Louis Prang

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Louis Prang
Louis Prang House in Roxbury, Boston, MA
The Louis Prang factory in Roxbury, Boston, MA

Louis Prang (born March 12, 1824 in Breslau , Silesia , † September 14, 1909 in Los Angeles ) was an American printer , lithographer and publisher . He became known as the "Father of the American Christmas Card ".

youth

Prang was born in Wroclaw. His father Jonas Louis Prang was a Huguenot and textile manufacturer. Since Prang had health problems, he could not attend school and so began an apprenticeship with his father. There he learned to engrave , dye and print. In the early 1840s, Prang worked in various printing and textile factories around Bohemia . During his travels through Europe he was involved in the revolutions of 1848 and persecuted by the Prussian government . For this reason he left Germany and went to Switzerland . In 1850, Prang emigrated to the United States and settled in Boston .

Early works

Prangs tried to get a foothold in the United States with architecture , books, and leather goods, but was not very successful. Because of this, he started making wood carvings and drawing illustrations for books. In 1851 he worked for Frank Leslie and later with John Andrew. In the same year Prang married Rosa Gerber, a Swiss woman whom he had met in Paris in 1846 .

Career

In 1856, Prang and a partner founded “Prang and Mayer” to produce lithographs. The company specialized in prints of buildings and cities in Massachusetts . In 1860 Prang bought the shares from his partner and founded the L. Prang Company. From that moment on, Prang worked on colored advertising prints. His company became very successful and well known for publishing Civil War maps that were printed and published in magazines during the Civil War . In 1864 Prang traveled back to Europe to learn the latest lithography techniques. A year later he returned to Boston and made high quality reproductions of famous works of art. In addition, Prang created series of popular album cards that became sought-after collector's items. Mostly nature scenes or patriotic symbols were depicted on these cards. In 1873 Prang began producing greeting cards for the English market, and a year later he sold the first Christmas card in America. This is the reason why Prang is also known as the "father of the American Christmas card". In June 1886, Prang published a series of prints under the name Prang's War Pictures: Aquarelle Facsimile Prints . This series became so famous that it also inspired other lithographers such as Kurz and Allison . However, Prang added more modernity to the following series and distanced himself from the panorama style. In 1897 the L. Prang Company merged with another company to form the Taber-Prang Company. The company's headquarters were relocated to Springfield, Massachusetts . Prang died in Los Angeles while vacationing in 1909. He is now buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain , Massachusetts.

lithograph

  • "Bicycling"

  • "Civil War trompe l'oeil"

  • "Dogs Not Admitted"

  • ass

  • North Conway Meadows

  • "An Object Lesson"

  • Christmas card with frogs at a parade

  • "A Friend in Suspense"

  • Beach scene

  • Boat races

  • "Fisherman bringing in their catch"

Web links

Commons : Louis Prang & Company  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Prang, Louis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Printer, lithographer and publisher
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1824
PLACE OF BIRTH Wroclaw , Silesia
DATE OF DEATH September 14, 1909
Place of death los Angeles