Using Graphic Arts as Primary Sources

Louis Masur

Georgia Barnhill

Under the auspices of the Program in the History of the Book in American Culture, the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) will sponsor a hands-on workshop for scholars on the use of graphic arts materials as primary sources in historical research. Topics reflecting two of the strengths of AAS's graphic arts collection have been selected as this year's focus. Visiting scholars will lead sessions on using city views and maps to reconstruct nineteenth-century communities and studying political prints to understand the Jacksonian Era. One session will focus on publications that exemplify the ways in which historians have creatively used images as research documents.