The Philadelphia Print Shop, Ltd.

Prints by Otto Kuhler
(1894-1977)

Although best known for his industrial designs, Otto Kuhler (1894-1977) is well regarded as a fine artist and draftsman. Born in Germany, Kuhler was the sole heir to his family's successful steel business, Kuhler Forges. After WWI however, the business and his family's fortune were in ruins. After living briefly in Dusseldorf, and partly due to the advice of friend Joseph Pennell, he took up etching and emigrated to the States in 1923. Otto Kuhler's etchings of begrimed industry sprang from the same optimistic response to technology that led to his colorful streamlined designs for the Milwaukee, Lehigh and other railroads in the 1930's. His prints bridge art and industry -- freely-sketched scenes that celebrate precise engineering and industrial might. This merging of industry and art proved so successful that after years of submitting designs, a locomotive based on Kuhler's designs was built. The engine, Hiawatha, rolled out of the Schenectady, New York yard in May, 1935. It was the first streamlined steam locomotive to be built from scratch in America. This signaled the start of the next phase of his career- as a successful industrial designer.

All prints in at least very good condition.

"At Quarantine." 1923. 10 3/8 x 7 7/8. Etching and aquatint. Edition: 50. $800
"Steamboat Wharf." 1923. 7 7/8 x 10 3/8. $1,200
"The Furnace." 1924. 7 1/2 x 5 7/8. Drypoint. Edition: 26. $1,600
"River, Railroad, Rock." [Weehawken Yards, NJ, 42nd St. Ferry, and Lower Manhattan]. 1924. 10 1/2 x 8 1/2. $1,600
"The Gas House District." [NY Lower East Side looking North from 8th]. 1924. 10 1/2 x 7 7/8. $1,200
"Queen of the Clouds." [Zeppelin]. 1924. 8 7/8 x 10 7/8. Edition: 105. $1,800
"Gateway to the New World." [View from Battery Park up Broadway with "El" in foreground]. 1926. 13 x 9 3/8. $2,200
"Mississippi Evening." 1926. 7 7/8 x 10 3/8. Edition: 25. $850
"The Pillar." 1927. 11 7/8 x 7 7/8. Edition: 46. $1,400
"The Riveters." 1927. 10 5/8 x 8 1/2. Editon: 50. $1,200
"Mighty Metropolis." [as seen from the Staten Island Ferry]. 1927. 9 3/8 x 13. $2,100
"The Hudson River Bridge Under Construction." 1927. 11 x 9. Edition: 50. $1,400
"St. Rombault, Mighty Marvels of Malines." 1928. 12 7/8 x 9 3/8. $1,500
"The Cables that Hold it All." 1928. 13 x 9 3/8. Edition: 50. Unsigned. $1,500
"The Harbour." [from Weehawken across from 42nd St.]. 1928. 11 x 9. Edition: 25. $1,600
"Bedrock." [Construction Site of the New Yorker Hotel]. 1928. 12 x 7 7/8. Edition: 25. $950
"The Power House." [Consolidated Edison Power House]. 1928. 11 1/8 x 8 7/8. Edition: 6. $1,800
"Monster & Midgets." 1928. 9 3/8 x 12 7/8. Etching. Signed in pencil. Edition: 75. Excellent condition. $1,250
"The Boilermakers." 1928. 9 3/8 x 12 3/4. Etching. Signed in pencil. Edition: 75. Excellent condition. $1,100
"New York Stock Exchange." Ca. 1928. 10 x 7 5/8. Etching. Trial proof. Signed and identified as "Trial proof" in pencil. The unfinished edges of the plate were cut off for the final printing. $2,800
"The Big Shovel." 1929. 7 1/8 x 10 3/8. $1,250
"The Dam Builders." [Harbor Dam, PA.] 1929. 12 5/8 x 9 1/4. Edition: 75. $1,100
"Turbine Construction." 1929. 17 3/4 x 13 7/8. Edition. 15-20. $1,400
"Man Made Canyon." 1929. 11 7/8 x 7 7/8. Edition: 28. $1,000
"Concrete and Cable." 1929. 10 5/8 x 8 1/2. Edition: 36. $1,200
"The Unfinished Span." (Bayonne Bridge). 1929. 9 1/8 x 12 3/4. Edition: 75. $1,100
"Tramp and Tug." 1929. 7 7/8 x 10 3/8. Edition: 75. $850
"Harlem River." 1930. 7 3/8 x 12 3/8. Edition: 15. $800
"The Queen and the Slaves." [Liner is either the 'Europa' or the sister ship, the 'Bremen']. 1930. 9 1/2 x 13. Edition: 40 Trial Proof. $1,800
"Cargo Carriers." Ca. 1932. 10 7/8 x 13 3/4. Signed in pencil. Ed: 10. Very good condition. $1,500
"The Towboat." 11 x 9. Edition: 16. Trial Proof. $850
"Heavy Weather." 13 x 9 1/2. $850

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The Philadelphia Print Shop, Ltd.

Prints by Otto Kuhler(1894-1977)

Prints by Otto Kuhler
(1894-1977)