Page 34 - June 2018 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
P. 34
leading publisher of brightly hand-colored paper toy books as well as games, alphabet cards, and
valentines. The company moved to Beekman Street after the original factory burned down.
McLoughlin’s brother, Edmund, became a partner in 1855, and the company expanded.
Printing Innovators
Because John McLoughlin kept abreast of the technological improvements in printing,
McLoughlin Bros. is credited with pioneering the systematic use of color printing technologies
for children’s books. McLoughlin publications are particularly well known for their use of colored
illustrations, which were hand-stenciled
during the firm’s early years. John
McLoughlin introduced a process where-
by oil colors were applied directly to the
photographic engravings—a revolution-
ary practice at that time—and in 1870
they opened the largest color printing
factory in the United States in New
York City to produce their books and
publish/reprint others. By the 1880s,
McLoughlin books were regularly
featuring titles in folio formats,
with illustrations printed using
chromolithography.
Color printing allowed the
Brothers to expand their business
in other ways – for the printing of
game box covers and game boards,
cards, and toys, as the company
expanded into new markets under
Edmund’s stewardship. In 1885, Edmund
McLoughlin retired from the company and later
died in 1889. By 1886, the firm was producing Cover of Mother Goose, circa 1900 photo: etsy.com
a wide range of items, including toy books or
chapbooks, large folio picture books and linen
books, as well as puzzles, paper dolls, blocks, The McLoughlin Illustrators
cards, and board games, including many of the
Framed “Electro-Grain Gravure” 16 x 20 inch print circa 1905 earliest board games in America. Many of the company’s early books were based
on “pirate” editions of picture books issued in
photo: etsy.com John McLoughlin, Jr. carried on the
business with the assistance of his sons, Charles England by firms like George Routledge & Sons,
and James Gregory. He continued to produce a great variety of work including traditional stories, which the Company was free to reprint since
foreign books were not protected at that time by
moralistic stories, religious stories, educational works, items with a strictly American theme, pop-ups, and United States copyright. This also extended to the
games. When John McLoughlin, Jr. died in 1905, his sons, Charles and James Gregory, took over the books’ illustrations, introducing Americans to such
company. In the McLoughlin Bros. 81st annual catalog, published in 1909, over 60 pages were dedicated noted British illustrators as Kate Greenaway,
to “Games,” reflecting the company’s successful diversification from children’s books to children’s toys Randolph Caldecott, and Walter Crane. The
and games. American Civil War, however, isolated America
By 1919, both McLoughlin’s sons had died or retired and H.F. Stewart was listed as president, with
Gregory McLoughlin, son of James Gregory McLoughlin, as vice president. In 1920 the company was from foreign influence, and the McLoughlin
Brothers were forced to build their own stable of
sold to Milton Bradley, their chief competitor. The Brooklyn factory was closed and the company was artists and illustrators to meet the growing
moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, and the McLoughlin division ceased with the onset of World War II. consumer demand for affordable and image-
dominated children’s books.
According to the company’s history, seventy-
five artists were employed at the firm’s Brooklyn
factory from 1870 to about 1915 to illustrate
hundreds of picture books. Some artists appear to
have been retained as staff, while others worked
freelance. These artists, selected for their varied and
distinct talents, created richly colored watercolors
as well as pen-and-ink drawings for hundreds of
picture books and a wide variety of publications,
from Mother Goose to books with patriotic themes,
which were adapted to the printing processes for
mass production.
In the earliest days of the firm, McLoughlin
Bros. rarely identified the individuals who created
the images inside its books, giving no credit on the
covers or title pages of its products. Some engravers
cannily included their names in their engraved
wooden blocks, but before about 1865, the names
of the artists who designed the illustrations were
usually unknown.
Around the time of the American Civil War,
McLoughlin Brothers began to print the names of
a few illustrators on the covers of its books. Men
like Justin H. Howard (1856–1890) and Thomas
Nast (1840–1902) had already gained reputations
for their visual contributions to both comic
periodicals and the illustrated press and would have
been known to a broad segment of American
Game board and box cover for Round the World with Nellie Bly, circa 1890 society. Promoting the names of artists like Nast,
photo: The Strong National Museum of Play
Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
32
valentines. The company moved to Beekman Street after the original factory burned down.
McLoughlin’s brother, Edmund, became a partner in 1855, and the company expanded.
Printing Innovators
Because John McLoughlin kept abreast of the technological improvements in printing,
McLoughlin Bros. is credited with pioneering the systematic use of color printing technologies
for children’s books. McLoughlin publications are particularly well known for their use of colored
illustrations, which were hand-stenciled
during the firm’s early years. John
McLoughlin introduced a process where-
by oil colors were applied directly to the
photographic engravings—a revolution-
ary practice at that time—and in 1870
they opened the largest color printing
factory in the United States in New
York City to produce their books and
publish/reprint others. By the 1880s,
McLoughlin books were regularly
featuring titles in folio formats,
with illustrations printed using
chromolithography.
Color printing allowed the
Brothers to expand their business
in other ways – for the printing of
game box covers and game boards,
cards, and toys, as the company
expanded into new markets under
Edmund’s stewardship. In 1885, Edmund
McLoughlin retired from the company and later
died in 1889. By 1886, the firm was producing Cover of Mother Goose, circa 1900 photo: etsy.com
a wide range of items, including toy books or
chapbooks, large folio picture books and linen
books, as well as puzzles, paper dolls, blocks, The McLoughlin Illustrators
cards, and board games, including many of the
Framed “Electro-Grain Gravure” 16 x 20 inch print circa 1905 earliest board games in America. Many of the company’s early books were based
on “pirate” editions of picture books issued in
photo: etsy.com John McLoughlin, Jr. carried on the
business with the assistance of his sons, Charles England by firms like George Routledge & Sons,
and James Gregory. He continued to produce a great variety of work including traditional stories, which the Company was free to reprint since
foreign books were not protected at that time by
moralistic stories, religious stories, educational works, items with a strictly American theme, pop-ups, and United States copyright. This also extended to the
games. When John McLoughlin, Jr. died in 1905, his sons, Charles and James Gregory, took over the books’ illustrations, introducing Americans to such
company. In the McLoughlin Bros. 81st annual catalog, published in 1909, over 60 pages were dedicated noted British illustrators as Kate Greenaway,
to “Games,” reflecting the company’s successful diversification from children’s books to children’s toys Randolph Caldecott, and Walter Crane. The
and games. American Civil War, however, isolated America
By 1919, both McLoughlin’s sons had died or retired and H.F. Stewart was listed as president, with
Gregory McLoughlin, son of James Gregory McLoughlin, as vice president. In 1920 the company was from foreign influence, and the McLoughlin
Brothers were forced to build their own stable of
sold to Milton Bradley, their chief competitor. The Brooklyn factory was closed and the company was artists and illustrators to meet the growing
moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, and the McLoughlin division ceased with the onset of World War II. consumer demand for affordable and image-
dominated children’s books.
According to the company’s history, seventy-
five artists were employed at the firm’s Brooklyn
factory from 1870 to about 1915 to illustrate
hundreds of picture books. Some artists appear to
have been retained as staff, while others worked
freelance. These artists, selected for their varied and
distinct talents, created richly colored watercolors
as well as pen-and-ink drawings for hundreds of
picture books and a wide variety of publications,
from Mother Goose to books with patriotic themes,
which were adapted to the printing processes for
mass production.
In the earliest days of the firm, McLoughlin
Bros. rarely identified the individuals who created
the images inside its books, giving no credit on the
covers or title pages of its products. Some engravers
cannily included their names in their engraved
wooden blocks, but before about 1865, the names
of the artists who designed the illustrations were
usually unknown.
Around the time of the American Civil War,
McLoughlin Brothers began to print the names of
a few illustrators on the covers of its books. Men
like Justin H. Howard (1856–1890) and Thomas
Nast (1840–1902) had already gained reputations
for their visual contributions to both comic
periodicals and the illustrated press and would have
been known to a broad segment of American
Game board and box cover for Round the World with Nellie Bly, circa 1890 society. Promoting the names of artists like Nast,
photo: The Strong National Museum of Play
Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
32
