The Joseph Muller Collection of Music and Other Portraits can be found at the New York Public Library Digital Gallery. This collection includes thousands of images that date between the 16th century and the early 20th century. Most of the engravings and lithographs within the collection are of musicians and composers; however, there are some images of other famous persons that include actors, politicians, and nobility.
Joseph Muller (1877?-1939) was a violin student that studied at the Brussels Conservatory under the direction of Alexandre Cornélis. He began his collection due to his interest in music. He travelled the world buying up prints from different dealers. In 1934, Muller joined the staff at the Music Division in an attempt to strengthen the iconography department. Through the efforts of Carlton Sprague Smith, Joseph Muller bequeathed his private collection to the Music Division at NYPL upon his death in 1939, where it was incorporated into a separate collection in 1940.
The collection that he amassed is astounding. Although all of the items have not been digitized at this point, there are currently 4,907 items on display. The collection is divided by the individual names. The names are listed alphabetically, so that the user can scroll down to the desired portrait or can just browse. After clicking on an individual name, a separate page pops up that contains all of the portraits of that particular person. For instance, when I click on John Field, four portraits are displayed. However, when I click on Franz Joseph Haydn, a total of 71 images are displayed. Also there is a search box, so that the user may enter a particular person of interest.
