The American Antiquarian Society holds a small archive of original works of art by the artist Louis Maurer (1832-1932). Born in Germany, Maurer arrived in the United States in 1851 and was employed by several print shops in New York City. He worked as a lithographer for T.W. Strong until 1852 when he was hired away by Currier & Ives. Maurer excelled at images of horses and sporting subjects and during the eight years he was employed by Currier & Ives, produced over one hundred prints on these subjects. After a brief time working for Major & Knapp, Maurer went into partnership with Frederick Heppenheimer to form Heppenheimer & Maurer, which existed from 1874 to 1885.
The Louis Maurer Art Collection at the Society includes 95 original drawings, watercolors, and oil sketches, a collection of 38 lithographic proofs, most from the Heppenehimer & Maurer era, and a small wooden box housing Maurer's lithographic tools. The drawings are primarily studies of horses and other animals, layout designs for advertising, and preparatory sketches for large lithographs. Other works by Maurer are available through the General Library Catalog.
Access
This art collection has been inventoried. Download the box list of the entire collection as a pdf file. The art collection has been fully digitized. Images are available through the Society's digital image archive.