Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The John Doggett & Co. subscription books contain the signatures of 92 subscribers to The American Kings lithograph set. Also included are several sketches produced by John Doggett Cobb circa 1906; an 1825 contract between Jonathan Cobb and John Doggett & Co. for the sale of the lithograph set; and notes and clippings from Edward Morrill, the rare book dealer who purchased the subscription books in 1944.

The John Doggett & Co. subscription books are two volumes containing the signatures of 92 subscribers to The American Kings lithograph set. A folded broadside advertisement for the print series is on the inside front cover of each volume. Also included are several sketches mainly produced by John Doggett Cobb; an 1825 contract between Jonathan Cobb and John Doggett & Co. for the sale of the lithograph set; and notes and clippings from Edward Morrill, the rare book dealer who purchased the subscription books in 1944.

The two volumes contain the signatures of 92 men mostly from eastern Massachusetts. There are a total of 174 signatures between the two volumes, 80 of these signatures appear in both volumes.

In each volume the first set of pages is divided into two columns. In volume one signatures are present in both columns, whereas in volume two the second column lists the city names where the signatories lived. For a full list of signatories, please see our Signatories index.

In addition to the subscription signatures both volumes also contain numerous sketches, including charcoal, colored pencil and watercolor illustrations. The sketches present in volume one are attributed to John Doggett Cobb circa 1906 and include charcoal drawings of medieval English abbeys such as Fountains Abby, St. Joseph’s Chapel, Glastonbury Abbey, Netly Abbey, Whitby Abbey and Lindisfarne Prior. All of these sketches appear to have been based on stereographic images. There are several more charcoal drawings that may have also been produced by Cobb of Wallingford Bridge, Roundham Bridge, the Bablock Hythe Ferry, Folly Bridge, Newbridge, Nuneham Park, Clifton Hampden and Mapledurham Woods. Most of these drawings contain notations for where to add specific colors in future depictions. Both the Wallingford Bridge and Mapledurham Woods sketches have been colored with pencil. There are also several watercolor and charcoal illustrations of unconfirmed authorship that are present in volume two, including drawings of natural scenery, a castle, a wagon train, a campfire overlooking a town, and what appears to be a busy seaport.

This collection also includes a handwritten agreement dated November 1, 1825, regarding the production of the prints arranged between John Doggett & Co. and Johnathon Holmes Cobb. The contract states that Doggett would provide Cobb with 1000 sets of The American Kings while Cobb would garner the subscriptions and gain all of the profits after paying Doggett $5,000. There is also a clause outlining what would happen if too few sets were sold.

Also contained in the collection is a note written on an envelope from the Hotel Lexington in New York City discussing the purchase price of the subscription books and the rarity of the broadsides; a description of the collection and its provenance written on the front of a mailing envelope addressed to Edward Morrill from the New York Public Library; a 1934 exhibition guide of the First National Bank of Boston highlighting The American Kings painted portrait series; a newspaper clipping ca. 1863 regarding Marquis de Lafayette’s departure from the United States in 1825; and a 1930 Boston Evening Transcript article about The American Kings portraits on view at the Old Colony Trust in Boston.