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Winfred Porter
Truesdell:
Print Maker and Art Publisher
of Champlain, New York
by David Patrick
Winfred Porter Truesdell was a
prolific print maker and art publisher who lived
in Champlain, New York. He amassed a
collection of thousands of lithographs and
published many books related to printing between
the years 1903 and 1939. His best-known
publication was a quarterly periodical called “The
Print Connoisseur” which he published for 12
years. Truesdell started printing in New
York City but later moved to Champlain, New York,
where he lived for 18 years.
Published Books
Truesdell’s first publications were books related
to engravers from Europe and North America.
His first set of books were published in 1903 and
were printed by his Troutsdale Press, a name he
would use in later years for other
publications. His first books were called
“Edward Edwards and His Book Plates,” and “Herbert
Gregson and His Bookplates.”
Truesdell was considered an
authority on the Civil War and Abraham
Lincoln. He published several important
books related Col. Elmer Ellsworth (the first
Northern soldier killed in the Civil War) and
President Abraham Lincoln. His book
“Engraved & Lithographed Portraits of Abraham
Lincoln, Volume 2” was printed in 1933. He
was working on volumes 1, 3 and 4 when he died in
1939. The four planned volumes were to
catalog all of the know portraits of Lincoln made
from photographs.
Periodical - Print Collector
The “Print Collector” was Truesdell’s first foray
into the world of publishing a periodical.
Very little is known about this publication but a
note concerning the “The Print Connoisseur” notes
that this periodical was discontinued at the
outbreak of World War I.
Winfred Porter Truesdell in
1921
Periodical - The Print Connoisseur
Truesdell printed a quarterly periodical called
“The Print Connoisseur” which was devoted to
publishing articles related to engravers, printers
and artists from America and Europe. The
periodical included many printed engravings.
The periodical ran from volume 1, number 1 in
October of 1920 to volume 12, number 2 in 1932,
with 46 issues published. The magazine was
first published in New York City and later in
Champlain, New York.
The first periodical was
printed in October 1920. A short article in
the “American Art News” newspaper published by the
American Art News Company Publishers of New York
City described Truesdell’s new magazine. The
article was published on November 6:
The Print
Connoisseur
The "Print Connoisseur," edited and published
by Winfred Porter Truesdell at 154 East 38th
St., N.Y., a quarterly magazine for the print
collector, and a successor to the "Print
Collector," of happy memory, discontinued in
the early years of the war, makes its initial
bow with an October number. The new
magazine is beautifully printed and is most
attractive in every way, while its contents
bespeak for its editor and publisher the
interest and support of collectors and the
trade.
The late W. H. de B. Nelson
has written of "Frederick Reynolds—An American
Maker of Mezzotint," Mr. George S. Hellman
describes "Some Italian Drawings from the
Mortimer Schiff Collection," Mr. Walter Pach
discusses "The Etchings and Lithographs of
Odilon Redon," and Mr. Frank Weitenkampf tells
of "New York in Recent Graphic Art." There are
book reviews and the illustrations are
numerous and excellent.
Most Print Connoisseur covers
were printed in black and white but some were
printed in color such as the April 1924 edition
which was printed on red paper with gold lettering
(shown here). The periodicals were Perfect
Bound, but unfortunately, the binding has not held
up after 100 years of aging and wear.
Subscribers could also buy a bound version of the
entire years’ periodical at the end of the
year.
The June 1921 edition had a very good engraving of
Truesdell by sketch artist William Oberhardt which
was found in the article “The ‘Heads’ of
Oberhardt” by Ameen Rihani. Several copies
of his portrait were also printed on cardstock and
given to Malcolm and Hugh McLellan and
subsequently framed (this website author has one
original print, shown here, that had been owned by
Malcolm and personally signed by Oberhardt and
Truesdell). The January 1926 edition had an
article about Rockwell Kent.
The April 1924 edition
(partially shown below) had six sections and was
bound in a bright red cover with gold
lettering. The contents included a story by
Warren Wilmer Brown entitled “J.L.G. Ferris,
America’s Painter-Historian”; a second article
contained a list of the American historical
paintings by Ferris; a third article by Thomas H.
Thomas was about Charles Bert who was a bank-note
engraver; a check list was included for the
etchings of Gerard de Latenay; an article by Frank
Weitenkampf was about the portraits of
printmakers. The periodical also contained a
number of four-color images as well as engravings
by the artists described in the periodical.
The April 1926 edition of the
Print Connoisseur was divided into four
parts. Part one included a story called “The
Etchings and Lithographs of the Samuel
Chamberlain” and included 11 images. Part
two was called “City Types in American Prints”
written by Frank Weitenkampf (1866-1962) who was
an expert on engraving and head of the art and
print departments at the New York Public
Library. Part three was called “Artistic
Maps of Early Days” and was written by Lewis C.
Karpinski. The story was about a history of
early mapmaking; a number of maps were included in
the article. Part four was entitled “Col.
Elmer E. Ellsworth; First Hero of the Civil War”
and was written by Charles A. Ingraham. The
article gave a history of Ellsworth who was the
first Northern casualty of the Civil War.
Ellsworth was from Malta, New York, and had a farm
and homestead on Route 9 off of Exit 12 of today’s
I-87. A number of engravings about Ellsworth
were included in the periodical.
Hugh McLellan and the Moorsfield
Press in Champlain, N.Y.
Truesdell’s office was originally in New York City
at 154 E. 38th St. when he started printing The
Print Connoisseur. It was here that he
became friends with Hugh McLellan who was an
architect in the city. In 1919 McLellan
partially retired and moved to Champlain, New York
to manage his father’s estate and to found the
Moorsfield Press, which was to be a continuation
of his boyhood printing hobby.
McLellan’s first publication
with his Moorsfield Press in 1919 acknowledged
Truesdell’s assistance: “The kindly advice of Mr.
Winfred Porter Truesdell in the typography of this
brochure, and his assistance and encouragement,
are gratefully acknowledged.” Hugh gave him
issue No. 3 of his marked and signed publication
(No. 1 was reserved for himself). In 1924,
at the urging of McLellan, Truesdell came
permanently to Champlain to work at the
press. After McLellan published several more
pamphlets, Truesdell hired him to print The Print
Connoisseur which he had started in 1920. It
was previously printed by the Clinton Press in
Plattsburgh.
Between 1924 and 1926 Hugh
McLellan used his Moorsfield Press to print
Truesdell’s periodical. These periodicals
stand out over the periodicals printed by the
Clinton Press due to the unique style of the
old-style Caslon typeface. It is the same
typeface that Hugh would use when he issued his
own periodical called the “Moorsfield Antiquarian”
in 1937 and 1938. A handwritten note by
McLellan in the January 1927 edition noted that
Percy Grasby printed this particular edition using
his Caslon typeface.
McLellan and Truesdell were
good friends for many years. Truesdell’s
house was only three minutes’ walk from the
Moorsfield Press or the McLellan house.
Besides printing, McLellan and Truesdell were
Masons in Champlain Lodge #237. The
published minutes of the Lodge show that Truesdell
gave an illustrated talk on George Washington in
1932. The minutes also describe the
following event:
“Other banquets featured unrehearsed
speeches on impossible subjects and
presentations intended rather to embarrass
than to flatter the recipient; the old-timers
will recall with glee the apron presentation
to Bro. Truesdell and the "address" entirely
in French by Bro. Hugh McLellan. The
printed programs and the notices for the
meetings are still remembered as minor works
of editorial and typographical art. An
unrehearsed mock-trial which aroused much
interest was "Foster Strickland vs. Oscar
Bredenberg, the Champlain Masonic Club, et
al." The opposing attorneys were A. T.
Phillips for the defense and Arthur Atwood for
the plaintiff. Porter Truesdell acted as
court stenographer. William Hogge and George
Allen, as experts, testified on the medical
aspects of the case, which was based on the
alleged injury to the plaintiff when struck on
the head by a large pitcher in the hands of a
waiter (Oscar Bredenberg) employed by the
Club. The jury, after deliberation,
requested Judge Warren Smith's permission to
examine the elaborately bandaged scalp of the
plaintiff; no evidence of injury being found,
the jury brought in a verdict for the
defendant.”
Truesdell’s Life, Education and
Marriage
Winfred Porter Truesdell was born on November 13,
1880, in Lynn, Massachusetts to Mr. and Mrs.
Edward Truesdell. According to a 1939
article, Truesdell liked art and attended an art
school in Boston as well as Harvard University but
did not graduate (several Harvard alumni
directories of the time do not list his
name). He also studied art in Europe in his
early years. Another publication printed in
1971 and based on information from Charles W.
McLellan (son of Hugh McLellan and who would have
worked with Truesdell on his publications at the
Moorsfield Press) noted that Truesdell “was a
self-educated man, never having obtained a formal
high school education, yet he spoke French and
Spanish fluently and became popular as an
after-dinner speaker. In his early career he
had been a court stenographer, buyer for Macy’s
department store, and artists’ agent.” It is
interesting to note the conflicting accounts of
his education. McLellan also described him
as a “remarkably brilliant man.” [The
Bulletin of the North Country Historical Research
Center, SUNY-Plattsburgh, No. 9, December, 1971]
Truesdell died on May 27, 1939,
at the age of 58. McLellan’s diaries had
many notes about Truesdell visiting the Moorsfield
Press and his cottage (several photos show
Truesdell at the press; all of his photos show him
smoking which surely contributed to his untimely
death). On the day before Truesdell died,
Hugh wrote: “Porter Truesdell spent an hour with
us in the morning at the office; we talk of book
plates, auction bids & he compliments us on
the anthology.” On May 27, the day Truesdell
died, Hugh wrote: “On getting home we were
astounded to find a note from Malcolm [Hugh’s
brother] saying that Porter Truesdell had died at
5 o’clock of a heart attack. Woody [Hugh’
son] & I immediately call at his house &
see Edith, Mrs. Hogge [Edythe’s sister], Bill
Gettys, &c. Edith said he was on couch
on back porch talking to her when he gave one gasp
suddenly & expired.” In the days
following his death, Hugh printed cards to hand
out to the Mason’s regarding Truesdell’s funeral
and also helped to measure the Truesdell lot as
well as continuation of the Getty lot. He
was buried in Glenwood Cemetery on Oak Street in
Champlain in lot B-16. His stone states: “W.
Porter TRUESDELL / 1880 – 1939.”
Truesdell was married prior to
1902 as noted in one print publication that
mentioned “Mr. And Mrs. W.P.”. The article
also stated that Truesdell, who lived at 152 Mass
Avenue in Boston, had submitted two bookplates,
the first designed by the famous artist E.B.
Bird. The second was designed by Mrs.
Truesdell and the article was critical of it: “The
other, which belongs to Mrs. Truesdell, is an
adaption of an old design by Mr. Truesdell, the
chief feature of which is a shield bearing three
open books. The design is too large, for it
contains little detail, and not dainty enough for
a lady. But it is not fair to criticize it,
seeing that it is the work of an amateur.”
By the early 1920s, Truesdell
was divorced or widowed. He moved to
Champlain around 1924 and was married to native
Champlainer Edythe Gettys sometime before 1925 as
noted in an article. She was four years
younger than him (April 5, 1884-Dec. 24, 1970) and
was likely about 40 when she married.
Edythe‘s parents were William and Mary Jane
(McCrea) Gettys and her siblings included W.W.
(Bill) Gettys, Dr. Harold Gettys of Binghamton,
Mrs. Foster Strickland and Nellie Hogge (she and
her husband operated the Hogge Drug Store in
Champlain). Edythe was a longtime
teacher at the Rouses Point High School. In
June, 1970, she fell in her house and broke her
hip. She was placed in the Physicians
Hospital in Plattsburgh and later the Holiday
House Nursing Home in St. Albans, Vt. She
died shortly afterwards at the age of 86 on
December 24. Two sources note that Edythe
lived in the Oak St. house for 30 more years after
her husband’s death but never moved the pile of
books or the printing press that had been set up
in the back room.
Mr. Truesdell had several heirs
who settled the estate in 1971 and disposed of his
art collection, printing press and house.
Most of Truesdell’s printed books, pamphlets,
engravings, lithographs and woodcuts were donated
to SUNY-Plattsburgh by the early fall in 1971 and
encompassed approximately 5,000 items (a second
count after filing puts the number close to over
9,500 items). The engravings, lithographs
and books are stored in the Special Collections of
Feinberg Library. Individual prints were to
be housed by the college’s Art Department and put
in their permanent art collection.
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