The First Battle of Bull’s Run (also known as First Manassas) was the first major land battle of the Civil War. On July 21, 1861, the Union army, commanded by General Irvin McDowell engaged the forces of Confederate general, P.G.T. Beauregard, 25 miles southwest of the Capital. Although the Federal army achieved some early victories in the battle, Confederate reinforcements arrived, breaking the right flank of the Union lines. The Northern troops were routed as they tried to retreat. Although the Confederates won the day, they were too disorganized to pursue the fleeing Union army, which limped back to the safety of Washington, D.C. Nearly 900 men from either side had been killed in the battle, and another 2,500 wounded. Lincoln and the members of his administration now realized that the war would be a much longer and costlier affair than they had first believed.
This 1861 print depicts Colonel Michael Corcoran (1827-1863) leading the 69th New York Militia of Irish Volunteers during an assault on Confederate batteries. Corcoran, who was later captured during the battle, spent time in four Confederate prison camps before being paroled for a Confederate officer. Upon his release, he organized and led a new brigade, Corcoran’s Irish Legion, composed mainly of irish immigrants, but was soon after killed by a fall from his horse. In this print, he sits upon a dappled grey horse and points towards the enemy with his sabre, urging on his men. His troops wear red and blue uniforms and carry both an American flag and their distinctive regimental flag, which features a gold harp encircled by a wreath on a green background. Although the Irish militiamen appear to be gaining the upper hand, they were quickly pushed back by a large Confederate force and Corcoran was taken prisoner. The battle was marked by confusion, as the standard blue and grey uniforms had not yet been adopted, and soldiers were uncertain as to who was friend or foe. Contributing to this ambiguity was the similarity of the American flag to the Confederate Stars and Bars, leading to the South’s adoption of the more recognizable battle flag. Although the Union lost this first major confrontation of the war, the print emphasizes a temporary moment of Union success in order to appeal to Northern buyers.
The work was produced by the Hartford, Connecticut lithographic firm of E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. Edmund Burke Kellogg and Elijah Chapman Kellogg were younger brothers of the founder of the Kellogg lithography firm, Daniel Wright Kellogg. After Daniel Wright Kellogg moved west, his two brothers took over the family lithography firm in 1840 and changed the name to E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. They were responsible for the continued success of the family firm and involved in partnerships with Horace Thayer in 1846-47, John Chenevard Comstock in 1848 and William Henry Bulkeley in 1867.
George Whiting worked as the agent and distributor of the Kellogg brothers’ prints in New York from 1848 to 1860. In 1860, the Kelloggs closed their New York office and Whiting took over the firm, selling prints until his death two years later.
During the war, Atlanta, Georgia, served as a major hub on the railroads supplying the Confederacy. Following a victory at Chattanooga, the Union Army began an invasion of Georgia, commanded by General William Tecumseh Sherman. Several battles outside of Atlanta were followed by a four-month-long siege of the Confederate army there. On September 1, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood decided to withdraw his men from the city, and the mayor surrendered to Sherman the next day. This print shows the Union general’s men entering the city. Two horse drawn covered wagons process through the city. To the right of these, two mounted Union officers gaze upon the urban center. A train is situated among the buildings in the background, referencing the city’s strategic importance to the Confederacy.
Both Sherman and Grant believed the Union Army would only be victorious if it could completely break the Confederacy both economically and psychologically. From Atlanta, Sherman launched his famous march to the sea, commanding the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of Georgia on a scorched earth campaign through Georgia during the winter of 1864, destroying Southern railroads, telegraph lines, and farms. Upon leaving the city of Atlanta on November 15, he ordered that the city be burnt to the ground, sparing only its churches and hospitals.
This colored lithograph was produced by the Hartford, Connecticut firm of E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. Edmund Burke Kellogg and Elijah Chapman Kellogg were younger brothers of the founder of the Kellogg lithography firm, Daniel Wright Kellogg. After Daniel Wright Kellogg moved west, his two brothers took over the family lithography firm in 1840 and changed the name to E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. They were responsible for the continued success of the family firm and involved in partnerships with Horace Thayer in 1846-47, John Chenevard Comstock in 1848 and William Henry Bulkeley in 1867.
This post-war print depicts an allegorical vision of change that could accompany Reconstruction. At the left, Union soldiers are shown beating swords and weapons into farming implements. On the right, a general holds a pickaxe and stands next to a cannon that has been converted into a mill. American-British philanthropist George Peabody, stands at the center of the print, in front of an American flag held aloft by an eagle. He holds open a book that reads, “2,000,000 for Education,” referring to the Peabody Education Fund, which he established to raise the standard of education in the South for those of all races. Beneath him are gathered a group of young white children. One girl looks at a group of four freed slaves, holding a poster that says, “Come Uncle / Learn to Be a Citizen.” In the background, a crowd of 300,000 mechanics, farmers, and laborers carry tools that they will use to facilitate the “Reconstruction of the Union.” On the right, a sailor prepares to sink a barrel labeled, “Extremes,” into the sea. This idealized vision of Reconstruction is one led by the North, which will feature educational and economic development throughout the country, but will be absent of any radicalism. While women's charities had long funded children's orphanages and schooling, George Peabody is considered the "Father of Modern Philanthropy" and his generosity inspired other wealthy individuals to gifting and developing lasting charitable trusts for social causes, particularly in the field of education.
The artist of this print was Augustus Tholey, a German immigrant born in Alsace-Loraine. He moved to Philadelphia in 1848, where he worked as a painter, pastel artist, engraver, and lithographer. It was published by John Smith, who was active in Philadelphia between 1860 and 1870. Besides publishing prints by Tholey and Anton Hohenstein, Smith was also an accomplished gilder, painter, and looking glass and frame manufacturer.
This print depicts a meeting between Grant and Lee near Appomattox Courthouse on April 10, 1865, one day after Lee’s surrender. In the center of the scene, the two generals sit on horseback, amicably conversing with one another. They are flanked by two groups of Union officers on horseback, many of whom are identified at the bottom of the print. Large numbers of assembled troops are visible in the background. Also featured in the background is a two-story house, presumably the McClean House, where Lee signed the terms of surrender. Below the illustration, a caption clarifies that the print was based on an “Original Picture by Lieut. Col. Otto Botticher in the Possession of General Chas. G. Halpine of New York.” The artist, however, was not present for this historic event, and the scene is purely imaginary, as Grant and Lee only met inside of the McLean House to discuss the terms of surrender.
Otto Botticher was a Prussian immigrant artist who served as an officer in the Civil War. From 1853-1854 he partnered with Thomas Benecke as a portrait painter and lithographer. Prior to the Civil War, he produced several paintings and lithographic plates of military subjects with the aid of daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, early forms of photography. His work displays precision and excellent attention to detail, indicating that he probably had formal draftsmanship training. He enlisted along with his sons, in New York City on July 22, 1861, the day after the First Battle of Manassas, in the 68th New York Volunteers Infantry (Cameron Rifles) and by August he was given the title of Captain. He was captured by Confederates March 29, 1862 near Manassas, Virginia and was in at least 2 prisoner of war camps – Libby Prison in Richmond and Salisbury Prison in North Carolina – before being paroled during a prisoner exchange. He participated in the battle at Chancellorsville, and was wounded at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. He chronicled his activity during the early years of the war and his time in Confederate prison camps in a series of sketches.
Louis Maurer (1832-1932), a German-born lithographer, designed this print after Botticher’s original painting. Maurer settled in New York in 1851. He worked under T.W. Strong, Currier & Ives, and Major & Knapp before beginning his own firm, Maurer & Heppenheimer. The lithograph was printed by Hatch & Co., a New York printing shop. George W. Hatch, Jr, was the son of an engraver and partnered with Charles Severyn in 1853, forming Hatch & Severyn. In 1855, George’s brother Warner joined the company and it was renamed Hatch & Co. The firm produced chromolithographs, certificates, and advertising. It reorganized as Hatch Litho Co. in 1887 but was out of business by 1889.
This 1838 print depicts New York Senator Silas Wright standing in the center holding in his right hand the tail of a donkey, and in his left, the tail of a horse. Mounted on the donkey is Democratic New York Senator, Churchill C. Cambreleng, wearing a wide brimmed hat with a ribbon reading, “Loco Foco Victory,” heading towards Albany. Seated on the horse, is New York City Comptroller (at the time of this print), William L. Marcy in uniform, and also sporting a “Loco Foco Victory” ribbon on his hat, heading towards Washington. The Loco Foco faction of the Democratic Party was prominent in New York City politics, and desired an independent treasury and a break from monopolies. Both men on horseback are posed as if they are about to gallop away towards their respective destinations, but Wright is holding them back stating, “Stop my good fellows, you are going on a fool’s errand. You are counting your chickens before they have hatched!” Both men are expressing what they hope will happen with a Loco Foco victory, with hopes of being Collector (Marcy) and Governor of New York (Cambreleng), but Wright knows that a Loco Foco victory might not be a reality. Ultimately Wright was correct, and a large scale Loco Foco victory never happened. Their biggest success was in 1840 when President Martin Van Buren took their financial policies into consideration and passed the Independent Treasury Act that separated banking from the Federal government. Following 1840 though, the Loco Foco party was only relevant in New York City and had very limited power.
The artist of this print is Sheepshanks, who is most likely a pseudonym for the artist Edward Williams Clay (1799-1857). Clay was a caricaturist, engraver, lithographer, and etcher, as well as a portrait painter. Before his career as an artist, Clay was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, but quickly left to pursue art in New York City. After losing his eyesight he retired from art and held minor office in Delaware before his death in December of 1857.
The publisher of this print is Henry R. Robinson (1827-1877). Robinson worked in New York, and had a store to sell his prints. In 1842, he was arrested for selling obscene pictures and books leading to the September 28, 1842 court case, People vs H. R. Robinson found in the District Attorney Indictment Papers, Municipal Archives. He was politically affiliated with the anti-Jackson Whig party which was made obvious by the wig silhouette used in 1838 as an advertising logo for his shop.
This print refers to the 1838 New York City mayoral race, in which there was widespread election fraud to assure a victory of Aaron Clark, the Whig candidate. Clark is depicted upon a stalled horse while his opponent, Isaac L. Varian’s horse gallops out of the frame. Varian is holding a flagpole topped with a Liberty Cap and flying a flag that states, “Regular Democratic Nomination! No Monopoly! Down with a Monied [sic] Aristocracy!” Clark also holds a flagpole, his being topped with a sheep and a flag labeled “Lottery Office.” He is handing the pole to Conservative Democrat but Whig sympathizer, Recorder of the City of New York, Richard Riker, asking him to help get his horse going: “Take my rod Dickey, and give her another conservative poke or it will be all Dickey with me.” This is a lewd reference to Riker bringing Clark conservative Democrat’s support, and is backed up by Riker stating, “she’ll go as soon as she feels her oats! If she don’t, I’ll give her the six months,” clearly suggesting collusion between them. At the far right, a stereotyped Jewish leaning on a cane thumbs his nose and comments, "Shtop my friendsch I vill shave you shome troublesh . . . It ish moneysh vat maksh de Mare/Mayor go.!!" This print refers to the 1838 New York City mayoral race, in which there was widespread election fraud to assure a victory of Clark, the Whig candidate. Clark beat Varian in 1838, largely due to the fraud, but lost to him in 1839. During his first term as mayor Varian passed the first voter registration bill in an attempt to ensure that widespread voter fraud would not happen again.
The artist of this print is Sheepshanks, who is most likely a pseudonym for the artist Edward Williams Clay (1799-1857). Clay was a caricaturist, engraver, lithographer, and etcher, as well as a portrait painter. Before his career as an artist, Clay was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, but quickly left to pursue art in New York City. After losing his eyesight he retired from art and held minor office in Delaware before his death in December of 1857.
The publisher of this print is most likely James Fitzsimmons. No additional information on the publisher is known at this time.
Color print of a bay trotting horse (Hambeltonian) standing in a stable with wood floor. A man with a long white beard (William M. Rysdyk) stands in front of him. "Hambeltonian" is written on a blanket on the floor beside him.
Description
A color print of a bay trotting stallion with powerful chest muscles and a narrow sensitive face standing in his finely built stable. It has a plank floor, plastered walls, and built-in water and hay troughs. His owner is a middle-aged man with a long, white beard, wearing stylish informal dress of a maroon sport jacket and white pants, and he is smoking a cigar.
Hambletonian was bred in Sugar Loaf, NY on May 5, 1849 by Jonas Seely. He was registered as Hambletonian 10 but commonly known as Rysdyk’s Hambletonian, named after the British thoroughbred of the same name. His dam was the Charles Kent Mare, or “Kent Mare”, a descendant of the Norfolk Trotter breed known for its smooth gate; and his sire, Abdullah was known for being both mean and ugly, and had been bought for only $5. Nevertheless, William Rysdyk, one of the farm hands, purchased Hambletonian for $125. Hambletonian’s unusual build allowed for his long hind legs that were the key to his success, providing more length for every push. His first race took place at the Orange County Fair in Goshen, NY and immediately stirred public attention for his appearance and his competition with his half-brother Abdallah Chief. The rivalry was finally settled in 1852 at the Union Course on Long Island when Hambletonian trotted the mile in 2:48 ¼ seconds, a full seven seconds before Abdallah Chief. Rysdyk put Hambletonian to stud for the first time at age two, when he mated with four mares for $25 a mating. During the height of his career, Hambletonian earned $500 per mating, and his Rysdyk’s total stud earnings came to $200,000. Hambletonian fathered 1,331 foals with 1,900 mares by the end of his life on March 27, 1876, and at least 40 of his progeny were able to trot the mile in less than 2:30. Hambletonian’s blood runs through most of today’s Standardbred trotters and several Morgans, earning him the title of “Father of the American Trotter.” He was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame as an “Immortal” in 1953 and the prestigious harness race, the Hambletonian Stakes, is named after him.
Henry C. Eno was a New York City lithographer and publisher, operating under his own name between 1863-1869, and as the firm Thomas and Eno (a partnership with Henry A. Thomas) prior to that from 1862-1864. Eno was born in Connecticut in 1828, and was married to Caroline Eno. He left New York City for Orangetown, Rockland, New York where he died in the early 1900’s.
This colored broadside advertises “The Great Moving Mirror of Slavery,” a travelling panoramic painting exhibited in New England in 1858. According to the inscription, it was on display in the Methodist Church. Purported to reveal “Slavery As It Is,” this poster contains two preview illustrations. One shows a young girl lying in a canopied bed attended by a doctor, as her mother and a black man sit nearby. The other image depicts a white man riding a bucking horse as three black men and a black woman watch. Headings on the poster advertise, “Scenes in Africa,” an “Auction Sale of Slaves,” and “Life-Like Scenes!” The exhibit also promises a personal appearance by Anthony Burns.
Burns (1834-1862) was born a slave in Stafford County, Virginia in 1834, became a Baptist preacher,and escaped to Boston in 1853/1854. The next year, he was captured and put on public trial, inspiring protest by thousands of abolitionists. Several people were arrested and wounded, while they attempted to free Burns and a U.S. Marshall was fatally stabbed. Under the terms of the Fugitive Slave Act, Burns was returned to his "owner" in Virginia. In 1855, Leonard Grimes, a free black Baptist minister bought Burns’ freedom. Burns then travelled north and studied theology at Oberlin College in Ohio and emigrated to Canada and worked as a non-ordained minister . In 1858, he toured with “The Great Moving Mirror,” using the opportunity to sell copies of narrative of his life to sympathetic anti-slavery Northerners. He died in 1862 of tuberculosis at the age of 28, having never regained his health after enduring several months in a Richmond slave jail.
The print was created by the firm of J.H. & F.F. Farwell & Gordon Forrest. The three men founded a Boston lithographic firm active around the middle of the 19th century. Gordon Forrest enlisted in Company G of the First Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War. He was killed on July 18, 1861, during a skirmish at Blackburn’s Ford, Virginia, one of the first engagements of the conflict. Little is known about J.H. and F.F. Farwell. The printers were also known as Farwells & Forest.
Major & Knapp Engraving, Manufacturing & Lithographic Company
ID Number
DL.60.2610
catalog number
60.2610
accession number
228146
Description
This print depicts General William Tecumseh Sherman at the end of his Savannah Campaign. Both Sherman Sherman and Grant believed that the Union Army would only be victorious if it could break the Confederacy both economically and psychologically. Sherman ordered the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of Georgia on a scorched earth campaign through Georgia during the winter of 1864, destroying Southern railroads, telegraph lines, and farms. When Sherman reached Savannah, the Confederate forces guarding it fled, and the mayor surrendered the city to the Union general on December 21, 1864. In this print, Sherman rides on his horse on the outside of the city. He is followed by his officers, many of whom are identified below the illustration. Various buildings of Savannah are visible in the background and to the right, a company of infantrymen stand at attention. At the lower right, the lithographer has included the text from a telegram from Sherman to Lincoln, asking the President to accept the city of Savannah – along with its guns, ammunition, and cotton – as a Christmas present.
A caption at the bottom of the print recognizes that the image was based on an “Original Picture by Br. Lt. Col. Otto Botticher.” Botticher was a Prussian immigrant artist who served as an officer in the Civil War. From 1853-1854 he partnered with Thomas Benecke as a portrait painter and lithographer. Prior to the Civil War, he produced several paintings and lithographic plates of military subjects with the aid of daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, early forms of photography. His work displays precision and excellent attention to detail, indicating that he probably had formal draftsmanship training. He enlisted along with his sons, in New York City on July 22, 1861, the day after the First Battle of Manassas, in the 68th New York Volunteers Infantry (Cameron Rifles) and by August he was given the title of Captain. He was captured by Confederates March 29, 1862 near Manassas, Virginia and was in at least 2 prisoner of war camps – Libby Prison in Richmond and Salisbury Prison in North Carolina– before being paroled during a prisoner exchange. He participated in the battle at Chancellorsville, and was wounded at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. He chronicled his activity during the early years of the war and his time in Confederate prison camps in a series of sketches. Although Botticher’s regiment was stationed in Savannah in November of 1865, it was never there at the same time as Sherman, meaning that the artist instead relied on photographs and his imagination when designing the scene. The officers he depicted are:
Brigadier General Jordan, Brevet Colonel L.G. Estes, Major General Judson Kilpatrick, Major General Joseph A. Mower, Major General Peter J. Osterhaus, Major General Frank P. Blair, Brigadier General L.C. Easton, Major General John M. Corse, Major General W.P. Hazen, Major General John A. Logan, Brigadier General O.M. Poe, Major General H.W. Slocum, Major George Ward Nichols, Major General J.W. Geary, Major General Jeff O. Davis, Major General W.T. Sherman, Major General A.S. Williams, Major General O.O. Howard, Major General W.F. Barry, Brigadier General H.A. Barnum.
John Chester Buttre (1821-1893) designed this print after the original painting by Botticher. Buttre was an American steel-plate engraver and lithographer who was active in New York City. During the Civil War he sold several million copies of prints of President Lincoln and high-ranking generals.
The work was copyrighted in 1865 and produced by the company of Major & Knapp. Joseph Frederick Knapp joined the lithography firm of Napoleon Sarony and James Major in 1854, two former employees of Nathaniel Currier. After Sarony departed in the mid-1860s to pursue photography, the business was renamed Major & Knapp.
In the spring of 1865, the Union Army increased its efforts to capture the Confederate President Jefferson Davis after the surrender of Lee and assassination of Lincoln. Suspecting him to be complicit in Lincoln’s murder, the U.S. War Department issued a $100,000 reward for the capture of Davis and his aides. Without his capture or surrender, many in the Union War Department would not recognize the war as officially ended. After fleeing Richmond, Davis was caught by members of Michigan and Wisconsin cavalry units at his camp outside Irwinville, Georgia, on May 10, 1865. As Davis tried to flee from the Union soldiers, he had grabbed his wife Varina’s overcoat instead of his own, resulting in a widespread Northern rumor that Davis had attempted to escape disguised as a woman. Shortly after the incident images of Davis appeared in Northern publications, picturing him dressed in petticoats, a hoop skirt, and a bonnet. This cowardly depiction of Davis’ flight further demoralized the Southern cause and shattered its president’s aristocratic reputation.
This print depicts Davis’ “Last Skedaddle,” Civil War sang for “retreat” or “flight.” The disguised Confederate wears a woman’s skirt and hat, and carries a knife and a pail. As he looks back in the direction of pursuing Federal cavalry, a tear rolls down his face. Davis has taken his outfit from his wife, Varina, who tries to impede the soldiers, saying, “Please Gentlemen, don’t disturb the Privacy of Ladies before they have time to dress.” A caption below the illustration uses anatomical innuendos and military puns to explain the scene: “How Jeff in his Extremity put his Navel Affairs and Ram-Parts under Petticoat Protection.”
Alexander McLean was born in Scotland around 1823. After moving the United States, he worked in Philadelphia and Louisville before settling in St Louis, where he started his own printing firm in 1853. This business was renamed A. McLean & Co. in 1860 when his son, Alexander McLean Jr., joined the company. For this print, McLean used a drawing by a St. Louis artist, Ferdinand Welcker.
A color print of an advertising poster. The scene is a race track in front of a judge’s stand. The winning horse, still hitched to his sulky and driver, is getting a blanket thrown over his back. Other horses covered in blankets are being led away. Men push the sulkys. The driver of the winning horse gestures to the judges in the stand with his whip. The spectators are dressed in sporty suits and converse on the track in groups of three or four. The surrounding area has wooded hills.
Worth was a noted comic and genre artist. He was born in February of 1834 in New York City. He sold his first comic sketch to Nathaniel Currier in 1855 and later became one of the most popular of the artists whose work was lithographed by Currier and Ives. Though best known for his comics he also did make may racing scenes. He lived for many years on Long Island, though eventually he moved to Staten Island. Worth died in 1917.
This print contains illustrations of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and the Cooper Shop Volunteer Refreshment Saloon. Located on a railroad hub linking the North and the South, the saloons were staffed by volunteers and provided relief for Union troops to soldiers on their way to or returning from battlefields in the South. Its services included warm meals, temporary housing, medical services, and washing facilities. Over the course of the war, these saloons assisted more than one million Union military personnel. In the central image of the print, formations of troops march down the road, cheered on by a crowd of civilians. Lines of soldiers wait to enter the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, while another regiment of troops in the street wait to board a Philadelphia, Wilmington, & Baltimore railroad car, bound for the battlefront. The images to the left and right of the central one depict the facility’s washing and cooking departments. In a lower image, men and women volunteers prepare long tables covered in dishes and food. In the lower left image, a group of Zouaves wait in line outside the storefront of William Cooper, who converted his place of business into a refreshment saloon during the war years. A flag outside of the building reads, “Union Now and Forever / Death to Traitors.” The lower right illustration shows the interior of the Cooper saloon. A large American flag is draped across the ceiling and, underneath, long tables are set with dishes. The names of members of the Volunteer Refreshment Committee are listed in the margin below the illustration.
The Philadelphia saloons received support from the United States Sanitary Commission, a relief agency approved by the War Department on June 18, 1861 to provide assistance to sick, wounded, and travelling Union soldiers. Although the leaders of the Commission were men, the agency depended on thousands of women, who collected donations, volunteered as nurses in hospitals, and offered assistance at rest stations and refreshment saloons. They also sponsored Sanitary Fairs in Northern cities, raising millions of dollars used to send food, clothing, and medicine to Union soldiers.
The print was created by James Fuller Queen, a pioneering chromolithographer active in Philadelphia, who served in a Civil War militia between 1862 and 1863. Its printer, Thomas S. Sinclair, was a Scottish immigrant to Philadelphia who worked in the lithographic shop of John Collins, before taking over the business the next year. His firm was profitable into the 1880s, producing maps, city views, certificates, book illustrations, political cartoons, sheet music covers, and fashion advertisements. The scene of the saloons was published by Job T. Williams, the Steward of the Volunteer Refreshment Committee.
Color print depicting one large and three small town views. The main view is a panorama of a city beside a river with two covered bridges connecting it to a grassy area in the foreground. Sailing vessels and a steamboat are on the river to the left. The tree smaller views along the bottom of the print depict a factory beside a falls (Norwich Falls), a rural town (Norwich Town) and a factory complex on a river (Greenville, Norwich).
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe was published in 1852, quickly becoming the nation’s bestselling book. It features a spirited, religious-minded enslaved black man named Tom, who is sold downriver by his financially-strapped owner in Kentucky to a plantation in Louisiana. There, his Christian beliefs spread hope to his fellow slaves and enable him to endure the harsh beatings of his cruel master. He is ultimately whipped to death after refusing to reveal the location of two runaway slaves. Published after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, the novel targeted Northern audiences, arguing against the injustice of slavery and spurring the abolition movement into action.
Although the bestselling novel of the 19th century, many American were exposed to Uncle Tom’s Cabin through play adaptations known as Tom shows. The immense popularity of both the novel and plays transformed Uncle Tom into a cultural phenomenon in America and Europe, and manufacturers quickly capitalized on the production of “Tomitudes,” everyday commodities that referenced scenes and characters from the novel. These included card games, jigsaw puzzles, chinaware, jars and vases, snuffboxes, ceramic figurines, and decorative prints. Although some of these Tomitudes employed racial stereotypes and the imagery of blackface minstrelsy, most chose to depict the enslaved characters of Beecher’s novel in a sympathetic light, often carrying an anti-slavery message.
The most popular depictions of Uncle Tom were those in which he was accompanied by the young white girl, Eva St. Clare. Representations of their companionship conveyed a message of racial bonding and celebrated the characters’ shared Christian faith. This colored print around 1853 depicts a scene from Chapter 14 of the novel, in which Tom rescues Eva after she has fallen from the deck of a riverboat into the waters of the Mississippi. The artist has chosen to focus on Tom’s strength and ability, sacrificing the realism of other figures. Eva, held tightly in Tom’s grasp, appears doll-like, and one of the men standing on the boat has been drawn awkwardly miniscule to create an illusion of depth. Tom grasps a rope that has been lowered by a man aboard the riverboat. In return for saving his daughter, Eva’s father purchases Tom and the slave moves in with the St. Clare family in their New Orleans home. There, he begins driving the family’s coach, but he quickly earns their confidence, eventually managing their finances.
Thomas W. Strong was a New York-based printer and wood engraver who began his career around 1840. His shop specialized in comic literature and he employed many talented cartoonists and draftsmen who would go on to work for Harper’s Weekly and Vanity Fair. This print was the third in a series by Strong of scenes from Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) rose to fame in 1851 with the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which highlighted the evils of slavery, angered the slaveholding South, and inspired pro-slavery copy-cat works in defense of the institution of slavery. Stowe’s father was the famed Congregational minister Lyman Beecher and her brother, Henry Ward Beecher, was also a famous preacher and reformer. In 1824, she attended her sister Catherine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary, which exposed young women to many of the same courses available in men’s academies. Stowe became a teacher, working from 1829 to 1832 at the Seminary.
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote numerous articles, some of which were published in the renowned women’s magazine of the times, Godey’s Lady’s Book. She also wrote 30 books, covering a wide range of topics from homemaking to religion, as well as several novels. The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which legally compelled Northerners to return runaway slaves, infuriated Stowe, and many in the North. She subsequently authored her most famous work, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Originally serialized in the National Era, Stowe saw her tale as a call to arms for Northerners to defy the Fugitive Slave Act. It was released as a book in 1852 and later performed on stage and translated into dozens of languages. Stowe used her fame to petition to end slavery. She toured nationally and internationally, speaking about her book, and donating some of what she earned to help the antislavery cause.
This political cartoon satirizes the Presidential race of 1856, depicting it as a horse race. In the center, James Buchanan, dressed as a jockey, has been unseated from his mount, a buck with the head of his running mate, John C. Breckinridge. The presidential hopeful clutches his shin and curses at a young black man, claiming that if it had not been for the “Slavery Plank” upsetting his buck, he certainly would have won. The youth stands upon two planks of wood labeled “Slavery” and “Cuba,” a reference to a plot by pro-slavery Democrats to annex the island and add it to the Union as a slave state. These boards are themselves supported by a crate marked, “Democratic Platform.” From his elevated platform, the boy mocks Buchanan, reminding the Democrat that he did not want to do away with the plank of slavery. On the left, Millard Fillmore, the American Party candidate, rides a goose with the head of his running mate, Andrew Jackson Donelson. He holds a lantern labeled “Know Nothing,” the nickname for the American Party. Although he is jeered from the sidelines, Fillmore warns the spectators that “if I'm not the next President the Union Will Be Disolved, The South Wont Stand It.” In the lower right corner, a boy hoists a pro-Democratic sign containing the slogans, “We Po'ked em in 44, We Peirce'd em in 52 and We'll "Buck em" in 56.” The child has climbed upon the back of another man, who turns in disgust and sarcastically replies, “Hello there!! are you a Fre'mounter.” This refers to the Republican candidate John C. Fremont, who is included in the background of the scene, cheered on by the crowds. He rides towards victory on a horse with the head of William L. Dayton. Above him, stands Brother Jonathan, a personification of the United States predating Uncle Sam, holding a timer’s watch. Although Fremont’s victory seems secure in this print, tensions over slavery divided the nation, and Buchanan emerged victorious.
John L. Magee was born in New York around 1820. In New York, he was employed by the lithographic firms of James Baillie and Nathaniel Currier. He started his own business in New York in 1850, but moved to Philadelphia sometime shortly after 1852. He was known for his political cartoons, which he produced until the 1860s.
In this undated color print, “Uncle Sam” is seated in a flowered, upholstered armchair, resting and holding a document labeled “Failures.” He is wearing a “Liberty” cap, vest, breeches, moccasins, and an American flag overcoat. Attending to the ill “Uncle Sam,” is “Dr. Hickory”-- Andrew Jackson (characterized as Benjamin Franklin), as well as Missouri Senator, Thomas Hart Benton, and Martin Van Buren dressed as a woman and referred to as “Aunt Matty.” This print is a satire on the state of the United States banking system under the Jackson administration, and employs an extended metaphor of the bank’s failure as an illness throughout the cartoon. Jackson, depicted standing next to a broken statue of “Pater Patriae” (father of the county), George Washington, tells “Uncle Sam” that he is sick because he has been overeating and deserves it. Next to Jackson, Benton holds a clyster enema syringe and suggests that more “mint drops” (coin currency) would cure him of his illness. “Uncle Sam” does not want “mint drops” or “gold pills” however, because they are tying up his bowels and ruining “his Constitution.” He scolds Jackson for ruining his formerly perfect health, and threatens to call on the President of the Second National Bank, Nicholas Biddle to be his Doctor if Jackson and his successor, Van Buren don’t fix the economy. Through the window, “Brother Jonathan,” the personification of New England, can be seen greeting Biddle who is carrying a trunk of “Post notes and bonds.” Brother Jonathan is relieved to see Biddle stating, “Oh Docr. Biddle I’m so glad you’re come. Uncle Sam is in a darned bad way.” The print is undated, but given that “Uncle Sam” is calling “Aunt Matty” his new nurse, holding the paper labeled “Failures” marked with a number of banks and their losses, and that Nicolas Biddle is arriving in the background, this print was most likely a response to the beginning of the Panic of 1837 that happened shortly after Van Buren’s election. Seated behind “Uncle Sam’s” chair, is an Eagle, who states, “I must fly to Texas, for I shall be starved out here.” At the time of this print, Texas was a newly independent nation led by President Sam Houston following the Battle of San Jacinto in April of 1836. Following their independence, the majority of Texans wanted to be annexed by the United States, but neither Jackson nor Van Buren allowed them into the Union. It was not until 1845 under President John Tyler that Texas became a state.
The lithographer of this print is Edward Williams Clay (1799-1857). Clay was a caricaturist, engraver, lithographer, and etcher, as well as a portrait painter. Before his career as an artist, Clay was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, but quickly left to pursue art in New York City. After losing his eyesight he retired from art and held minor office in Delaware before his death in December of 1857.
A color print of a race in progress on a track. Three horses take the lead and their jockeys urge them on with whips. The jockeys wear colorful jackets and caps, white breeches, and high boots. The grandstands consist of a two story veranda. The roof has three transverse gables decorated with Bavarian “fachwerk.” An overflow of spectators lines the fence and the extension of the lower level balcony without a cover. The judges’ stand has a cupola roof. A wooded area is in the background.
The Sheepshead Bay Race Track was built at the Coney Island Jockey Club in 1880 in Sheepshead, New York, spurred on by the laying of the Long Island Railroad. Leonard Jerome and William Kissam Vanderbilt sponsored the building of the new track, which contained both a dirt and turf course. Sheepshead ran the first Futurity Stakes on Labor Day 1888 and it was won by Proctor Knott for a purse of $41,675, the most expensive race at the time. It was the largest crowd to attend Sheepshead, and approximately one-fourth of the crowd was reported to be women. This race is still running, although it has moved to Belmont Park. It is open to two-year-old horses and raced on dirt over a distance of seven furlongs. Until 1957, the horses had to be nominated for the race before their birth.
Maurer was born in 1832 in Biebrich-on-the Rhine in Germany, the eldest of five children. He loved to draw in his spare time and was apprenticed to a lithographer for a brief period of time. He then assisted his father as a cabinetmaker. He studied art at Mayence, and in 1851 he emigrated with his parents to America where he immediately went to work as a woodcarver. A friend recommended that he would make more money using his skills as a lithographer, so he applied to several shops before being hired by T. W. Strong at 98 Nassau Street. Later he met Charles Currier, Nathaniel's brother, who recommended that he visit his brother and show him some of his work. Nathaniel was impressed with Maurer and introduced him to Ives who interviewed all new employees. He was immediately hired and put to work in the basement of 152 Nassau Street, where he remained for over eight years.
Maurer excelled at images of horses and sporting subjects and during the eight years he was employed by Currier & Ives, produced over one hundred prints on these subjects, including such icons as the Life of the Fireman series and Preparing for Market. In 1860-1861 he went to work for Major and Knapp and from 1872-1884 he was the head of the commercial lithography firm of Maurer and Heppenheimer. He retired in 1884 and devoted himself to a number of artistic avocations, primarily painting. He lived in NYC until his death in 1932 at the age of 100. He son Alfred Maurer was also a well-known artist in the modernist era, though after the death of his father who he lived with, Alfred committed suicide. The offices of Heppenheimer and Maurer were located at 22 and 24 North William Street in New York City from 1872-1884. Maurer is chiefly known for his prints of horses, caricatures, and the famous Fireman series. At the outbreak of the Civil War he moved to Major and Knapp where he made many famous war prints including “Sherman at Savannah, GA” and “Grant and Lee”.
A black and white print of a black stallion running on a hastily erected race track, pulling a sulky. The rider is in a vest, tight pants, a white shirt, and a Homberg hat. The horse’s neck is disproportionately wide. The center of ring contains two center pole tents with banners which read M…RSHAL and PR…DENT. A judge’s stand is in a circular grandstand with cone-shaped roof and American flag. Spectators line the periphery. The flag in the center of grounds is labeled: US Cr… Society. The scene is the US Agricultural Fair held in West Philadelphia on October 8, 1856.
Sherman Black Hawk was foaled on May 30, 1845 in Bridport, Vermont. He was sired by Black Hawk and Smith Mare, both Morgans, and owned by B.J. Myrick. He was a direct descendent of the founding Sire of the Morgan breed, “Figure” owned by Justin Morgan. At 15.2 hands, Sherman Black Hawk was reputed to be spirited, compact, and well made, and he could trot a mile in 2:40. This enabled him to win first place at both the Vermont State Fair in 1854 and the US Agricultural Fair in Pennsylvania (pictured here) in 1856. The man in the picture is thought to be Hiram Woodruff, a well-known and successful driver of the time. 50,000 attended the race at the 1856 Agricultural Fair in West Philadelphia, PA. Temporary open stands were constructed to seat up to 8,000 people, but people also flooded the infield to watch the main racing attractions.
Color print of a race between three trotting horses; Dexter, pulling one sulky, and Ethan Allen and his mate pulling a second sulky, at Fashion Course, Long Island, on June 21,1867.
Description
A color print of a race in progress between Ethan Allen and a stable mate pulling one sulky and Dexter pulling the other. The team is ahead. The jockeys wear jackets, bow ties, close fitting pants, and caps. A line of trees and billowy clouds against a blue sky are in the background. It takes place at Fashion Course, LI on June 21, 1867.
Dexter was foaled in Walden, Orange County, New York in 1858 by Jonathan Hawkins. His sire was Hambletonian and his dam was Clara. Dexter had four white stockings, which was traditionally considered unlucky in a racing horse, but it was superstition he proved to be worthless. In 1862 he was sold for $400 to George B. Alley, who broke him into racing. In 1863 he was sent to Hiram Woodruff and showed 2:42 pulling a wagon. George Trussel paid $14,000 for him in 1866 and placed him in the hands of Budd Doble. Dexter followed Flora Temple as the world’s premier trotter, dominating races between 1864 and 1867. His fastest time was 2:17 1/2, recorded in Buffalo on August 14, 1867. Following this record, he was purchased by Robert Bonner for $35,000. His versatility made him very desired, as Dexter could trot under saddle, in harness, and hitched to a wagon. Dexter’s main rival was Ethan Allen, and on June 21, 1867 on Long Island he raced Ethan Allen and his mate, Charlotte, F. Dexter lost the race but his performance was still considered impressive since he raced the pair alone. Dexter died in 1888 at thirty years old and was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame as an “Immortal” in 1956,
Ethan Allen was foaled on June 18, 1849 by Joel W.Holcomb of Ticonderoga, NY. He was sired by Vermont Black Hawk, a distant descendant of the thoroughbred Messenger, and birthed by Poll. On the Holcomb farm, he was treated as a family pet, admiration that continued through his public career. Orville S. Roe of Shoreham, Vermont, bought half an interest in the colt, so during his earlier years, he was owned jointly by Holcomb and Roe. That was the beginning of his many owners. In 1862 he was sold to Frank Baker, who, after a time, sold him to Dan Mace and I. D. Walton. In 1866 he was purchased by J. E. Maynard of Boston, who sold him to Eph. Simmons, but afterwards bought him back, and again sold him, November 5th, 1868, to Wesley P. Balch of Boston, who in turn sold him to Col. H. S. Russell of Milton, Massachusetts. Ethan Allen was known for being the most handsome trotter in the races and had one of the longest racing careers, spanning 18 seasons. In 1853 he set the 4-year-old record of 2:36. In 1858 he reduced the stallion record to 2:28 for the mile. The great achievement of his life occurred on June 21, 1867, when, at age eighteen, and hitched with a running mate, he defeated Dexter, at the Fashion Course in Long Island in 2:15, 2:16 and 2:19. He won a total of 33 races, 22 in a single harness. His titles included Champion Trotting Stallion of the World, Champion of the World at Four Years of Age, and Champion of the World to Pole, with a best time of 2:25 ½. Ethan Allen was highly popular at stud, with his fees reaching $500. He produced six under 2:30 trotters. Ethan Allen died at Sprague and Akers Farm, owned by Colonel Amasa in Lawrence Kansas on September 10, 1876 at age 27 and was buried at the entrance of the trotting course in Kansas, with a monument to commemorate his career. Later, his skeleton was exhumed and displayed at the Museum of Natural History in Lawrence. He was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1999 as an “Immortal.” The popular trotting horse weather vane was based upon his silhouette.
Charlotte F., Ethan Allen’s running mate, was the thoroughbred progeny of Scythian and Sally Polk.
Haskell and Allen’s most memorable productions were their horse prints. A Boston based lithograph publisher, the firm seems to have issued more large folio images than small. Haskell began as a print seller with Haskell and Ripley (1868) but a year later in 1869 he began a partnership with George Allen. In 1873 they moved to 61 Hanover St in Boston where they did well until they went bankrupt in 1878.
Color print of a road in front of a large roadside house filled with horse-drawn carriages. Two of the drivers and teams are identified as Robert Bonner with Goldsmith Maid and William Vanderbilt with Mountain Boy
Description
A color print of a wide lane filled with five horses harnessed to open buggies and sulkies. Some drivers are in elegant sport attire, one is in uniform. Two of the teams are identified as Robert Bonner with Dexter and Goldsmith Maid and William Vanderbilt with Mountain Boy. A young lady wears a red jacket and blue plumed hat. Large roadside house with gingerbread along roof and striped awning at right. White fence borders track and encloses park. Stone bridge spans ravine to the left.
Dexter was foaled in Walden, Orange County, New York in 1858 by Jonathan Hawkins. His sire was Hambletonian and his dam was Clara. Dexter had four white stockings, which was traditionally considered unlucky in a racing horse, but it was superstition he proved to be worthless. In 1862 he was sold for $400 to George B. Alley, who broke him into racing. In 1863 he was sent to Hiram Woodruff and showed 2:42 pulling a wagon. George Trussel paid $14,000 for him in 1866 and placed him in the hands of Budd Doble. Dexter followed Flora Temple as the world’s premier trotter, dominating races between 1864 and 1867. His fastest time was 2:17 1/2, recorded in Buffalo on August 14, 1867. Following this record, he was purchased by Robert Bonner for $35,000. His versatility made him very desired, as Dexter could trot under saddle, in harness, and hitched to a wagon. Dexter’s main rival was Ethan Allen, and on June 21, 1867 on Long Island he raced Ethan Allen and his mate, Charlotte, F. Dexter lost the race but his performance was still considered impressive since he raced the pair alone. Dexter died in 1888 at thirty years old and was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame as an “Immortal” in 1956,
Goldsmith Maid was a Standardbred mare foaled in 1857 in Deckertown, NJ to John B. Decker. She was a descendant of Abdallah on both sides from Old Ab and Alexander’s Abdallah, and inbred on her sire’s side. Maid was lively and refused to be harnessed for the first seven years of her life, but one of Decker’s employees secretly road Maid in racing competitions where she began to gain a good reputation. She was eventually sold to William Tompkins, a harness racer, for $400 dollars but quickly sold for the third time, to Alden Goldsmith, in 1865 because she was becoming dangerous to the drivers. Maid began her formal yet unconventional training at age eight, when trainer William Bodine allowed her to set her own pace. The training worked because in 1865 she won her first trotting race with a time of 2:26 and another in 1868 with a time of 2:21 ½, when she was sold again for $20,000 to Budd Doble. She held the position of top trotting horse, a new “Queen of the Turf” in American for eight years of her thirteen year career. By 1870 she had become so popular she traveled to special matches in her own railroad car. She even shaved three seconds off the record mile time of 2:17 at age 17, not to be beaten until 1878 by a much younger horse, Rarus. By the time of her death in 1885 in Trenton, NJ, Goldsmith Maid had won 92 of 121 races and earned a total of $364,200. A period of national mourning took place after she suddenly passed away. She was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame as an “Immortal” in 1953.
Mountain Boy was bred in 1860 in Orange County, NY from Major Winfield and a mare by Gridleys Roebuck. He was owned by Commodore Vanderbilt and achieved a best time of 2:21 for the mile. He was said to lack wind, and not to be good for a long heat, but is admitted to have the best trotting movement ever witnessed on the Long Island racecourse.
Thomas Kelly, of New York City, was one of the more successful publishers of the period, creating archetypal and idyllic views of all areas of life in America. Kelly's work is distinctive for strong coloring and vivid, forthright compositions.