The Life & Age of Woman by James S. Baillie: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This colored print shows a female at different stages from infancy to old age. This was a popular and recurring theme of genteel society during the 19th Century. The figures are depicted in ascending steps to middle age and then descending, with old age being the lowest to the right. Each image portrays a well-dressed girl or woman in appropriate attire for her position in society (i.e., bride, mother, matron). There are verses beneath each figure and vignettes that symbolize various stages of life. A small vignette of two people standing beside a man digging three graves is in the center foreground.

This print was produced by James S. Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840s. He was a prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives, and his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. James Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1848
• maker: Baillie, James S.
• Object Name: lithograph
• Object Type: Lithograph
• Physical Description: ink (overall material)
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Measurements: image: 8 in x 12 1/2 in; 20.32 cm x 31.75 cm
• place made: United States: New York, New York City
• Subject: Chronology: 1840-1849
• Subject: Marriage
• Subject: Children
• Subject: Flowers
• Subject: Adornment
• Subject: Civic Associations
• Subject: Toys
• ID Number: DL.60.2936
• catalog number: 60.2936
• accession number: 228146
• Credit Line: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation.