Alexander Jackson Davis Papers

This collection consists of material documenting the architectural training and career of A. J. Davis. The collection includes lithographs from drawings by Davis, floor plans and elevation drawings of several buildings designed by Davis, mostly in the Greek revival or Gothic revival styles. Identifiable public buildings represented by material in this collection are chiefly in New York City and include the Branch Bank of the United States, Merchant's Exchange, Phenix Bank, Masonic Hall, Washington Institute, Bowery Theater, Second Congressional Church, Trinity Church, St. Paul's Church, St. Thomas Church, and St. John's Chapel. There is one depiction of the Indiana state capitol building. Davis kept a slim printed volume on Fonthill Abbey, located in Wiltshire, England, to which he added a floor plan.

Alexander Jackson Davis (1803-1892) was born in New York City to Cornelius Davis and Julia Jackson. Early in his life, Davis showed a remarkable talent for drawing early in life, leaving school at sixteen and joining a printer's shop as a compositor a year later. Davis took up lithography in the 1820s, becoming a respected worker in that field.  Davis later met John Trumbull, a painter, amateur architect, and cartographer, who convinced him to become an architect.