Comic print using racist imagery to satirize African American men firefighters. Shows a brigade of eight African American firefighters during a rescue of an African American family from a burning wooden house. Flames and smoke extend from the right side of the roof of a two-story residence. In the center foreground, two firefighters, one not wearing a helmet, hold open a striped blanket. A woman attired in a white nightgown and holding her gown down with one hand and a fan with the other is midair and about to drop, feet first, into it. In the left, another firefighter runs out of the doorway of the building and with a woman over his shoulder. She wears a white cap and night gown. In the right, a fourth firefighter sprays water from a hose into the body of a man in a white nightshirt stuck in a hole in the roof. His head and chest poke through the hole and his legs project out through an upper floor window. The firefighter uses a hose that extends from a fire engine marked "Niagara."It is being pumped by four other firefighters in the right background. The firefighters stand on barrels and push the lever of the water pump on the engine. In the far right distance, another firefighter attends to a donkey. The firefighters are attired in red shirts, blue pants, and black boots. Four men wear helmets, one man wears a top hat, and two men are bare-headed. The men and women figures are portrayed with wide eyes and lips, and large feet. The rescued family members are bare foot. The Darktown series of over 100 prints was originally issued mid 1870s-1890s. Thomas Worth was the artist of several of the prints in the reported popular and profitable series. Joseph Koehler reissued the prints in the early 1900s., Title from item., Reprint of number from "Darktown" comics series originally published in 1884. Joseph Koehler purchased over 200 lithographic stones, including the "Darktown" series, from the Currier & Ives firm following its dissolution in 1907., Contains copyright statement: Copyright 1884, By Currier & Ives, N. Y.
Creator
Currier & Ives
Date
[ca. 1907]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Genre - Darktown [P.2019.55.4]
