Thomas Nast Emancipation Proclamation illustration print, circa 1865
Permanent ID:
996Call number:
Bc 95 N269Language:
EnglishDate:
1865Image Description:
Lithograph of illustration by Thomas Nast commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863. This image appeared as an illustration in the January 24, 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly as a celebration of President Abraham Lincoln's decree emancipating slaves during the Civil War. At the top of the illustration, the female figure Columbia, an early symbol of the United States, cheers emancipation and a portrait of President Lincoln is inset below. Nast depicts the horrors of slavery on the left-hand side, which feature scenes from a slave auction and whip-weilding plantation master. In contrast, the scenes of the right-hand side show free blacks attending school and gathering with family, as well as suggest harmony between blacks and whites.This image is part of a larger collection, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Large Graphics Collection, that contains engravings, lithographs, blueprints, architectural drawings, sketches, and watercolors. The images, which include posters, advertisements, landscapes, historical scenes, still-lifes, and portraits, had both decorative and commercial purposes. Among the artists represented in this collection are John Sartain, Henry Inman, Albert Newsam, Frank Taylor, Joseph Pennell, and Peter Rothermel. Architects include Frank Furness, William Strickland, and George B. Roberts.
Inscription:
King & Baird Printers, Printers, 607 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. (Recto, bottom left corner)From H.W. Smith 5.15.1865.
Format:
Lithographs; Political cartoonsPublisher:
Collection:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania large graphics collectionRelated People or Organizations:
Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902 (artist)King & Baird Printers (printer)
Borden, Sara (Transcribed by)
Borden, Sara (Encoded by)
King & Baird Printers (publisher)
Historical Society of Pennsylvania (repository)
Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865 (depicted)