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- Title
- [Civil War drawings and cartes de visite reproductions of drawings by Henry Louis Stephens]
- Description
- Series of caricatures predominately satirizing the effects of the presidential policies of Abraham Lincoln on his re-election and the candidacy of Democratic nominee and former Commander of the U.S. Army, George McClellan, in the presidential election of 1864. Lincoln caricatures depict racist scenes and themes of election loss and show the president as a comic stage performer; a feeding open-mouthed tool of the abolitionists; as a defeated Robin Hood with his "Band of Brothers," (i.e. cabinet members Edwin Stanton, William Seward, and Gideon Welles); as weighed down by the "Old Keystone", a visual metaphor for the large number of Pennsylvania soldiers lost in the war; as a buffoon tripped up by his large boots of "military necessity"; as patronizing a miniature McClellan propped up on the "Chicago Platform"; as McClellan's puppeteer; and as "loved little and long" for his emancipation of the enslaved. McClellan caricatures primarily use the themes of McClellan, known as "The Young Napoleon," as a "MacNapoleon" and his contradictory personal and party platforms in relation to the war. Caricatures show "MacNapoleon" searching for the White House, childishly whining about his quest for the White house, and singing a "doleful ditty" about himself. Platform caricatures show McClellan as a squeeze doll who speaks two words - war and peace, and in a "Quandary" to choose between a ballerina representing war and another representing peace. Collection also contains caricatures of Edward Stanton making a "Soliloquy" as an allusion to a Republican loss in the presidential election; of Peace Democrat Clement Vallandigham satirizing his sentence of banishment to the South for anti-war sentiments as well as a racist caricature of the "The American Eagle.1864. A likely young bird" showing an eagle with the head of an African American resting on the American shield marked "E. Pluribus. U-No-Um.", Title supplied by cataloger., Date from copyright., Created postfreeze., Originally part of McAllister scrapbooks of materials related to Abraham Lincoln and of humorous caricatures and photographs. McAlister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Creator
- Stephens, H. L. (Henry Louis), 1824-1882
- Date
- 1864
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Henry Louis Stephens Collection [(11)1540.F.20a; 5780.F.52m; 5792.F.4d&e; 97a-c &f; 98a,b,d, e-i; 99a-h; P.2282.50; P.8686.1-2; P.2005.2.12a-e; P.2006.1.25a&b]
- Title
- [ African American boy playing soldier]
- Description
- Reproduction of a Thomas Nast drawing showing an African American boy, portrayed as a racist caricature and attired in a striped, collared shirt, torn and worn pants, and boots. He holds a broom like a rifle and marches near a pile of hay., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from Thomas Nast drawing., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of humorous caricatures and photographs. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Created postfreeze., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1863]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv - miscellaneous - Civil War - Caricatures & cartoons [5780.F.51c]
- Title
- Dan Bryant
- Description
- Full-length portrait of the popular New York minstrel performer and manager in Blackface and costumed as a disheveled 18th-century gentleman. Bryant stands posed with his right hand on his hip and his left hand holding a sword to the ground while looking up to the left. Known for his versatility as a comedian, actor, dancer, and musician, Bryant was most famous for his rendition of the dance, "Essence of Old Virginny," and for popularizing the songs "Dixie," "Turkey in the Straw," and "Shoo Fly." He performed in Philadelphia in September 1856. "Blackface minstrelsy is a popular entertainment form, originating in the United States in the mid-19th century and remaining in American life through the 20th century. The form is based around stereotypical and racist portrayals of African Americans, including mocking dialect, parodic lyrics, and the application of Black face paint; all designed to portray African Americans as othered subjects of humor and disrespect. Blackface was a dominant form for theatrical and musical performances for decades, both on stage and in private homes.", Title from manuscript note on mount., Date based on presented age of the sitter., Description of Blackface minstrelsy from Dorothy Berry, Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of portraits. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1865]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department portrait cdvs - sitter - Bryant [(1)5750.F.60f]
- Title
- Abolition Hall The evening before the conflagraton at the time more than 50,000 persons were glorifying in its destruction at Philadelphia May - 1838
- Description
- Photographic reproduction of a racist anti-abolition cartoon depicting a busy street scene with the hall being used as an interracial brothel by the second Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women on May 16, 1838. The convention, held during the week of interracial ceremonies and services celebrating the opening of the building, fulminated the racist fears of the local citizens, and on May 17th, a mob set the hall aflame, razing the building. Depicts well-dressed interracial couples, including a pair of children, strolling, kissing, and cavorting in the street and near the windows of the building. Among the couples, a Black man frolics upon a broadside referring to abolitionist David Paul Brown, a Philadelphia lawyer who spoke on May 14th, the day of dedication of the hall., Title from item., Date inferred from photographic medium and content., Illustrated in Jean Fagan Yellin and John C. Van Horne, eds. The Abolitionist sisterhood (Ithaca: Cornell University Press in cooperation with The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1994), p. 228., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., McAllister Collection, gift, 1884., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Date
- [ca. 1850]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - Theaters & Halls - Pennsylvania Hall [(6)1332.F.113b]
- Title
- Negroes and religion. Disciplina et regula ordinis flagellantium [Discipline of the order of flagellants] The Episcopal Church at the South. To the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America
- Description
- Copy photograph of an abolitionist satire containing a montage of scenes mocking the pro-slavery dioceses from the seceded Southern states absent from the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in New York in 1862. Probably related to an earlier pamphlet of the same title satirically "promoting" the policy that the church's African American communicants be treated as the South treats the enslaved people. A devilish figure with wings inscribed with the names of Confederate states, holding a "Testimonial" scroll under his arm, thumbs his nose and unlocks the door of the "House of Bishops" at the "General Convention." Figures pray at an altar near an animated preacher while stating, "We welcome our friends." A white man whips a bare-chested and bare-footed African American enslaved man, who kneels with his hands bound to a post. Two white women watch the events from the side of their dilapidated wooden house. During the Civil War, the Southern dioceses became the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America., Title from item., Date inferred from content., See related pamphlet Negroes and religion: The church at the South. Memorial to the general convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. (United States : s.n., 1856?). (LCP Am 1856 Neg 18399.O.9)., Originally part of a McAllister Civil War scrapbook of humorous prints and photographs. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886 [5780.F.52h]. Purchase 1999 [P.9758.3]., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1862?]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv - misc. - Civil War - Caricatures and cartoons [5780.F.52h; P.9758.3]
- Title
- [Caricature of capture of Jefferson Davis May 10, 1865]
- Description
- Carte-de-visite caricature satirizing the unusual circumstances of the capture of the Confederate president, detained by Union cavalry troops on May 10, 1865, while wearing his wife's overcoat and shawl as a disguise. Depicts Davis being inspected by Union soldiers as he emerges from a tent, holding a basket, while attired in a hood and skirt. His wife, Varina Davis, stands next to him. An African American enslaved servant depicted with oversize and exagerrated features peers from behind the tent flap. Bottles and a case marked "Silver Spoons, C.S.A." (an allusion to Jefferson's safeguarding of the remaining Confederate treasury) lay on the ground in front of the tent. Also shows a saddle hanging in a tree to the right of the tent., Title supplied by cataloguer., Publication information from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865 by Francis Hacker, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Rhode Island., See photo - Hacker [5795.F.15a]., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Hacker, Francis
- Date
- 1865
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv - miscellaneous - Civil War - Caricatures & cartoons - [P.2016.63]
- Title
- Happy contraband
- Description
- Photographic reproduction of a caricature depicting a half-length, cameo portrait of an African American man playing a fife. Shows the man, posed to the right, looking up with his eyes, and holding up with both his hands, a fife to his pursed lips. He leans slightly forward, is portrayed with a furrowed brow, and is attired in a wide-brimmed hat adorned with a ribbon, white shirt with long sleeves, and a dark-colored vest. While commander of Fort Monroe, Virginia, General Benjamin Butler declared freedom seekers as "contraband of war," providing the impetus for Congress to enact the Confiscation Act of 1861. During the war, several visual materials, often satires, depicting Black persons as "contraband" were published., Title from manuscript note on verso., Date inferred from active dates of publisher., RVCDC, Philadelphia Photographic Company operated from 730 Chestnut Street circa 1864-1865 before relocating to 24 N. 8th Street. Active until about circa 1869, the firm, per advertisements, issued a catalog, sold "specialties" for albums, including "from original drawings by artists of high quality," and published "[Thomas H.] Johnson's Photographic Views of the Whole Oil Regions," as well as sold election campaign cards and badges.
- Creator
- Philadelphia Photographic Company
- Date
- [ca. 1865]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv - non-portrait -Philadelphia Photographic Company - Happy [P.2022.50]