Gift Items

The Art League offers a number of lovely gift items for sale. Please remember that your purchases of items from The Art League allows us to once again make a difference by documenting, protecting, preserving and enhancing Cincinnati's national treasure of art and ornament in the Cincinnati Public Schools.

The Legacy Campaign

“Man Builds No Structure Which Outlives a Book” The Art League of Cincinnati, founded in 1903, faded from view in 1975.  Twenty years later a dedicated group of individuals reinstated this organization with the goal of documenting, preserving, restoring and enhancing the art and architecture of Cincinnati Public Schools.  Our efforts to document this community treasure were dramatically advanced with the publication of “An Expression of the Community, Cincinnati Public Schools’ Legacy of Art and Architecture”.  Since 2001, this award winning book has become an important resource throughout the country.  The book has successfully filled a gap that previously existed in the documentation of an important architectural era.  The legacy campaign seeks to enlist the support of individuals, foundations and corporations to bequeath our book to University Libraries, Architectural Colleges, and Art History Departments throughout the United States.

STATEMENT OF NEED

No book is currently available to provide insight on the architectural style, detailing and ornamentation of Public Schools from the end of the 19th Century to the start of World War II. Because Cincinnati Public Schools are so extraordinary and have been documented so meticulously, there is now an opportunity to share this historic collection with learning centers throughout our nation. 

This book will provide a glimpse of a time when school buildings were considered temples of learning and public education was viewed as the foundation of American civilization.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Legacy Campaign will be implemented by using volunteers to identify recipients, a fulfillment center working as a not for-profit partner and acquisition directors from libraries to assist us with procedure guidelines. We will ship all books with a bookplate, (see example), identifying the benefiting library and the donor. A cover letter will explain the gift and a brochure will be included to highlight the reviews and acknowledgements the book has received.

Because of the large number of unsolicited books received by libraries, careful measures must be taken to insure that this gift if properly directed.