was rich in bindings, executed by the

famous bibliopegists of the present and former

times. It is probable that Mr. Avery's name will

be best known and longest remembered by reason

of his extraordinary liberality (often concealed

from public observation) both to individuals and

institutions. A large proportion of the books,

prints, bronzes, etc., in The Grolier Club, were

presented by him. In nearly all of the art clubs

of the city will be found mementos of his thoughtful

consideration, and his gifts were not confined

to this city alone. This Museum is indebted to

Mr. Avery for a valuable collection of medals

by Roty, and a large number of paintings and art

objects, and he was a constant contributor to its

library. In Mrs. Avery's name he enriched the

Museum with a large collection of rare and valuable

antique silver spoons.

The bequest to the New York Public Library of

17,000 etchings, a collection representing the

patient and intelligent work of forty years, shows

how catholic Mr. Avery was in selecting art treasures

and how thoughtful he was for the public

welfare in distributing them during his lifetime.

In memory of a daughter who died in 1893 Mr.

Avery established a library in the Teachers'

College, giving his daughter's books, to which he

added many others.

The crowning glory of Mr. Avery's beneficence

78

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

visible evidences are books and prints, for the

books are, as the old Roman poet has well said, "

more enduring than bronze." They live for

centuries, and every year adds to their value, and

in every generation new readers arise to thank the

kind forethought that put them in easy reach.

One of the most valuable of these collections is

that of the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia

College, which comprises about 15,000 volumes,

given with a proper endowment, by Mr. and Mrs.

Avery in memory of their deceased son, the architect,

Henry Ogden Avery. There is no collection

like it in the New World. It is doubtful whether

there is any as large, as accessible, and as generally

useful in any library of Europe. Of equal merit

is a great collection of prints and books on fine

arts now in the Lenox Library; soon destined to

become a part of the New York Public Library.

Whoever examines the hand-book of this collection

must be pleased not only at the diligence,

but at the exceeding good taste of the collector,

for here are prints of the best work of all the great

engravers. Among them are old books relating

to King Alfred of England and literary curiosities

that one hardly dare mention for the temptation

to expatiate on their merits would protract this

paper beyond a reasonable length.

Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art will

find in the upper galleries a wonderful collection

of Chinese and Japanese porcelains that were

collected many years ago by Mr. Avery. They

72

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

paid to his memory by his associates of The Grolier

Club, Mrs. Avery testifies with earnestness to the

unvarying sweetness and serenity of her husband's

disposition during a union which lasted more

than sixty years. He never spoke ill of anyone

even when he had just cause. He did try to be

a peace maker as well as a benefactor.

Mr. Avery's survivors are his widow, Mary Ann

Ogden, a son, Samuel P. Avery, Jr., who, until

recently, succeeded his father in the control of

a picture gallery on Fifth Avenue, and a daughter,

the wife of the Rev. M. P. Welcher of Brooklyn.

Benjamin Parke Avery, his only brother, was

Minister to China under President Grant, and

died at Pekin in 1875. A sister married the Rev.

T. DeWitt Talmage and died in 1861.

At his funeral, a young man made this remark, "

I have lost my best friend. Every month, and

sometimes oftener, I was sure to receive from Mr.

Avery a note, inclosing kind words, a newspaper

clipping, or dainty little gifts, all tending to show

that I was loved and remembered." And an eminent

artist, now living abroad said to the writer

who told him of Mr. Avery's death, "The world

to me will never seem the same again." —

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, January,

19o5.

SAMUEL PUTNAM AVERY, one of the original Trustees of the Museum, died on August 11, 1904, after thirty-four years of

continuous service.

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SAMUEL P. AVERY

ON the 11 th of August last, there died in New York an eminent collector, Mr. Samuel Putnam Avery, one of the

trustees of the New York Public Library. Mr.

Frank Weitenkampf, curator of the Print Department

of that important depository, has been kind

enough to send us the following necrology:

Born March 17, 1822, Mr. Samuel Putnam

Avery, originally an engraver on wood and subsequently

a picture dealer, became one of the most

noted bibliophiles and amateurs in the United

States.

He was one of the first to collect Whistler's

etchings; similarly, he sought out the etchings

of Daubigny when they were selling at two or

three francs apiece in the old book shops on the

quais. His enlightened taste, his artist acquaintances,

his collector's scent for the unique or rare

and curious piece, enabled him to form a collection

of etchings of the nineteenth century which

amounts to about fifteen thousand plates, without

counting the three thousand lithographs which he

had collected in his portfolios. Flameng, Jacque,

Bracquemond, Rajon, Buhot and other great

artists are admirably represented in the portfolios

of Mr. Avery, who also possessed the only complete

collection extant of Mauve's etchings. His

series of the Liber Studiorum of Turner was one of

the finest in the world.

Mr. Samuel Putnam Avery generously gave his

wonderful collection of prints to the New York

Public Library; in Columbia University he

founded a magnificent architectural library, in

memory of his son Henry Ogden Avery, a talented

architect.

He did not possess only prints; he had also

collected superb bindings signed by American and

French master-binders. In one of them, executed

for Th. Deck's work on faience, there are placed

panels of faience by that skillful ceramist. All

these bindings are described in the catalogue of

an exhibition held in 1903 in the Library of Columbia

University. Mr. Samuel Putnam Avery was

a member of The Grolier Club, the Society of

Iconophiles, and many other artistic associations.

The lamented trustee of the New York Public

Library, whose taste was of the most perfect,

was an authority in matters of art, whose personality

inspired the profound respect of his compatriots,

and who is held in affectionate remembrance

by his friends. —

Bulletin du Bibliophile, Paris, December 15, 19o4, p. 69o.

THERE are many kinds of bibliophiles, each with its special vagary, but the one to which Mr. Avery belonged is the rarest

of them all—the altruistic.

His library at the time of his death was not

large, because he was a constant giver of books.

It represented only the undistributed remnant.

Not only to The Grolier Club, the Metropolitan

Museum of Art, and the Architectural Library of

Columbia College—which was so dear to his heart —

was he continually giving books, engravings,

etchings, but even institutions at a distance which

had no possible claim upon him, were enriched

by his gifts.

He was a modest, courteous, generous, kindly

gentleman of the old school, a public-spirited merchant,

an ideal bibliophile. —

Extract from the fourth year book of The Bibliophile Society,

Boston, Mass., May 19o5.