Box Of Unbound Prints, Collection of original designs of vases, figures, medallions, friezes, etc.

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from The Morgan Library & Museum as part of Mr. Pergolesi's Curious Things.

To buy Pergolesi’s ornament prints, a client needed to visit his home and shop on Broad Street near London’s Golden Square. The area was popular with the city’s Italian artists, like Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727–1785) and Francesco Bartolozzi (1727–1815). The prints were issued in sets of five or six, available only by subscription. They came wrapped in purple paper, numbered by Pergolesi on the front—the rare copies seen here are in their original state, appearing just as they were when sold in 1794.

Pergolesi published his first ornament prints in 1777 and continued to add to the series until his death in 1801. This sheet from 1794 is a print proof (draft of a print) in which he solicits new subscribers. The project did not create sufficient profit to cover the artist’s expenses. In an addendum to the advertisement, Pergolesi notes that he “continues to teach Ladies and Gentlemen every branch of ancient and modern Ornaments, Designs, Paintings, &c. &c. on very reasonable terms, in a manner which. . . has gained him the patronage of many of the Nobility and Gentry of England.”

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Mr. Pergolesi's Curious Things.