"The roaring twenties was an exciting time to own an art gallery. Prices for prints and paintings were at an all-time high."
The Old Print Shop, Inc. is an art gallery specializing in artist-made works on paper, drawings, watercolors, paintings, sculpture, and antique maps. The gallery focuses on artwork created in America or related to the Americas, spanning from the 17th century to the contemporary period.
The Old Print Shop was founded in 1898 by Edward Gottschalk in Wanamaker’s Department Store in New York City. Around 1900, Gottschalk relocated the gallery to Fourth Avenue, then known as Bookman’s Row. In 1929, the gallery moved to 150 Lexington Avenue, between 29th and 30th Streets, becoming the first commercial tenant in what had been a single-family home converted into a business front and apartments.
Following Gottschalk’s death in 1926, the family hired Harry Shaw Newman—my grandfather—to manage the gallery with the option to purchase it. On October 11, 1928, Harry signed a five-year contract to buy the business. The onset of the Great Depression in 1929 made this a difficult period, but in 1932, Harry received a crucial loan from Harry T. Peters, a friend and board member of the New York Trust Company. Their friendship grew from a shared interest in Currier & Ives; Peters was the leading authority on the firm, and he and Harry co-authored two books: Best Fifty Currier & Ives Lithographs (Large folio, 1932) and Best Fifty Currier & Ives Lithographs (Small folio, 1933).
The early 1940s marked a period of growth for the gallery as Harry began to champion overlooked 19th-century American painters such as George H. Durrie, Martin Johnson Heade, Winslow Homer, J.F. Kensett, Fitz Henry Lane, and Arthur F. Tait. These paintings added depth to the gallery’s holdings alongside its strong collection of American prints and drawings. Around the same time, Harry also became interested in antique maps, producing the gallery’s first map catalog in the early 1940s.
After serving in the Navy during World War II, Harry’s son Kenneth M. Newman joined the gallery and worked closely with his father. Kenneth brought a deep interest in maps, marine art, Currier & Ives, and ephemera, helping to expand the gallery's reputation. Following Harry's passing in 1966, Kenneth continued to grow the business with his sons. Robert K. Newman joined full-time in 1979, having worked part-time during high school and college since 1972. His brother, Harry Shaw Newman II, followed in 1982.
Robert, a trained printmaker, expanded the gallery’s scope to include early 20th-century American printmaking. He brings encyclopedic knowledge to the field, and over the past several decades has helped establish the gallery as a leader in this area. In 1992, The Old Print Shop began handling works by living artists and now represents over 80 contemporary printmakers.
Harry Shaw Newman II has led the map division of the gallery for over four decades, specializing in early American prints and antique cartography. He is regarded as one of the foremost experts on antique maps in the world, and is a meticulous researcher known for uncovering overlooked details in the visual history of the Americas.
The next generation continues the tradition. Brian R. Newman, son of Robert, is a cataloguer and researcher with a particular focus on 19th-century American lithography, especially the work of Currier & Ives. He also has a strong interest in 20th-century war posters and their impact on design and public sentiment. Brian brings a thoughtful approach to cataloging, blending visual insight with historical context.
Scott Newman, son of Harry Shaw Newman II and the youngest member of the Newman family at the gallery, specializes in early American prints from the 17th through the 19th centuries. His research focuses on the contact period through the American Revolution, with a particular interest in rare prints, maps, and ephemera. He is a careful researcher with a strong commitment to historical accuracy and discovery, contributing to the gallery’s continued dedication to scholarship and preservation.
Harry Shaw Newman (1896-1966)
"Mr. Newman, known to some as the 'Prince of Prints' and to others as 'Mr. Americana,' embarked on his lifelong work when he discovered in the attic of his grandmother's old boarding house in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, two large folio Currier & Ives prints. He promptly took them to a local antique shop and sold them at what he thought to be a very good price. Rising to the bait, he abandoned his previous job and became a runner--buying and selling prints.
A born salesman, he came to know prints and loved to sell them. In 1928 he purchased The Old Print Shop in New York which was then run by two employees; today [1967] it has a staff of twelve. Mr. Newman soon emerged as an acknowledged authority in the world of prints, maps, and American art, and he was especially famous for his leadership in restoring to fame the work of Currier & Ives. He worked closely with the late Harry T. Peters of New York, the greatest collector of all in that field; and he also helped to build the notable collections of Irving S. Olds, the naval print expert, and William Coverdale, a specialist in Canadian subjects..."
Kenneth M. Newman, Harry Shaw Newman's son, started full time at The Old Print Shop in 1949 and learned the business at his father's side. Early on he traveled frequently with his father visiting museums, collectors, and fellow dealers. On one trip to the Shelbourne Museum in Vermont, the founder, Mrs. James W. Webb, asked him to bring his toolbox. Mrs. Webb led him to the newly renovated Light House and said: "Please hang the art." By Sunday afternoon when it was time to leave, he had hung over 150 prints and paintings from the ceiling to the floor.
Today, Kenneth M. Newman is considered one of the leading experts on American nineteenth-century prints. His dedication to Americana and Currier & Ives lithographs is well known to the readers of Portfolio. He is recognized as having restored to public notice the work of John James Audubon, American urban views, and eighteenth-century American imprints. He has assisted in the building of many notable collections of American prints, both public and private.
Robert K. Newman, Kenneth M. Newman’s eldest son, worked summers at The Old Print Shop starting in 1972 and joined the staff after graduating from college in 1979. He received a BFA in photography but spent most of his time learning printmaking and studying art history. His interest was in American graphic art, and with the galleries strong position in eighteenth and nineteenth-century art, he sought to add early twentieth-century artists and printmakers to the gallery's inventory. Today, the shop is one of the leading galleries featuring early twentieth-century American fine art prints. Collectors can find work by Frank W. Benson, Arthur Wesley Dow, Childe Hassam, Edward Hopper, Blanche Lazzell, Martin Lewis, Charles Sheeler, and John Sloan in our inventory.
Robert is a researcher, cataloguer, and president of the gallery. His personal interest includes early American imprints, and along with his brother, Harry, they have been the leading promoters of this period of America art. He has served on the board of the International Fine Print Dealers Association for eighteen years starting in 1992 and served as president for six of those years. He has been chairman of the Print Fair committee since 1997 and has run the Capital Art Fair in Washington, DC, since 2009.
Harry Shaw Newman II, Kenneth M. Newman’s younger son, joined the staff in 1982. Like his brother, he had been a part-time apprentice during the summers and school holidays. Learning the business like his father, he brought with him an interest in eighteenth and nineteenth-century American prints and maps. Today, he is considered one of the world’s experts on cartography and has built the map and atlas collection at the shop to historic levels. Being interested in American cartography also brings with it the necessity to know the early, pre-nineteenth-century American printmaking. Most of the early American cartographers also produced a number of important etchings and engravings. Doolittle, Pelham, and Revere all produced maps and historic images of America.
Harry is a researcher, cataloguer, and vice president and treasurer of the gallery. His personal interests include maps, eighteenth and nineteenth-century American art, and twentieth-century sporting art.
The IFPDA is a trade association of art galleries and dealers who are considered the world’s leading experts on original fine prints. The association promotes print collecting through Grants, The Print Fair, and the IFPDA Foundation which gives curatorial internships at major museums worldwide.
The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America was founded in 1949 to promote interest in rare books and foster collegial relations. We maintain the highest standards in the trade. Confédération Internationale des Négotiants en Oeuvres d’Art.
The Best Place for Rare Books, Old Books, Antiquarian Books, Modern First Editions, Illustrated Books, Atlases, Manuscripts, Autographs Autographs Autographs
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The National Antique & Art Dealers Association of America (NAADAA) is a non-profit trade organization of the United States’ leading dealers. Our members are mutually pledged to safeguard the interests of those who buy, sell or collect antiques and works of art, achieved through just, honorable and ethical trade practices.
CINOA is the world association of Art & Antique dealer associations. CINOA represents 5000 dealers from 32 associations in 22 countries. Dealers cover a wide array of specialties from antiquities to contemporary art.
The Ephemera Society of America, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed in 1980 to cultivate and encourage interest in ephemera and the history identified with it
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