In Berman’s mind, information and knowledge flow like an unseen current between people and media in the library environment. This print is one of ten that visualizes this phenomenon in the ebb and flow of color across them. While the series has a cohesive visual effect when displayed together, each individual unit has its own unique characteristics. In the second of the series, streams of oranges and greens intersect and produce browns. Within each frame, the layering of color creates new shapes and hues that add to the overall flow of the work.
As stated on the upper left hand corner of the map, this map illustrates "the plan of the defences of the Western and North-Western Frontier, as proposed by Charles Gratiot, in his report of Oct. 31, 1837." The Frontier is at the western edge of the central Midwestern states: Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The Frontier is further defined by the regions inhabited by various Native American tribes who encountered the US military.
In this August 1900 cover for Puck Magazine, a man blown up to the size and shape of a hot air balloon floats along with "Kansas City" and "Convention" ribbons framing his head. The man is Richard Croker, the then-president of New York City's Tammany Hall, a Democratic political organization. Just as the tip of Croker's toes are about to leave the ground, David B. Hill, a state Senator of the same party, runs after him holding a spear with a trailing ribbon that reads "NY State Democracy".
George Lawrence was a commercial photographer that invented the "captive airship" a panoramic camera suspended in air by seventeen Conyne kites that enabled him to take stunning aerial panoramic photographs. Lawrence took pictures of cities across the United States and captured this one of Kansas City in 1907 from one thousand feet above Summit and 13th streets. Beneath the photograph Summit, Jefferson, 13th, and 14th streets are indicated along with a stamp that reads "Reproduced Especially for James M. Kemper".
This image is from a page of the April 1929 issue of Aero Digest- a professional periodical covering the aircraft industry. The article focuses on the economy of the growing air transportation industry and Kansas City's potential to be the next "air metropolis". The article shows via a graphic representation that Kansas City's central location within the country gives it an advantage in the industry by being the "hub of vast areas". The image shows small planes radiating out from Kansas City to others all over the country.
This reproduction of the September 7th, 1940 Liberty Magazine cover was an ode to Kansas City's booming economy. The Liberty Magazine was a general interest magazine published between 1924 to the end of 1950 and covered stories about politicians, celebrities, authors, and artists. The content provided insight into popular culture and politics. As the poster notes, major changes in Kansas City were afoot with a political "clean-up". In the background of the poster is the old Municipal Stadium located at Brooklyn Avenue and East 22nd Street where the minor league Kansas City Blues played.
This is the second proposed master plan for business and industry areas in Kansas City generated in 1946. The gridded map indicates business in red and industry in gray areas on the map that correspond to a key in the lower right-hand corner.
This map lays out the ninth Proposed Master Plan of the Downtown Area and was generated in 1946. The plan's primary feature is the expressway loop surrounding the gridded area. Existing and proposed parking arrangements, public spaces, street improvements, freeways, and tunnels are indicated in the legend with corresponding color and pattern on the map.
This is the eighth proposed master plan for future land use and population density in Kansas City generated in 1946. The gridded map indicates single and two family housing as well as low and high apartments, retail business, light and heavy industry areas, and public and semi-public areas. Each element is color or pattern coordinated and corresponds to a legend in the lower right-hand corner of the map.
This is the fifth proposed master plan for public schools in Kansas City generated in 1946. The gridded map indicates elementary, junior high, and high schools on the map by circles sized small, medium, and large respectively. The map differentiates the location of existing schools in green as well the "proposed" in red and "to be abandoned" in yellow, as illustrated by the legend in the lower right-hand corner. The legend does not mention neighborhood districts but each is delineated and named on the map itself.
This is the first proposed master plan for residential areas in Kansas City generated in 1946. The gridded map indicates needed redevelopment, rehabilitation, conservation, and protection along with proposed neighborhood and community boundaries. Each element is color or pattern coordinated and corresponds to a legend in the lower right-hand corner of the map.
This map features a growing section of Wyandotte County in Kansas in 1869. Above the crux of the Kaw and Missouri Rivers lies the beginnings of a grid development across the land beyond. Amongst the dwellings, significant buildings are numbered and referred to in the ornate legend at the bottom of the map. Listed from 1-10 are the Court House, Public School, Dunnings Hall, Asylum for the Blind, U.R.R. W. Depot, Cemetary, and then the Congregational, Catholic, Episcopal, German and South Methodist, and North Methodist Episcopal churches.
George Wright was a British painter of coaching and hunting scenes. He was the elder brother of Gilbert Scott Wright. Mainly a self-taught artist, he worked with his younger brother until 1925 and during that time their combined work was frequently reproduced on calendars. Wright lived for some time in Rugby and Oxford before moving to Richmond in Surrey in 1929 and later he chose to retire to Seaford in Sussex, where he remained until his death in 1942.
George Morland was an English painter born on 26 June 1763 in London. He was best known for his rustic scenes of farming, hunting, smugglers, gypsies and his rich, textured landscapes. Morland's most popular works were painted specifically for the print trade. This scene of a cozy middle-class ease is set in Ranelagh Gardens where the public could take tea after an afternoon's walk. Its companion 'St James's Park' (Mellon collection) shows a similar family drinking the milk that could be bought by promenaders on the Mall.
Corita Kent joined the Order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1936 and became Sister Mary Corita. She spent much of her life working for the church and began making and teaching art in the 1940s. Her serigraph and screen prints became popular in the 1960s and 1970s when she began using popular culture and the backdrop for faith-based themes. In this particular print, Kent uses a popular soda brand, Sunkist, to advance the message "two men called John were sent by God" broken up and encapsulated by two limes. Four lemons line the bottom border.
This print is an architectural drawing of Grace Church, a Catholic church designed by architectural firm James and James. This drawing was an entry for the 1887 design competition for the church, although the entry chosen was Frederick Elmer Hill's, an architect in the New York firm McKim, Mead & White, and exists in Kansas City on 13th St. Beneath the architect's names in the bottom right-hand corner features the Latin phrase "IN HOC SIGNO VINCES" which translates to "In this sign thou shalt conquer".
This print is an architectural drawing of Grace Church, a Catholic church designed by architectural firm James and James. This drawing was an entry for the 1887 design competition for the church although the entry chosen was Frederick Elmer Hill's, an architect in the New York firm McKim, Mead & White, and exists in Kansas City on 13th St.
A poster print of a building depicted in the American Architect & Building News periodical number 556. This print is a color copy of a pen and ink illustration featuring the office building of Nathaniel Thayer with a copyright date of 1886. This plan drawing features a five story Beaux-Arts style building, each floor contains multiple rows of windows, and the bottom floor appears to be a shop level. The fourth floor contains two arches with three windows apiece. Oriel windows are located on the third and fourth floor above the left entry door.
This print of an architectural drawing depicts the U.S. Post Office in Kansas City, Kansas designed by architects James, Knox, and Taylor. The building type is monumental with massive arched windows and a slight protrusion from the base of the building. The roof is minimized and replaced by a rectangularity uniform to the rest of the building which emphasizes the massive quality. The scene is set before the issue's date, indicated by the dress of the figures and the date on the building, MDCCCI, 1801.
This cover of the American Architect and Building News periodical features the Suburban Belt Line Depot in Kansas City, Missouri designed by architect H.C. Lindsly. The structure shown was originally rendered in pen, ink and watercolor. The integration of sketched lines, calculated detail and imaginative coloring show off the architectural qualities while also conveying the structure's potential in space. The building was styled in a Victorian/Renaissance Revival style with a series of monumental towers topped by pyramidal roofs.