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- Title
- African Americana Civil War envelope collection
- Description
- Propaganda envelopes published by various publishers predominately utilizing racist caricatures and satires of African Americans in relation to Jefferson Davis, slavery, and secession to promote Union support of the Civil War. Satires utilize themes of inversion of social roles, retribution, and Northern superiority. Includes envelopes with same graphic and variant text or title; sexually explicit illustrations; images originally published in different media such as cartoons; and one Southern imprint promoting a united Confederacy as the safeguard of slavery. Some caricatures portray African Americans with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular., Includes images of enslaved people seeking freedom, as living "contraband of war," celebrating, or depicted as the shyster character Jim Crow; depictions of the "peculiar institution" of slavery showing a white enslaver in bed with an enslaved African American woman, her breast visible, and who is breastfeeding a white baby; secession equated to African American freedom seekers, economic destruction of the South, and the moral corruption of people emancipated from enslavement; Jefferson Davis caricatured as a traitor in execution and imprisonment scenes overseen by enslaved people; and views of enslaved people working on plantations with text declaring the end of "King Cotton." During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some copyrighted by Magee and Harbach & Brother., Various publishers including: Philadelphia publishers John Magee, S.C. Upham, Harbarch & Bro., and King & Baird; New York publisher Charles Magnus; and Charleston, S.C. publisher G.W. Falen. Other publishers located in New York, Buffalo, Hartford, Cincinnati, and Lancaster, Pa., See Steven Berry's "When mail was armor: envelopes of the Great Rebellion," Southern culture (Fall 1998)., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War envelopes., 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
- 1861-1865
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War envelopes - African Americana [various]
- Title
- African Americana Civil War envelope collection
- Description
- Propaganda envelopes published by various publishers predominately utilizing racist caricatures and satires of African Americans in relation to Jefferson Davis, slavery, and secession to promote Union support of the Civil War. Satires utilize themes of inversion of social roles, retribution, and Northern superiority. Includes envelopes with same graphic and variant text or title; sexually explicit illustrations; images originally published in different media such as cartoons; and one Southern imprint promoting a united Confederacy as the safeguard of slavery. Some caricatures portray African Americans with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular., Includes images of enslaved people seeking freedom, as living "contraband of war," celebrating, or depicted as the shyster character Jim Crow; depictions of the "peculiar institution" of slavery showing a white enslaver in bed with an enslaved African American woman, her breast visible, and who is breastfeeding a white baby; secession equated to African American freedom seekers, economic destruction of the South, and the moral corruption of people emancipated from enslavement; Jefferson Davis caricatured as a traitor in execution and imprisonment scenes overseen by enslaved people; and views of enslaved people working on plantations with text declaring the end of "King Cotton." During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some copyrighted by Magee and Harbach & Brother., Various publishers including: Philadelphia publishers John Magee, S.C. Upham, Harbarch & Bro., and King & Baird; New York publisher Charles Magnus; and Charleston, S.C. publisher G.W. Falen. Other publishers located in New York, Buffalo, Hartford, Cincinnati, and Lancaster, Pa., See Steven Berry's "When mail was armor: envelopes of the Great Rebellion," Southern culture (Fall 1998)., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War envelopes., 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
- 1861-1865
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War envelopes - African Americana [various]
- Title
- African Americana Civil War envelope collection
- Description
- Propaganda envelopes published by various publishers predominately utilizing racist caricatures and satires of African Americans in relation to Jefferson Davis, slavery, and secession to promote Union support of the Civil War. Satires utilize themes of inversion of social roles, retribution, and Northern superiority. Includes envelopes with same graphic and variant text or title; sexually explicit illustrations; images originally published in different media such as cartoons; and one Southern imprint promoting a united Confederacy as the safeguard of slavery. Some caricatures portray African Americans with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular., Includes images of enslaved people seeking freedom, as living "contraband of war," celebrating, or depicted as the shyster character Jim Crow; depictions of the "peculiar institution" of slavery showing a white enslaver in bed with an enslaved African American woman, her breast visible, and who is breastfeeding a white baby; secession equated to African American freedom seekers, economic destruction of the South, and the moral corruption of people emancipated from enslavement; Jefferson Davis caricatured as a traitor in execution and imprisonment scenes overseen by enslaved people; and views of enslaved people working on plantations with text declaring the end of "King Cotton." During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some copyrighted by Magee and Harbach & Brother., Various publishers including: Philadelphia publishers John Magee, S.C. Upham, Harbarch & Bro., and King & Baird; New York publisher Charles Magnus; and Charleston, S.C. publisher G.W. Falen. Other publishers located in New York, Buffalo, Hartford, Cincinnati, and Lancaster, Pa., See Steven Berry's "When mail was armor: envelopes of the Great Rebellion," Southern culture (Fall 1998)., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War envelopes., 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
- 1861-1865
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War envelopes - African Americana [various]
- Title
- Cartes de visite reproductions of Civil War era sketches by H.C. Bispham
- Description
- Collection of fifteen cartes de visite of sentimental, satiric, and racist Civil War era scenes, predominately depicting white men soldiers, by Philadelphia artist Henry Collins Bispham. Includes scenes of soldiers flushing out a sharpshooter, engaged in battle, wielding a knife, being thwarted from stealing a chicken and honey, dozing on watch, and confronted on horseback by a growling dog, as well as contrasting views of a Union and Confederate amputee soldier returning home. Racist caricatures show an ape walking with a cane, Lincoln spoon feeding a white man soldier the "Black Draft," and a downtrodden Southern white woman on the defense with an enslaved African American man on crutches and an African American boy. Other images show Abraham Lincoln as a dog confronting opossum Jefferson Davis on a tree and an itinerant white man musician with a monkey and dog. One scene includes a zouave., Two of the images signed by artist., Thirteen of the images attributed to Bispham., Created postfreeze., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of humorous caricatures and photographs. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., 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. 1863]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv - miscellaneous - Civil War - Caricatures & cartoons - Bispham [5780.F.51 a, d, & h; 52a, l, p & q, u & v; 53 a,c, l&m, o&p]
- Title
- Life in Philadelphia. General order!!! Tention!! de whole city ob Philadelphia!! Philadelphia, Uly 14th 1825, 6 month and little more beside
- Description
- Racist caricature about free African Americans' summer celebratory processions commemorating the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade by the United States, an act that took effect in 1808. Shows a Philadelphia street scene with an African American peddler and an African American shoe shiner. In the left, the peddler, attired in a wide-brimmed hat, waist coat with tails, and pantaloons carries a basket and exclaims, "Philadelphia Uly 14, 1825 & little arter." The shoe shiner, attired in a waistcoat and pants, holds a rack of boots and responds "That is de day ob de grand Celebrahsun." The men stand in profile. Also shows, in the background, two African American boys, attired in jackets and pants, facing the viewer, and one with his hands playfully raised in the air. Also contains several lines of text in vernacular and dialect addressed to "Peter Mink, de Chief Marshal ob de day, he Majesty de President” and “Per order Pompey Peterl, President and Snappo Gripes, Secretary" printed below the image. Text explicates the appropriate attire and manners expected during the celebratory procession, including "two sleebes to dare coat"; "trousaloon be all ob light complexion"; and "de Soulger dat know he duty always hold upun head like Lamb Tail an look savage like Meat Ax." Also details the punishment for "neglec to discomply," including "whip to death"; "fine of 40 shillings"; and placement in "de House of Destruction for Ninety nine years." Figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains two bubbles of dialogue in the vernacular within image: “Philadelphia_ Uly 14 1825_ & little arter”/”That is de day of de grand Celebrashun”, Lib. Company. Annual report, 2003, p. 40-42., See Reilly 1825-1 for variant published in Boston., Added to African Americana Digital Collection 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Date
- [ca. 1835]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) - publisher - Isaacs, W.H. [P.2004.4]
- Title
- The Hunters three and O.N.T
- Description
- Circular promoting Clark Thread Company and depicting racist caricatures of African, Asian, and indigenous men. Volume also contains several lines of narrative, promotional text written as a children’s story. The front cover is a color illustration of three white "merry gentlemen" in Cololonial attire and riding on horseback as "they hunt and hunt." The men are attired in tri-corn hats; red jackets; white breeches with riding boots; and white wigs. They ride on a road towards the viewer. The figures are bordered with pictorial details of the Clark’s O.N.T trademark. The rider in the middle raised his hat with his hand. Image is reproduced in black and white on p. [2]. P. [3] shows the horsemen observe three white children standing before them whom they believe "...must be princes. They sew their clothes with O.N.T." P. [4] show the "gentlemen" observe from a distance three African Zulu men. The men drive a lion into a net made of O.N.T. thread. One man is nude except for a feather on his head and bangs a large drum labeled "Clark's O.N.T. spool thread." Another man is attired in a skirt made of palm leaves and carries a shield and arrows. A third man carries arrows and wears a feather on his head. P [5] shows the "hunters" "spy" "three happy Hottentots" who roll down a hill on large spools of Clark's thread in a "chariot race." The three African men have their hair in buns atop their heads and are attired in white shorts and hoop earrings. One man is also attired in a shell necklace, and two men hold spears. P. [6] shows the three men find a Chinese man flying a kite strung with O.N.T. thread thread and to which a Chinese boy is attached. He is seated on a rug with his back to the viewer. To his right is a pipe. His hair is styled in a queue, and he is attired in a white shirt with a vest decorated in a print of dragons and slip-on, cloth shoes., P. [7] shows the white men finding an Inuit man on a sled made from a Clark's spool and pulled over the ice by a team of dogs. The sled driver is attired in a hooded parka and boots. P. [8] the three riders encounter a Native American man reigning in a buffalo with O.N.T. thread. He is attired in knee-high boots; a patterned blanket draped around his chest; hoop earrings; and a feather headdress. P. [9] shows a view of the back of the three riders bordered by pictorial details of the Clark’s O.N.T trademark. The back cover is a color illustration of a white girl with long blonde hair attired in black boots; red stocking; a green dress; and a blue striped apron. She is seated on an oversize spool of O.N.T. thread and playing cat's cradle with a white boy. The boy is attired in a red fez; a green coat; blue stockings; and black boots. The George A. Clark & Brother Company, manufactory of embroidery and sewing thread, was founded in 1863 in Newark, N.J. The firm was renamed Clark & Co. in 1879, and in the 1880s created a six-cord, soft finished thread called "Our New Thread" or "O.N.T." The business merged with J. & P. Coats in 1896, which lead to a series of mergers with fourteen other companies. Into the 21st century, the company continues to manufacture thread under the name Coats & Clark., Title from item., Advertising text printed on verso of front cover: Use Clark's trade mark O.N.T. spool cotton on white spools! It is superior to all others for hand and machine use. Garments sewed with O.N.T. fast black will never show white on the seams after being worn or washed., Advertising text printed on verso of back cover: Use Marshall's linen thread on 200 yard spools. Guaranteed full length. Made from the bext flax, and Milward's Helix Needles in patent wrappers. For sale everywhere., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of advertised business., Distributor's name printed on p. [1]: George A. Cole, sole agent., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Clark [P.2017.95.31]
- Title
- Life in Philadelphia. Grand celebration ob de bobalition ob African slabery
- Description
- Racist caricature about free African Americans' celebratory response to the abolition of the African slave trade by the United States, an act passed in 1807 that took effect in 1808. Depicts a group of over fifteen well-dressed men sitting and standing and drinking, smoking, and making toasts around a large dinner table. A number of the men raise goblets and/or pipes in the air. Soup tureens are visible on the table. One man, standing, drinks from a rum bottle. In the far right, an attendee, in a wide-brimmed hat, carries away another who is unconscious, his tongue out, and holding a pipe. The men are attired in waistcoats with tails, pants and pantaloons, some striped, vests, and cravats. Some wear their hair in pompadour styles and one man has white hair. The biting toasts address "De Orator ob de day," William Wilberforce, a prominent British abolitionist; William Eustis, Governor of Massachusetts and the disgraced former Secretary of War under Madison; "De Sun" which should shine at night; Joseph Gales, a publisher and secretary of the American Colonization Society who believed that only states had the right to emancipate enslaved persons; "Ning Edwards;" "De Genius ob Merica;" the "White man" who wants to colonize blacks "now he got no furder use for him;" and "De day we Celembrate" and why it did not come sooner. Figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring. During the early 19th century, summer celebratory processions commemorating the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade occurred annually in major Northern cities like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains eight bubbles of dialogue in the vernacular within image: De Orator ob de day_When I jus hear him begin he discourse, tink he no great ting, but when he come to end ob um, I tink he like to scorch cat more better dan he took_Moosick_Possum up de Gum tree/Gubner Eustas Cleber old sole as eber wore nee buckle in de shoe_99 cheer and tree quarter/De Sun _Wonder why he no shine in de night putting nigger to dispense ob de candle./De day we Celumbrate! who he no come sooner? Guess de hard fros & de backward spring put um back. 29 pop gun v. 2 grin. White man _ mighty anxious to send nigger, to de place dey stole him from, now he got no furder use for him./De Genius de Merica _ He invent great many curious ting: wonder who just invent eating & drinking. 30 cheer & ober./Joe Gales _ He ax Massa Adams “if he be in health my brudder” and den he cut he guts out./Ning Edwards_ Guess he no great Angs no more nor udder people all he cut such a swell., P.2016.45.2 trimmed and lacking imprint., See LCP AR (Annual Report) 2003, p. 40-42., Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American Expressive Culture... (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 111. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., Digital image shown is P.9709.3., P.2016.45.1 gift of Dr. Richard Dunn & Dr. Mary Maples Dunn., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Harris, I., engraver
- Date
- [ca. 1833]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) - publisher - Isaacs, W.H. [P.9709.3 & P.2016.45.2]
- Title
- Life in Philadelphia. A crier extraordinary
- Description
- Racist caricature of an African American town crier performing his duties in front of a storefront on a busy Philadelphia street. The crier, attired in worn clothing and a yellow straw hat, holds up his bell in his right hand and the sheet of news down with the other. He calls out the upcoming events, including sales of merchandise, a "sarmont on Temperance," and a "Colored Ball at Mrs. Johnsons." His attire includes a blue jacket, striped shirt with patches, a red cravat, white pants with patches, and black shoes. Several spectators listen, including an African American belle, attired in a striped, hooded cape over a dress with floral details; an African American street boy, attired in a worn jacket, vest, and pants and holding a broken mug; a white boy peddler, attired in a smock and boots and with his wares on a tray over his shoulder; and a white shopkeeper holding a cloth work in his hands as his stands in his store's doorway. The peddler boy walks a dog that has torn the crier's copy of the news. Drapery hangs in the store’s display window. Black figures are depicted with oversize and exaggerated features. White figures are depicted with exaggerated features., Signed W.S. for William Summers in lower right corner., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains five lines of dialogue in the vernacular below the image: Sale dis nite_Frying Pans_Grid Irons_Book_Oyster Knives and odder kinds of Medicines_Joe Williams will hab some fresh oysters at his stablishment_by tickler design, Mr. Hewlet will gib Imitations ober again_two or tree damaged Discussion Locks, and Rebd. Mr. P.Q. will deliver a sarmont on Temperance, half past 6 o’Clock precise, dats not all! Widout Money or Price _ de great Bull Phillip will be station at Squire S__s & dats not all nudder! dare will be a perlite & Colored Ball at Mr. Johnsons jus arter dis is bin done”_, Charles Hunt was a respected 19th century London engraver and etcher known mostly for his prints of sporting subjects., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1968.
- Creator
- Summers, William, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1833]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) - publisher - Isaacs, W.H. [7689.F]
- Title
- The people putting responsibility to the test or the downfall of the kitchen cabinet and collar presses
- Description
- Cartoon predicting the dire consequences to follow President Jackson's withdrawal of federal funds from the Bank of the United States. Depicts a riot in which Supreme Court Justice John Marshall warns that "the day of retribution is at hand" as anti-bank fiscal advisors Reuben Whitney and Thomas Ellicott use a rope to pull down a statue of Justice, depicted as a white woman holding scales and stepping on a snake, from a pedestal labeled "Constitution." An angry mob of white men farmers, laborers, and tradesmen carry instruments including axes, pitchforks, and shovels and papers labeled, “Broken Bank.” They fight and demand the recharter of the bank, shouting "Send back the deposites! Recharter the Bank!" and "Come back old responsibility." In the right, Jackson escapes on the back of "Jack Downing" cursing Postmaster General Kendall, "By the Eternal Major Downing; I find Ive been a mere tool to that Damn'd Amos [Kendall] and his set, the sooner I cut stick the better." In the left background, under "Senate Chamber," Henry Clay gloats to Daniel Webster and John Calhoun, "Behold Senators the fulfilment of my predictions." In the left foreground, two African American men, portrayed in racist caricature and speaking in the vernacular, predict freedom and the ascension to the throne of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, "Hurrah! for Massa Garison, den he shall be King!" A Jewish banker, portrayed in caricature, undercuts a sailor offering him a ten dollar bank note, "Mine Got that ish one of the Pet Bankhs I'll give you one Dollar for the Ten." In the right foreground, newspapers supportive of Jackson, "collar presses," symbolized as dogs with human heads labeled "Evening Post, N. York Standard, Journal of Commerce, Albany Argus," run away chained together., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the Clerk's Office for the Southern District of New York by T.W. Whitley in the year 1834, and for sale at 104 Broadway., 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 the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Whitley was a mid-19th-century New York landscape and figure painter who also wrote about art and drama for the New York Herald.
- Creator
- Whitley, T. W. (Thomas W.), artist
- Date
- 1834
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1834-7 [1884.F.3]
- Title
- The great November contest. Patriotism vs bummerism
- Description
- Racist cartoon depicting the 1868 Presidential Election as a carriage race between the "patriotic" Democrats and the "bum" Republicans who support Reconstruction. Depicts the elegant Democratic carriage with the banner "This is a White Man's Government" pulled by the horses with the heads of Horatio Seymour and Francis P. Blair racing passed the stalled Republican wagon steered by the asses with the heads of nominees Ulysses Grant and Schuyler Colfax. In the Democrats' carriage are four allegorical figures: Liberty, depicted as a white woman holding the Constitution and a banner which reads "Our Glorious Union Distinct, like the Billows, One, Like the Sea' This is a White Man's Government!"; Navigation, depicted as a white woman holding a miniature ship; Agriculture, depicted as a white woman holding sheaves of wheat and a scythe; and Labor, represented by a bearded white man with a hammer and flywheel. The Republican wagon passengers include radical Thaddeus Stevens, the grim reaper, and an African American man and woman couple, portrayed in racist caricature and speaking in the vernacular. Massachusetts Republican representative Benjamin F. Butler tries to push the stalled wagon passed the bones of those who paid "The Price of Nigger Freedom" and the rocks of "Ruined Commerce," "Debt," and "Negro Supremacy.", In the background, a cheering crowd brandishing American flags near the U.S. Capitol await the winning Seymour and Blair while on the building's other side a group of African American men dance. In the left foreground, Henry Ward Beecher and Horace Greeley play a shellgame looking for Grant and an African American man and woman, attired in torn and worn clothes, discuss another man returning to his former enslaver. In the right foreground, an African American man sits behind a table labeled, "Pompey Smash, Salt River Line Ticket Agent" and sells tickets to "Salt River" (i.e., political disaster) to a white man with a bag labeled, "J.G.B. Boston Carpet Bagger." Behind them, two African American men and a drunken white man holding a bottle talk about the Republican wagon., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to an Act of Congress in the year 1868 by Bromley & Co. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the U.S. for the southern District of New York., Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., 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
- 1868
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Political Cartoons - 1868-15 [5760.F.125]
- Title
- Life in New York. "Shall I hab the honour of glanting...?"
- Description
- Racist and sexist caricature depicting two African American dandies attempting to attain a date with "Miss Dinah" who stands between them on a New York street. In the left, "Mr. Sancho", wearing tan pantaloons, a brown waistcoat, a high neck collar, and blue cravat, stands with his left foot pointed, and slightly bows. He holds his top hat in his left, ungloved hand and his removed glove in his right, gloved hand. He asks “Miss Dinah” to "squeze the brupt inbitation" and go to the Battery with him. "Miss Dinah," dressed in a pink gown with puffed sleeves and a lace collar, a wide-brimmed hat with pink and yellow ribbons, feathers, and a veil, as well as gloves, has her head turned to him and informs him that she has a "privyous gagement to Mr. Romio." She also holds a closed fan in her right hand. In the right, "Mr. Romio," dressed in a black top hat, striped, tan trousers, a blue waistcoat, a large pink tie, and with a monocle hanging from his neck, stands slightly bowed, and responds that as he has been standing there for three hours he hopes that she will not break her "gagemen" to him. The figures are portrayed with oversize features and their skin tone is depicted in brown hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: Shall I hab the honour of glanting you to the battery, this afternoon, Miss Dinah? Hope you’ll squeeze the brupt inbitation/O you allready squeezed, Mr. Sancho, only, I made a privyous gagement to Mr. Romio/hope you not going to break your gagemen, to me, I hab been standing here, for three hours., Anthony Imbert, a New York artist, was a pioneer of American lithography who was also known for his ability as a marine painter., Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American Expressive Culture... (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 95. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1971.
- Date
- [ca. 1830]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [7993.F.2]
- Title
- Life in New York. "Shall I hab the honour of glanting...?"
- Description
- Racist and sexist caricature depicting two African American dandies attempting to attain a date with "Miss Dinah" who stands between them on a New York street. In the left, "Mr. Sancho", wearing tan pantaloons, a brown waistcoat, a high neck collar, and blue cravat, stands with his left foot pointed, and slightly bows. He holds his top hat in his left, ungloved hand and his removed glove in his right, gloved hand. He asks “Miss Dinah” to "squeze the brupt inbitation" and go to the Battery with him. "Miss Dinah," dressed in a pink gown with puffed sleeves and a lace collar, a wide-brimmed hat with pink and yellow ribbons, feathers, and a veil, as well as gloves, has her head turned to him and informs him that she has a "privyous gagement to Mr. Romio." She also holds a closed fan in her right hand. In the right, "Mr. Romio," dressed in a black top hat, striped, tan trousers, a blue waistcoat, a large pink tie, and with a monocle hanging from his neck, stands slightly bowed, and responds that as he has been standing there for three hours he hopes that she will not break her "gagemen" to him. The figures are portrayed with oversize features and their skin tone is depicted in brown hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: Shall I hab the honour of glanting you to the battery, this afternoon, Miss Dinah? Hope you’ll squeeze the brupt inbitation/O you allready squeezed, Mr. Sancho, only, I made a privyous gagement to Mr. Romio/hope you not going to break your gagemen, to me, I hab been standing here, for three hours., Anthony Imbert, a New York artist, was a pioneer of American lithography who was also known for his ability as a marine painter., Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American Expressive Culture... (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 95. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1971.
- Date
- [ca. 1830]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [7993.F.2]
- Title
- Life in New York. The rivals
- Description
- Racist and sexist caricature depicting two African American dandies attempting to attain a date with "Miss Dinah" who stands between them on a New York street. In the left, "Mr. Sancho", wearing light blue pantaloons, a blue waistcoat, a high neck collar, and cravat, stands with his left foot pointed, and slightly bows, He holds his top hat in his left, ungloved hand and his removed glove in his right, gloved hand. He asks “Miss Dinah” to "squeze the brupt inbitation" and go to the Battery with him. "Miss Dinah," dressed in a yellow gown with puffed sleeves and a lace collar, a wide-brimmed hat with ribbons, feathers, and a veil, as well as gloves, has her head turned to him and informs him that she has a "privyous gagement to Mr. Romio." She also holds a closed fan in her right hand. In the right, "Mr. Romio," dressed in a black top hat, white trousers, a green waistcoat, a large blue tie, and with a monocle hanging from his neck, stands slightly bowed, and responds that as he has been standing there for three hours he hopes that she will not break her "gagemen" to him. The figures are portrayed with oversize features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: Shall I hab the honour of glanting you to the battery, this afternoon, Miss Dinah? Hope you’ll squeeze the brupt inbitation/O you allready squeezed, Mr. Sancho, only, I made a privyous gagement to Mr. Romio/hope you not going to break your gagemen, to me, I hab been standing here, for three hours., Charles Ingrey was a premier London lithographic printer of the 1830s., Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American Expressive Culture...(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 95. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1968.
- Date
- [ca. 1831]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (London Set) [7701.F]
- Title
- Life in New York. The rivals
- Description
- Racist and sexist caricature depicting two African American dandies attempting to attain a date with "Miss Dinah" who stands between them on a New York street. In the left, "Mr. Sancho", wearing light blue pantaloons, a blue waistcoat, a high neck collar, and cravat, stands with his left foot pointed, and slightly bows, He holds his top hat in his left, ungloved hand and his removed glove in his right, gloved hand. He asks “Miss Dinah” to "squeze the brupt inbitation" and go to the Battery with him. "Miss Dinah," dressed in a yellow gown with puffed sleeves and a lace collar, a wide-brimmed hat with ribbons, feathers, and a veil, as well as gloves, has her head turned to him and informs him that she has a "privyous gagement to Mr. Romio." She also holds a closed fan in her right hand. In the right, "Mr. Romio," dressed in a black top hat, white trousers, a green waistcoat, a large blue tie, and with a monocle hanging from his neck, stands slightly bowed, and responds that as he has been standing there for three hours he hopes that she will not break her "gagemen" to him. The figures are portrayed with oversize features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: Shall I hab the honour of glanting you to the battery, this afternoon, Miss Dinah? Hope you’ll squeeze the brupt inbitation/O you allready squeezed, Mr. Sancho, only, I made a privyous gagement to Mr. Romio/hope you not going to break your gagemen, to me, I hab been standing here, for three hours., Charles Ingrey was a premier London lithographic printer of the 1830s., Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American Expressive Culture...(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 95. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1968.
- Date
- [ca. 1831]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (London Set) [7701.F]
- Title
- [Series of Clarence E. Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes, cor. West & West 12th St. N.Y. racist 1880 calendar illustrations after the "Blackville" series]
- Description
- Series of twelve captioned illustrations from the Clarence Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes 1880 calendar portraying scenes after the racist “Blackville” series drawn by Sol Eytinge for “Harper’s Weekly” in the 1870s and depicting caricatures satirizing the social mores, customs, and daily lives of African Americans of all classes. The figures are portrayed with exaggerated features and mannerisms. The attire of the figures includes long-sleeved dresses, shirtwaists and skirts, smocks, shirt, pants, jackets, and caps, and hats. Some of the attire depicted, particularly for younger figures, is worn and/or tattered. Includes scenes from the Eytinge Blackville series within a series - “the twins” (March, May, September illustrations). Scenes are titled (sometimes with text in the vernacular) and depict “The First Ulster in Blackville” (January) of a winter scene showing African American children, attired in shirts, pants, or skirts and hats or bonnets, paused from a snowball fight as an African American man in a blue ulster (an overcoat with hood), holding a cane, and smoking walks between them; “Christmas Dinner Done!” (February) showing an older African American man, attired in an overcoat, pants, and hat, and African American boy, attired in a shirt, pants, and a hat with a scarf tied around his head and chin, in a field, and watching a rabbit run away from a trap held by the boy; “Love in Blackville. The Wooing of the Twins” (March) showing African American women twins, each being courted by an African American man within an open room that has a stove and mantle as their older African American parents “watch” from a doorway;, "April-Fools Day-An Aggravated Case (April) showing an older African American woman, with an upset expression, standing in front of a row of cabins and near a basket of cabbages on a town block, and holding a dead rat within a cabbage as she is watched by two snickering African American boys, the practical jokers, standing within the opening to an alley; "The Great Social Event at Blackville. The Wed"ding of the Twins" (May) showing two African American women twin brides and their grooms within a parlor, near a table of food, being married by a reverend in front of friends and family of all ages; "The Coaching Season in Blackville._ The Grand Start" (June) showing an African American driver pulling at the reins of an unruly four-mule team coach of which African American passengers of all ages sit in and on the cab as African American towns folk wave from a line of cabins in the background and an African American boy and dog run past the wheel of the vehicle; "The 'Fourth' in Blackville" (July) showing a fenced paddock in which an African American boy holds an American flag in one hand and a gun in the other by a group of African American children and a woman who run, cover their eyes, jump the fence, and shield each other under the sight of an African American man in the window of an adjacent cabin; “Hi Abe Come Under De Brellar! Does Your Want to Sunstruck Yerself! De Fremoniter’s Gone Up Moren a Foot!” (August) showing a group of African American children of different ages, under a torn umbrella held by the tallest child, a girl, and approaching a young African American boy, “Abe,” within a fenced yard with a pond and patches of greenery and across from a cabin in which an African American man and woman, stand and sit in the doorway;, “After Doing Paris and the Rest of Europe, The Bridal Party Return to Blackville" (September) showing “the twins” on promenade with their husbands and an African American women caregiver holding their two babies as they walk on a dirt path lined by African American townsfolks of all ages who stare and also include an older woman who laughs behind a tree; "Who Struck De Futest?” (October) showing an older African American man, seated outside a cabin, and holding up a switch to two African American boys, in worn clothing, standing within the yard, near a broken object, and across from an African American girl in the cabin doorway and three boys seated and looking over a fence lining the property in the background; The “Small Breeds” Thanksgiving-Return of the First-Born from College 'Bress His Heart! Don’t he look edgecated?' ”(November) showing a young African American man portrayed in disheveled attire and manner as though drunk entering the door to his family, including a grandmother figure and a child in a high chair, at dinner around a cloth-covered table; and “No Small Breed Per Yer Uncle Abe Dis Chris'mas! Ain’t He a Cherub?” (December) showing “Uncle Abe,” an African American man holding a large, plucked turkey (with head and feet) near his chest and on a table surrounded by older women and child-aged family members who stand near a chest of drawers, a stool, and two windows with curtains visible in the background. Exterior scenes also often include a dog or cat, or a cabin or cabins, the latter marked “Clarence Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes. Cor. West & West 12th St. N.Y.” in the background; as well as fencing, groves of trees, and dirt paths. Interior scenes often include a dining table, chairs, displays of food and household items, such as a candlestick and framed prints advertising Clarence Brooks & Co. April-Fools Day image includes a cobble-stone street., Clarence Brooks established his varnish business in 1859 as Brooks and Fitzgerald, later Clarence Brooks & Co. In the early 1880s the firm issued calendars illustrated with African American caricatures in genre scenes, often after Sol Eytinge Harper’s Weekly illustrations., Title supplied by cataloger., Publication information inferred from image content and similar material issued by Clarence Brooks & Co. during the early 1880s., Two of the series contains ornamented borders (P.2022.8.2 & 4)., All of the prints inscribed in pencil on the verso with the name of a month, some abbreviated, between January and December., Image for “The First Ulster in Blackville” (P.2022.8.1) originally published in Harpers Weekly, March 18, 1876., Image for “Love in Blackville. The Wooing of the Twins” (P.2022.8.3) originally published in Harpers Weekly, May 11, 1878., Image for The Great Social Event at Blackville. The Wedding of the Twins (P.2022.8.5) originally published in Harpers Weekly, July 13, 1878., Image for “The Coaching Season in Blackville._ The Grand Start” (P.2022.8.6) originally published in Harpers Weekly, September 28, 1878., Image for “The ‘Fourth’ in Blackville” (P.2022.8.7) originally published in Harpers Weekly, July 14, 1877., Image for “After Doing Paris and the Rest of Europe, The Bridal Party Return to Blackville” (P.2022.8.9) originally published in Harpers Weekly, October 26, 1878., Image for “Who Struck de Futest” (P.2022.8.10) originally published in Harpers Weekly, June 13, 1874., Image for “No Small Breed fer yer Uncle Abe….” (P.2022.8.12) originally published in Harpers Weekly, January 1, 1876., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC
- Date
- [1879]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *ephemera - calendars - C [P.2022.8.1-12]
- Title
- Handicap race presidential stakes 1844
- Description
- Satire of the presidential election of 1844 depicting the potential candidates; Whig Henry Clay, and Democrats Martin Van Buren, Lewis Cass, John Calhoun, Richard M. Johnson, and John Tyler on various mounts racing for the White House. Clay riding a racoon leads the pack claiming that no one can overtake him. Van Buren follows riding a fox and holding a weather vane labeled "N" (North) and "S" (South) with the slogans "Free Trade Texas" and "Abolition Oregon" attached. He acknowledges that Lewis Cass is closing in. Cass on his hound gloats that he has finally overtaken the "old fox." Calhoun, positioned fourth, rides a lion with an enslaved African American man and child, portrayed in racist caricature, on his shoulders and bemoans his extra weight. Johnson, on foot and holding a hook, follows Calhoun stating he will "hook on" to whomever gets in. Last is Tyler, who switched political parties, trying to ride the two mounts of the "Loco Foco" (radical Democrats) donkey and the "Whig" horse., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in year 1844 by J. Childs in the Clerk's Office in the District Court of the Southern District of N.Y., Gift of Mrs. Francis P. Garvan, 1977., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1977, p. 51-52., 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., Clay, born in Philadelphia, was a prominent caricaturist, engraver, and lithographer who created the "Life in Philadelphia" series which satirized middle-class African Americans of the late 1820s and early 1830s.
- Creator
- Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, artist
- Date
- 1844
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political cartoons - 1844-55W [8366.F.36]
- Title
- The great presidential race of 1856
- Description
- Cartoon ridiculing the Democratic and American (Know-Nothings) Party presidential candidates James Buchanan and Millard Fillmore by depicting them in a race to win the election of 1856. Depicts Buchanan having crashed his mount (i.e, running mate John C. Breckenridge depicted as a buck) into a rickety platform marked "Democratic Platform," Slavery," and "Cuba." An enslaved African American man, portrayed with racistly caricaturized features, and wearing shackles on his ankles and worn and torn clothes, shoes, and a hat, stands upon and ridicules the "Democratic Platform." Buchanan angrily replies, "You infernal Black Scoundrel, if it had not been for you and that cursed Slavery Plank that Scared and upset my Buck, I should have won this race certain." Following Buchanan is Fillmore using his running mate Andrew Jackson Donelson, depicted as a goose, as his mount. Fillmore, the American Party candidate, carries a "Know-Nothing" lamp and fears his loss will dissolve the Union. In the distance, the Republican candidate John C. Fremont pulls ahead to the cheers of many of the spectators. Brother Jonathan, (predecessor of Uncle Sam), stands on an observation or judging deck and carries a timer’s watch. Additional spectators include white men belittling Fillmore as "spineless" and a "goose," and a white boy holding a sign inscribed, "We Po'ked Em in 44; We Pierced Em in 52; and We'll 'Buck Em' in 56." He is being hoisted by two African American men, portrayed with racistly caricaturized features, upon the back of a gruff and annoyed-looking, bearded, white man asking him if he's a "Fre'mounter.", Title from item., Artist and publication information supplied by Reilly., Political cartoon Horse sassengers! A free lunch lithographed on recto. (political cartoons - 1858 Hor, P.2275.18b)., Accessioned 1979., 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 the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Magee was a New York cartoonist and lithographer who eventually established his own lithographic firm in Philadelphia in 1850.
- Creator
- Magee, John L., artist
- Date
- [1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1858 Hor (verso) [P.2275.18a]
- Title
- The Democratic platform
- Description
- Cartoon satirizing politicians' support of James Buchanan and the Democratic platform of 1856. Depicts Buchanan as "the platform" of his party prostrate across the backs of the kneeling antislavery advocate Senator Thomas Benton ("Old Bullion"), President Franklin Pierce ("Franklin the last"), and son of Martin Van Buren, John Van Buren ("Prince John"). An enslaved African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, sits atop Buchanan’s legs with his arms crossed. Sitting opposite him atop Buchanan’s chest is a white man enslaver, armed with a whip, knives, and a pistol, who declares, “I don’t care anything about the Supporters of the platform as long as the platform supports me and my Nigger.” Underneath Buchanan, Benton replies to Pierce's question of how he can be against his administration yet for "this platform" by stating that he supports Buchanan because his motto is "Men - not principles." (This is a reversal of the Democratic motto: "Principles, not men.") Simultaneously, Van Buren talks with his father "Martin the first," depicted as a fox in his "Kinderhook" burrow, about the changing policies of the great Democratic Party and the plunder to be had. Standing in the left, "Brother Jonathan" (predecessor of Uncle Sam) notes the unreliability of the "platform supporters.", Title from item., Date supplied by Weitenkampf., Purchase 1971., 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
- [1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1856-16W [7996.F]
- Title
- [Scrapbook with linen pages]
- Description
- Scrapbook containing scraps, cutouts, periodical illustrations, and trade cards. Contents depict sentimental, genre, and religious scenes; images of children, animals, mothers and mothering; fancy heads; patriotic, historical, and allegorical figures, including George and Martha Washington; advertisements for Philadelphia, Hartford (Conn.), and New York businesses, including promotions for druggists, patent medicines, and soap; imagery documenting the Centennial Exhibition 1876, including portraits of prominent figures; figures in European costumes; scenes of rural life and European scenery; and landscape views. Also includes a small number of views of factories and industrial buildings; a patent medicine advertisement including an African American man servant character opening a door (p. 76); a print depicting a stanza from Robert Burn’s “The Cotter’s Saturday Night” (p. 22); illustrations of Little Red Riding Hood; the periodical cartoon “A Parent’s Vengeance” (p. 53); "La Belle Chocolatiere from the original painting by Leotard now in the Dresden Gallery" (p. 57); a cutout from a women’s fashion plate (p. 77); H.M.S. Pinafore theatrical character illustrations printed by Ledger Job Printing Office (p. 64); and a calling card for Mary S. Bassett (back inside cover)., Businesses represented include B. T. Babbit (soap); Clark’s O.N.T. (thread); C. F. Rump (leather goods); Corning & Tappan (perfumes); Marburg Bros. (tobacco); Devlin & Co. (clothiers); Dundas, Dirk & Co. (pharmacists); [Hiram] Duryea’s Starch Works; Fairbanks scales (E. & T. Fairbanks & Co.); J. Milton Brewer (druggist); C. L. Hauthaway & Sons (shoe polish); Charles S. Higgins (German laundry soap); The New York Bazar (fancy goods, Phillip Isaacs, proprietor); Demorest’s Monthly Magazine (W. J. Demorest, publisher); Edwin C. Burt (shoes); E. P. & Wm. Kellogg; Samuel Gerry & Cos. (patent medicine); Alex. Boost (analytical chemist); Chas. F. Hurd & Co. (chinaware); E. P. & Wm. Kellogg (photographers & art dealers); and Willcox & Gibbs (sewing machines)., Title supplied by cataloger., Front cover stamped: Scrap Book, Various artists, engravers, and printers including F. Beard; Illman Bros.; Ledger Job Print; L. Prang & Co.; Major & Knapp; Thomas Moran; and Shober & Carqueville., Cutouts and calling card pasted to inside front and back covers., Edges of scrapbook leaves contains stitching in different colors, including yellow, green, blue, red, lilac, and purple., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., Housed in phase box., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Date
- [ca. 1876-ca. 1879]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums - Linen [P.2013.69.1]
- Title
- Worship of the North
- Description
- Graphic cartoon steeped in Confederate bitterness toward the "Republican" North depicting a scene of Northern idolatry of the African American. Worshippers near a mound of skulls surround a blood-stained altar upon which lies the shackled sacrificed body of American youth. The altar, with a bust of Lincoln dressed as a clown overhead, is constructed from Northern principles such as "Puritanism," "Free Love," and "Negro Worship." Behind the altar an African American man idol, barefoot and bare-chested and portrayed in racist caricature, sits upon the "Chicago Platform." Near the idol stands the statue of "St. Ossawattomi" (i.e., John Brown). The worshippers include General Scott, General Halleck and a loot-laden General Butler, as well as Secretary Edwin Stanton, John Fremont, a knife wielding Henry Ward Beecher, a torch carrying Charles Sumner, Horace Greeley with a censer, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, praying and kneeling atop a volume of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Printed in the top corners is "Ego.", Published in: Sketches from the Civil War in North America (London [i.e., Baltimore]: [the author], 1863-1864), pl. 1., Issued as plate 1 in Sketches from the Civil War in North America (London [i.e., Baltimore]: [the author], 1863-1864), a series of pro-Confederacy cartoons drawn and published by Baltimore cartoonist Adalbert John Volck under the pseudonym V. Blada. The "first issue" of 10 prints (numbered 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 15, 16, 21, 24), with imprint "London, 1863" were printed as etchings. The remaining 20 prints (numbered 4, 8, 9-11, 14, 17-20, 23, 25-27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 40, 45) headed "Second and third issues of V. Blada's war sketches" and dated "London, July 30, 1864" were printed as lithographs., Title and publication information from series at Brown University Library., Accessioned 1979., 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., Aldabert Volck (1828-1912), i.e., V. Blada, was a prominent Southern cartoonist from Baltimore who is best known for his 1863 work "Sketches from the Civil War," later republished circa 1886 by Porter & Coates in Philadelphia under the title "Confederate War Etchings."
- Creator
- Volck, Adalbert John, 1828-1912, artist
- Date
- [1863]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1863 - Wor [P.2275.6]
- Title
- Life in New York
- Description
- Collection of primarily racist social caricatures lampooning the etiquette and conventions of early 19th-century, middle-class New Yorkers, particularly the growing community of free African American persons. Eliciting the heightened racism in the antebellum North, the African American men, women, and children characters are depicted with exaggerated features, wearing boldly-patterned and colored clothes, and speaking in a vernacular to be portrayed and denigrated as illegitimate elite society. Caricatures also address “rules” of courtship, fashion, classism, and a dance lesson. Some caricatures also represent the sexism and ethnic divisions of the era., Influenced by the "Life in Philadelphia" series of 1828-1830, the series consists of at least eight prints published around 1830 by eminent New York lithographer Anthony Imbert. Although often attributed to Edward W. Clay, the different styles of the caricatures imply that the prints were executed by various artists employed by Imbert. The African American caricature, "A Five Points Exclusive," a lithograph published in the early 1830s by John Pendleton, an associate of Imbert, has been included as a part of the series., Serie title from items., Dates inferred from content and names of publishers., Original series contained at least eight prints., LCP holds four of the series. Three are first editions., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of Jacksonian America (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 93-95. (LCP Print Room Yz, A423.O), 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Date
- 1830-ca. 1834, bulk 1830
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set)
- Title
- Life in New York. My name is Antonio Ceasa de Wilson..."
- Description
- Racist and sexist caricature exploiting a documented assault case reported as a lampoon in the September 30, 1829 edition of the "Morning Courier and New York Enquirer" about two African American men in an altercation over the intentions and handkerchief of "Miss Minta." In front of the left side of a police station counter attended by seven white men, "Antonio Cesea de Wilson" is being held back by his coat lapel by a white older man. The older man, attired in a waist coat and pantaloons, has a slight frown. Wilson, portrayed with wide, round eyes and a plain expression, and attired in a cravat, shirt, waistcoat, vest, and pants, stands with his feet apart and his left arm outstretched and his hand in a fist as his other arm is pulled back. He explains to the police how he came to the tussle with "Massa Sambo." On the right side of the counter, "Massa Sambo," portrayed with a plain expression, and attired in a ruffled shirt, cravat, waistcoat, and stirrup pants, stands and gestures behind him to Miss Minta." She holds a closed fan up in one hand and a parasol to the ground with the other. She is portrayed with a plain expression and wears her hair in a top knot and is attired in a long-sleeved, double-skirted dress with a check pattern and lace details, stockings, and slip on shoes. She looks in the direction of “Massa Sambo.” He explains that he is the receiver of the handkerchief and her rightful suitor. He has not only received her "witching glance" but has given her several gifts, including a lock of hair. The men, congregated behind the station's counter, include the magistrate recording the testimonies. The men are attired in waistcoats, shirts, and cravats. Many of the men laugh and, in the right, one reads a paper near shelves of ledgers. The African American figures are portrayed with oversize features., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: My name is Antonio Ceasa de Wilson, I have been paying a visit to Miss Araminta Arabella Tomson in de oyster cellar where she live, Where Massa Sambo come in and say “You have no business here” so I look at Miss Minta and she say I have, and this gentleman and me have a tussle. The handkerchief is not his, but one Miss Minta made a present of to me.”/I can assure you “that Miss Araminta did give me the witching glance, which told me as plain as eye could speak that I was the more welcome visiter, and as to the handkerchief, it is Miss Minta’s, and I have better right to it than this other gentleman, as I have presented to her, a scissor, a timble, and a lock of my hair.”, Anthony Imbert, a New York artist, was a pioneer of American lithography who was also known for his ability as a marine painter., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Canova, Dominico, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1830]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [P.9704.1]
- Title
- Life in New York. My name is Antonio Ceasa de Wilson..."
- Description
- Racist and sexist caricature exploiting a documented assault case reported as a lampoon in the September 30, 1829 edition of the "Morning Courier and New York Enquirer" about two African American men in an altercation over the intentions and handkerchief of "Miss Minta." In front of the left side of a police station counter attended by seven white men, "Antonio Cesea de Wilson" is being held back by his coat lapel by a white older man. The older man, attired in a waist coat and pantaloons, has a slight frown. Wilson, portrayed with wide, round eyes and a plain expression, and attired in a cravat, shirt, waistcoat, vest, and pants, stands with his feet apart and his left arm outstretched and his hand in a fist as his other arm is pulled back. He explains to the police how he came to the tussle with "Massa Sambo." On the right side of the counter, "Massa Sambo," portrayed with a plain expression, and attired in a ruffled shirt, cravat, waistcoat, and stirrup pants, stands and gestures behind him to Miss Minta." She holds a closed fan up in one hand and a parasol to the ground with the other. She is portrayed with a plain expression and wears her hair in a top knot and is attired in a long-sleeved, double-skirted dress with a check pattern and lace details, stockings, and slip on shoes. She looks in the direction of “Massa Sambo.” He explains that he is the receiver of the handkerchief and her rightful suitor. He has not only received her "witching glance" but has given her several gifts, including a lock of hair. The men, congregated behind the station's counter, include the magistrate recording the testimonies. The men are attired in waistcoats, shirts, and cravats. Many of the men laugh and, in the right, one reads a paper near shelves of ledgers. The African American figures are portrayed with oversize features., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: My name is Antonio Ceasa de Wilson, I have been paying a visit to Miss Araminta Arabella Tomson in de oyster cellar where she live, Where Massa Sambo come in and say “You have no business here” so I look at Miss Minta and she say I have, and this gentleman and me have a tussle. The handkerchief is not his, but one Miss Minta made a present of to me.”/I can assure you “that Miss Araminta did give me the witching glance, which told me as plain as eye could speak that I was the more welcome visiter, and as to the handkerchief, it is Miss Minta’s, and I have better right to it than this other gentleman, as I have presented to her, a scissor, a timble, and a lock of my hair.”, Anthony Imbert, a New York artist, was a pioneer of American lithography who was also known for his ability as a marine painter., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Canova, Dominico, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1830]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [P.9704.1]
- Title
- A five points exclusive taking the first steps towards the Last Polish
- Description
- Racist caricature depicting a group of middle-class African American women receiving a dance lesson at the "Bon Enfantfile Cross St. Saloon." Shows the four women in a semi-circle, looking at the white dance instructor, “Mr. Boeyfong,” in the right and one woman, in the center, looking at the viewer. Two of the women slightly pull up their skirts, one has her heels together and the other points her right foot. The women wear their hair in top knots, and all but one also wear hair adornments. Three are attired in off the shoulder puffed-sleeved dresses and one woman wears a blue dress with a collar. They all wear jewelry, including earrings and necklaces, as well as ankle-laced shoes and a red ribbon on one leg and a blue ribbon on the other, the latter to aid in the lesson. In the right, “Mr. Boeyfong” stands with his left foot pointed out and holding a violin in one hand and the corresponding bow down toward the foot of the woman across from him. He instructs the pupil to "hold in ze stomach and stick out behind!" He has sideburns and wears his dark hair styled out to the sides. He is attired in a white ruffled shirt, a vest with a floral pattern, a cravat with a floral pattern, a black waistcoat, blue pantaloons, white stockings, and slip on shoes adorned with ribbons. Behind them is a sign with the "Regulations" of the "Saloon" which state that the women must wear the ribbons to distinguish their right foot from their left; they must not come undressed; and they may not have more than ten partners at one time. The women figures are portrayed with oversized features and their skin tone is depicted in brown hand coloring. The man figure is portrayed with muscular physical features and small feet., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular above the image: Allons Mademoiselle raise ze leg wis ze red ribbon so bring him to ze ozer leg wis de blue ribbon, hold up ze head, elevate ze bosom, hold in ze stomach and stick out behind! tres bien ver well-/Now Mr. Boeyfong is dat ‘ere step right?, Contains a caption below the image, a quote from Shakespeare's "Hamlet":” A station like the herald Mercury. New lighted on a heaven kissing hill. -Shakespeare., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Date
- [ca. 1833]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [P.9187]
- Title
- Life in New York. "Blakey I say, can't you by the powers of your stame engine..?"
- Description
- Racist caricature depicting a conversation between a middle-class African American merchant and a working-class Irish man. Depicts the well-dressed man "merchant" of a "Patent Steam" laundry and his well-dressed woman companion being approached by a white Irish man outside the doorway to his “Patent Steam Scouring Establishment. Clothes of all kinds, etc.” He wears a top hat, green waistcoat, a white ruffled shirt and stiff collar, white pants, and black shoes. He holds a walking stick. His companion wears a yellow, wide-brimmed hat adorned with feathers and ribbons, a blue and yellow, long-sleeved dress with lace details, white stockings and slipper shoes. She holds up a monocle toward the Irish man who is in bare feet and attired in worn and torn clothing. He holds a stained and patched waistcoat. The Irish man asks the merchant to "shift" his coat for a new one, as by the appearance of the merchant's coat, he is just the man for whom he has been looking since leaving "Kilarney." The merchant and his companion are "salted" by the notion that they are of the same nature as the "ruffian" and will "larn" him better by telling him to "ply to the office." The African American figures are portrayed with oversized features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: What you mean sir! I’m a merchant, I larn you better! cant you rid dat dere Sign, ply to the Office./Aint it too gusting for a lady of quality to be salted so in Street by Ruffians./Blakey I say! Can’t you by the powers of your Stame Engine Shift me this coat for a new one! I trust by the looks of yours youre the very man I have been looking for since I left Kilarney., Inscribed: Pl. 2., Charles Ingrey was a premier London lithographic printer of the 1830s., LCP AR [Annual Report] 1972 p. 60., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1972.
- Date
- [ca. 1831]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (London Set)[8025.F.2]
- Title
- Life in New York. "Blakey I say, can't you by the powers of your stame engine..?"
- Description
- Racist caricature depicting a conversation between a middle-class African American merchant and a working-class Irish man. Depicts the well-dressed man "merchant" of a "Patent Steam" laundry and his well-dressed woman companion being approached by a white Irish man outside the doorway to his “Patent Steam Scouring Establishment. Clothes of all kinds, etc.” He wears a top hat, green waistcoat, a white ruffled shirt and stiff collar, white pants, and black shoes. He holds a walking stick. His companion wears a yellow, wide-brimmed hat adorned with feathers and ribbons, a blue and yellow, long-sleeved dress with lace details, white stockings and slipper shoes. She holds up a monocle toward the Irish man who is in bare feet and attired in worn and torn clothing. He holds a stained and patched waistcoat. The Irish man asks the merchant to "shift" his coat for a new one, as by the appearance of the merchant's coat, he is just the man for whom he has been looking since leaving "Kilarney." The merchant and his companion are "salted" by the notion that they are of the same nature as the "ruffian" and will "larn" him better by telling him to "ply to the office." The African American figures are portrayed with oversized features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: What you mean sir! I’m a merchant, I larn you better! cant you rid dat dere Sign, ply to the Office./Aint it too gusting for a lady of quality to be salted so in Street by Ruffians./Blakey I say! Can’t you by the powers of your Stame Engine Shift me this coat for a new one! I trust by the looks of yours youre the very man I have been looking for since I left Kilarney., Inscribed: Pl. 2., Charles Ingrey was a premier London lithographic printer of the 1830s., LCP AR [Annual Report] 1972 p. 60., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1972.
- Date
- [ca. 1831]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (London Set)[8025.F.2]
- Title
- Political caricature no.3. The abolition catastrophe, or the November smash-up
- Description
- Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1864 by Bromley & Co. New York in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York., Text printed on recto: Single Copies sent pr. mail post paid 25 cts; 5 Copies $1.00; 50 express $9.00; 100 $16.00. Express charges paid by purchaser. Address: Bromley & Co., Box 4265 New York City. Write your address: Post Office, County and State plainly., Third in a series of four., McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., 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., Cartoon criticizing the Republican's self-destructive support of abolitionism during the presidential election of 1864 depicting the "Union" train of Democrats steaming toward the White House passing the wrecked Republican train. Candidate George McClellan engineers the smooth running Democratic train powered by "Democracy" and adorned with the flag "Constitution." Several of the passengers including Horatio Seymour praise McClellan as others mock the Republican Party's demise. The Republican train has crashed into several rocks symbolic of the war including "Abolitionism," "Confiscation," and "Emancipation." The crash ejects Abraham Lincoln. Several African Americans, who are depicted in racist caricature and speak in the vernacular, are crushed and maimed. Tossed and injured prominent Republican passengers include Edwin Stanton; Horace Greeley; Henry Ward Beecher who holds an African American baby; Charles Sumner; William Seward; John McKeon; Benjamin Butler and Thurlow Weed; many of whom pray for help. "John Bull," Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, and France's Napoleon III observe and comment on the crash's effect on the puppet empire of Mexico. Another observer, recently resigned Secretary Salmon P. Chase, expresses relief that he left the Republican train in the "nick of time."
- Date
- 1864
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1864-39R [5793.F.2]

