By Lauren Fink, ARB Intern, 2011-2012

An exciting collection of Strobridge Calendar cards has just been processed in the Archives & Rare Books Library.  The new Gaylord Oscar Shepherd Collection of Strobridge Lithography Company Calendar Cards contains 53 cards and is a wonderful complement to the 114 cards already held in The Lawrence F. Albers and George J. Albers Collection.  All of the cards in the new collection have been scanned and are available for online viewing in this web exhibit.

The Gaylord Oscar Shepherd Collection of Strobridge Lithography Company Calendar Cards was donated by Gaylord Oscar Shepherd Jr. in honor of his father who had passed them down to him.  Gaylord Oscar Shepherd was the nephew of Harry Loud Bridwell, who worked as an artist at the Strobridge Lithography Company from 1896 – 1906.  Following a stroke, Harry Bridewell became paralyzed in his right arm and taught himself to paint with his left.  He is famous for his maritime images and for doing the decorations of the Cincinnati Grand Opera House.  As a whole, the Bridwells were a prominent family accredited with founding the town of Harriman, Tennessee, about two hours east of Nashville.   In Harriman, the Bridwells operated a major restaurant and started the town newspaper.

The cards in this collection are monthly calendar cards (LEFT) printed by the Strobridge Lithography Company, spanning the years 1896 – 1912.  Though the Strobridge firm (RIGHT) was most famous for its circus posters, these cards are all prime examples of the design and craftsmanship that made Strobridge so famous throughout America and Europe.

The Strobridge Lithography Company was founded in Cincinnati in 1847 by Elijah Middleton and eventually bought out by one of its workers, Hines Strobridge (RIGHT).  Offices were located in downtown Cincinnati, Norwood, and New York City.  The company, which originally profited mainly from the production of circus posters, later turned to movie posters and billboards, remaining open until 1971.  For a more detailed history of the Strobridge Lithography Company and more information about the monthly calendar cards please visit The Lawrence F. Albers and George J. Albers Collection web exhibit on the ARB website. http://libraries.uc.edu/libraries/arb/exhibits/strobridge/index.html

For more information about the Gaylord Oscar Shepherd collection or any of the other holdings of the A&RB Library visit our website at http://www.libraries.uc.edu/libraries/arb/index.html, email us at archives@ucmail.uc.edu, or call us at (513)-556-1959.