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Title: "No higher law."
Description: Antislavery print denouncing the immorality of the Fugitive Slave Law by exploiting abolitionist Senator William H. Seward's famous quote that "a higher law" than the Constitution should exist regarding slavery. Shows "King Slavery," depicted as a bearded, bare-chested, white man, attired in a crown made of finger bones and armed with pistols in his waistband. The King sits and leans upon the arm of his throne composed of the "Fugitive Slave Bill," the Bible, and human skulls as he defiantly holds a whip of chains above his head. An American flag on a pole billows behind the throne. Below the throne, Seward, depicted as a priest, looks up and raises his left hand toward the King. He stands before a cat-faced altar inscribed "Sacred to Slavery," which rests upon a book of "Law" and pours oil from a container onto the altar fire, generating clouds of smoke. In the right, three enslaved men squat with their heads bowed. Senator Daniel Webster gestures toward them and holds a paper supporting the Fugitive Slave Bill "to the fullest extent." Near them, "Freedom," depicted as a bearded, white man and attired in a robe, displays his sense of defeat by removing his crown and lowering his liberty pole. In the left, an African American man freedom seeker fends off dogs attacking him. An African American woman freedom seeker and two children flee from two white men mercenaries on horseback and run toward a white woman with outstretched arms in front of a house. In the right background, the figure of Liberty falls from her pedestal., Title from item., Place of publication inferred from the residence of the distributor., Weitenkampf suggests date of publication as 1851., Text printed on recto: Price $3 A Hundred And Six Cents Single Copy., William Harned was an abolitionist printer in New York who also published the pamphlet, "The Fugitive Slave Bill:...." in 1850. (LCP Am 1850 Fug 16809.D.1)., A.B. Maurice and F.T. Cooper's The History of the 19th century in caricature (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1904), p. 156., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2000, p. 40-2., Purchase 1999., 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: [1851]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1851 - 2W [P.9739]

Title: Scrapbook with periodical illustrations, comic valentines, and patent medicine advertisements
Description: Eccentrically-arranged scrapbook predominantly containing newspaper clippings, patent medicine almanac advertisements, and comic valentines. Also contains scraps, trade cards, and labels. Clippings, many published in the sensational periodicals “National Police Gazette” and “Days' Doings” primarily depict illustrations of murders and violence, crimes and punishments, human curiosities, animal attacks, human peril, women in distress, evocative theatrical performances, acts of daring, cross dressing and comic scenes in silhouette.

Title: [Joseph Hoover trade cards]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards for Joseph Hoover's pictures and frames business at 628 Arch Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a business card for Hoover tucked into a pink roses and a boy crying and watching another boy pull on the legs of a dog that is attacking another animal. Joseph Hoover, a Swiss-German chromolithographer, operated his chromolithography, engraving, and picture frame business from 628 Arch Street in Philadelphia between 1880 and ca. 1888., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [P.9651.13] copyrighted 1888 by J. Hoover., Advertising text printed on versos promotes Joseph Hoover's products as holiday presents, including paintings, engravings, plain and colored photographs, velvet, ebony and gold photograph frames, and oleographs. Also promotes a moving sale (c1888) with reduced prices on these items., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date: [ca. 1888]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Hoover [1975.F.412 & P.9651.13]

Title: ASSU Illustration 5969
Description: Block numbered in two places: 5969, block also numbered 175 in two places, now defaced., Image of an elephant carrying a small child in its trunk, in a natural setting. An adult human is chasing the elephant, and the child is reaching back towards the adult figure., Signed in reverse: Vaningen-Snyder [i.e. Van Ingen & Snyder], “N.J. Wemmer. 5 Pear St. Phila.” -- Back of block. Nelson J. Wemmer is listed (as an artist) at this address in Philadelphia city directories from 1848 to 1856., Illustration appears in Child's world v. 10 no. 12 p. 3.
Date: [between 1848 and 1856?]
Location: ASSU Woodblocks -- Box 11

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