[The king's seat] [graphic].
Title
[The king's seat]
Description
Shows the throne or ("seat") of an African King in Nether-Ethiopia. According to Ogilby's text, "The Stool, or Seat, whereupon he sits, stands raised upon a Foot-pace, dressed with white and black Wickers, very artificially Woven, and other sorts of curious adornings; behind his Back hangs on a Pole a Shield, cover'd with divers party-colour'd Stuffs, brought out of Europe. Near him stand also six of eight Fanns, by them call'd Pos, or Mani, and containing in length and breadth half a Fathom, at the upper end of a long Stick which runs through the middle of it, having a round Brim, in form of a half Globe fasten'd, interwoven with little Horns, and with white and black Parrots Feathers between: Those Fanns certain People, which the King keeps for that purpose, move with great force, which agitating the Air, causes a refreshing and pleasant coolness. Before the King's seat lieth spread a great Cloth twenty Fathom long, and twelve broad, made of quilted Leaves sew'd together, upon which none may go but the King and his Children; but round it they leave room for two or three persons to pass by, the Nobility sitting in long Ranks, every one with a Buffles Tail in his Hand, which for the most part they move in the preference of the King: Some sit upon the bare Ground; others upon Cloathes made of the same Stuff with the King's: Behind them stand the People; as behind the King all his great Officers, not few in number." (p. 507), Illustration in John Ogilby's Africa: Being an Accurate Description of the Regions of Aegypt, Barbary, Lybia, and Billedulgerid: the Land of Negroes, Guinee, and Aethiopia, and Abyssines, with all the Adjacent Islands, either in the Mediterranean, Atlantick, Southern, or Oriental Sea, Belonging Thereunto (London: Printed by Tho. Johnson, for the author, and are to be had at his house in White Fryers, M.DC.LXX [1670]), p. 507., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
Date
[1670]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare *Wing O163 14.F p 507, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2960
The chivalry at the English court. [graphic]
Title
The chivalry at the English court
Description
Cartoon mocking Southern secessionists who sought foreign aid for the Southern Confederacy by depicting white men emissaries from the "Gentlemen colony of South Carolina" asking Queen Victoria if she can spare a King. The South Carolinians stand before the throne and present bales of “Cotton” to the Queen. Behind them a contingent of enslaved African American children, portrayed as racist caricatures, carry an umbrella, a fan, a serving tray of “julips,” and hold the tail of the emissary’s jacket. In the right, Queen Victoria sits on her throne surrounded by white boys and flanked by a lion and a unicorn. She responds that her family is small but possibly a "Coburg" relation may satisfy their needs., Title from item., Publication date supplied by Weitenkampf., Text printed below image: May it please Your Majesty, We, the Republicans of the Gentlemen Colony of South Carolina are desirous of having a Royal Master; would You graciously please to spare us a King out of your illustrious house? Her Majesty. Thank you Gentlemen, but my Family is small, you know; -- perhaps one of my Coburg Relations may accommodate you, I can recommend them, they give Satisfaction in every Place., Accessioned 1899., 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
[1860]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1860-6W [5780.F]
"No higher law." [graphic] /
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]