The First of May 1865 or Genl Moving Day in Richmond Va.
The First of May 1865 or Genl Moving Day in Richmond Va.
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- Description
- In 19th-century New York City, rising rent rates often led families to search out more economically suitable dwellings. All leases across the city expired simultaneously on May 1st, so on that day, thousands of people would chaotically scramble across town to their new residences with all of their belongings. This 1865 print from the New-York-based Kimmel and Forster satirizes this New York City Moving Day tradition to poke fun at Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, who are depicted leaving Richmond, Virginia after the defeat of the Confederacy. Lee holds several swords and a rifle as he stands next to a cart marked “C.S.A.,” hitched to two emaciated dogs. Davis walks out from a run-down house, struggling towards the cart with boxes labeled with the names of the Confederate States, which ultimately fall from his grip. Another dog near the cart urinates on a crate branded “C.S.A. Treasury.” A new label placed on the crate, however, describes these worthless bills as “Waste Paper” as the Confederate government at that point was supposedly bankrupt. Two white men and a boy watch these events. Two black men stand next to the house look on as well, one making a mocking gesture by putting his thumb up against his nose. In reality, Davis, fearing capture by Union forces, had already fled Richmond in early April.
- In a copy of the print housed at the Library of Congress, the white man in the lower right hand corner is identified as General Stonewall Jackson, as the man’s right arm is not visible and Jackson’s was amputated after he was mistakenly fired upon by friendly troops. Jackson lost his left arm, however, and died shortly after the amputation in May 1863, two years before the alleged moving day.
- The print was produced by the lithography firm of Kimmel & Forster. Christopher Kimmel was born in Germany around 1850 and after immigrating to the United States, was active in New York City from 1850 to 1876. He was part of Capewell & Kimmel from 1853 to 1860, and then partnered with Thomas Forster in 1865, forming Kimmel & Forster, which was active until 1871.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- Lithograph
- Object Type
- Lithograph
- Date made
- 1865
- copyright holder; publisher
- H & W Voight
- depicted (sitter)
- Davis, Jefferson
- Lee, Robert E.
- maker
- Kimmel and Forster
- place made
- United States: New York, New York City
- depicted
- United States: Virginia, Richmond
- Physical Description
- paper (overall material)
- ink (overall material)
- Measurements
- image: 6 in x 9 1/8 in; 15.24 cm x 23.1775 cm
- ID Number
- DL.60.3463
- catalog number
- 60.3463
- Credit Line
- Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
- subject
- Economy
- Political Caricatures
- U.S. National Government, executive branch
- Chronology: 1860-1869
- Uniforms, Military
- State Government
- Blacks
- Civil War
- Architecture, Domestic Buildings
- Civil War
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
- American Civil War Prints
- Art
- Domestic Furnishings
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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