Mendelssohn by William Dreser

Mendelssohn by William Dreser

C.1880

Lithograph

This piece, titled Mendelssohn, is an original black-and-white portrait lithograph created circa 1880 by the German-American graphic artist William Dreser. Printed by the prominent firm W.J. Morgan & Co. Lithographers in Cleveland, Ohio, the work was commissioned expressly for Brainard’s Musical Treasures, a celebrated series published by the music company S. Brainard's Sons. The lithograph depicts the legendary German Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn in a three-quarter view, captured with his distinctively soft, wavy hair, prominent forehead, and high Victorian collar with a voluminous necktie. Dreser utilizes a fine, granular stipple-and-crayon technique to give the portrait a rich tactile quality, framing the composer inside a classic, arched lithographic border with detailed corner spandrels.

This lithograph illustrates the late 19th-century boom in American music publishing and the canonization of European classical masters for Gilded Age living rooms. Artist William Dreser was a highly skilled commercial lithographer of the period, known for rendering refined, lifelike portraits directly onto limestone printing blocks for Midwestern publishing houses. By featuring iconic historical composers like Mendelssohn alongside contemporary stage stars, S. Brainard's Sons used Musical Treasures to elevate the cultural prestige of their commercial sheet music folios. Partnering with W.J. Morgan & Co., a printing powerhouse globally renowned for its advanced theatrical posters, ensured that these illustrations were collector's items in their own right. This piece is historically significant because it reflects the democratization of classical music in 19th-century America, showing how visual media helped institutionalize the Western musical canon in everyday household culture.

Dimensions: H 13” x 9”W

Condition: slightly toned with age