Vegetable Cards, The Bufford Family, and History of Lithography in the United States

Of course, I have to start with the "1st Premium Cabbage Head"! 

This is the work submitted for the copyright filing, and, perhaps, it was also intended to be later used as a salesman's sample book page for the card.  These are chromolithographs, with the card 13.1 x 7.9 cm and the page it is printed on 21.6 x 13.8 cm.  These are Library of Congress images.

"A S'wheat Girl"

"A Corn-et Dance"

 "King Cotton"

 "Potato Bug"

"An Orange Man" was one of another set of 12 cards from Bufford's around 1887.










A bit of lithography history...


This article from Schools and Schoolboys of Old Boston,1894, has the longest darn sentences and no paragraphs!  

I threw in a few commas, and cut out a few really boring bits, and tossed in some paragraphs when I couldn't stand it.  



FRANK GALE BUFFORD
Was born in New York city May 20 1837.  His father JH Bufford the celebrated lithographer was born in Portsmouth NH in 1810 and became apprenticed in 1824 to John Pcndleton who introduced lithography into America about 1822.  Mr JH Bufford was the first artist to draw on stone in this country and started business in New York city in 1830 but returned to Boston in 1838 residing on Warren street Roxbury.  ... ( he finished his schooling at) Shephard's Academy at Plymouth NH.

Mr. Bufford at the age of sixteen years secured a position with Peters Chase & Co wholesale grocers on T wharf but soon changed his employment and entered the dry goods house of James M Beebe Morgan & Co on Kilby street back of the old Exchange building and later that of W Bailey Lang & Co Liberty Square with whom he remained until his majority. He now in 1858 entered the lithographic business in company with his father at 313 Washington street corner of Temple place, this being the house which under the names of JH Bufford, JH Bufford & Co and JH Bufford & Sons has for nearly three quarters of a century held a leading position as art publishers, the first house in America to print chromos on paper silk satin and the first to publish campaign portraits they having published portraits of every president of the United States having commenced this feature about 1857. Mr Bufford now carries on a very successful business alone at 67 Federal Street.

 He is the eldest child and only survivor of a family of five four brothers and one sister.  In 1862 he married the daughter of Alfred A Andrews a dry goods merchant of Boston and has had two sons and a daughter a married daughter and one son are now living Mr Bufford was for eighteen years connected with the New England Guards and was for five years a member of Company C Seventh Regiment of New York.  He joined the Old School Boys Association two years ago and is also a member of several Masonic organizations.