Over 3,000 etchings, lithographs, and some drawings, by prominent 19th-century printmakers. Most of these works are part of the S.P. Avery Collection, complemented by holdings found in the general Print Collection. Together they represent the Print Collection's complete holdings of Félix Bracquemond, Félix Buhot, Francisco Goya, Charles Jacque, Edouard Manet, Charles Méryon, and Camille Pissarro.
![Edouard Manet, 1832-1883. [Le ballon.] Digital ID: 483633](image/196_large.jpeg "Edouard Manet, 1832-1883. [Le ballon.] Digital ID: 483633")
Edouard Manet, 1832-1883. [Le ballon.] Digital ID: 483633
Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904) was a New York-based art dealer and collector. In 1900, he donated his collection of prints to The New York Public Library in order to establish a Department of Prints, the first public print collection in New York City. This collection of nearly 18,000 prints, representing 978 artists, is especially rich in holdings of French printmakers, but also includes works by English, American, Spanish, German, Dutch and Belgian artists. At Avery's request, many of the artists inscribed their prints, which frequently appear in multiple, including rare or unique, impressions.
The New York Public Library. A Handbook of the S.P. Avery Collection of Prints and Art Books in the New York Public Library (1901)
NYPL "The Samuel Putnam Avery Collection" <http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/print/collections/avery/avery.htm>