Expert: Nicholas Forrest - 10/22/2007

Question
I have 2 prints (Taber Prang Art Co., Springfield, Mass)
that have sayings on them...very quaint
the 1st one starts, "Some ha'e meat that canna eat...
it is dated 1903 ...a man and lady are seated at table...
the other print has the same quaint clothes and says,
"True happiness is to no place confined but still is found in a contented mind"....dated 1905, this one has 3 men and 2 dogs with buildings in the background...
Would like to know something about them...my husband's Scottish grandmother gave one of them to him and I found the other in a garage sale a few years later.
thank you for whatever you can tell me about them.
Kate Southern

Answer
In 1856, Prang and a partner created a firm, Prang and Mayer, to produce lithographs. The company specialized in prints of buildings and towns in Massachusetts. In 1860, he bought the share of his partner, creating L. Prang and Company and began work in colored printing of advertising and other forms of business materials. The firm became extraordinarily successful and also became well known for war maps, printed during the American Civil War and distributed by newspapers.

In 1864, Prang went to Europe to learn about cutting-edge German lithography. Returning the next year, Prang began to create high quality reproductions of major art works. Prang also began creating series of popular album cards, advertised to be collected into scrapbooks, showing natural scenes and patriotic symbols. At Christmas 1873, Prang began creating greeting cards for the popular market in England and began selling the Christmas card in America the next year. Therefore, he is sometimes called the "father of the American Christmas card." Prang is also well known for his efforts to improve art education in the United States, publishing instructional books and creating a foundation to train art teachers.

In 1897, L. Prang and Company merged with another company, creating the Taber-Prang Company and moving to Springfield, Massachusetts. Prang died in Los Angeles on vacation in 1909.

The value of your prints would be roughly US$120 Each