lincoln and new york traveling panel exhibition image captions · unidentified artist, after a...
TRANSCRIPT
1
Lincoln and New York Traveling Panel Exhibition
Image Captions
File Name: 81532d_UncleSamMakingNewArrangements
Unidentified artist. "Uncle Sam" Making New Arrangements, 1860.
Lithograph. Currier & Ives, publisher. New-York Historical Society, Gift of
Daniel Parish Jr., PR 010.
This image depicts growing confidence among Republican leaders that
Lincoln would win the election of 1860. Uncle Sam is shown in front
of the White House, removing a sign that reads “Wanted: An honest,
upright and capable man to take charge of this house for four years,”
and handing Lincoln a notice that he has been hired as president.
Lincoln appears in rustic attire, holding an axe, in contrast to the more
formal dress of John Bell, John C. Breckenridge, and Stephen Douglas,
who are spurned by Uncle Sam. Lincoln’s standing as someone who
Uncle Sam feels he can “safely trust in the management of my affairs,”
is tied to his characterization as a humble rail-splitter.
File Name: 81505d_HonorableAbeBornKentucky
Unidentified artist, after a photograph by Mathew B. Brady. “Hon. Abraham
Lincoln, Born in Kentucky, February 12, 1809." Wood engraving, published in
Harper’s Weekly, November 10, 1860. New-York Historical Society.
Harper’s Weekly, a popular illustrated journal, published this issue four
days after Lincoln’s election on November 6, 1860. The cover illustration is
a woodcut adaptation of Mathew Brady’s photographic portrait, taken just
before Lincoln’s groundbreaking speech at Cooper Union. Woodcuts like
this were the means by which photographic images were reproduced in
publications and distributed to a wide audience in the 1860s.
2
File Name: 82151d_DictatorGreeleyDismissesCabinet
Unidentified artist. "Dictator Greeley." Wood engraving, published in
Harper's Weekly, August 10, 1861. New-York Historical Society.
This image from early in the Civil War reflects the close relationship
between Lincoln and the New York press. After the Union defeat at
Bull Run in July 1861, Horace Greeley, publisher of the New York
Tribune, charged the Lincoln administration with incompetence and
called for the resignation of the entire cabinet. Though images like
this characterized Greeley as childish and irate, he and his fellow
publishers wielded a great deal of power during the Civil War.
File Name: 40917_LincolnDavisBoxing
Morse. [Abraham Lincoln boxing with Jefferson Davis], 1861.
Woodcut. New-York Historical Society, PR 010.
In an ironic twist, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated
President of the Confederate States of America before
Lincoln took the oath of office in March 1861.
File Name: 81786d_MetroFairTicket_April11th12th
Entry Ticket for Metropolitan Fair, 1864. New-York Historical
Society, Metropolitan Fair Papers.
An important wartime charitable organization, the
Women’s Central Relief Association trained nurses,
collected supplies, and raised funds for war widows and
orphans. In 1864 the WCRA sold nearly 30,000 tickets in
just three weeks to their Metropolitan Fair, which displayed
Frederic Church’s Heart of the Andes and Emanuel
Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware for a steep
admission fee.
3
File Name: 85638d_LincolnWritingProcOfFreedom
Ehrgott. Forbriger & Co., after David Gilmour Blythe (1815-1865).
President Lincoln, Writing the Proclamation of Freedom, January 1st
1863, 1864. Chromolithograph, M. Dupuy, publisher. New-York
Historical Society, PR 052.
In this pro-Lincoln view, Lincoln writes the Emancipation
Proclamation with his hand on the Bible, which rests in his lap on
top of the Constitution. A bust of Andrew Jackson is a reference
to another strongly Unionist President. Conversely, a bust of
James Buchanan, who was notably ineffectual in opposing
secessionism, hangs from a noose. Lincoln’s cluttered study also
contains the scales of justice and a rail-splitter's maul, which
together symbolize his persona as a moral and humble statesman.
File Name: ac03014_24MenWanted
24 Men Wanted! 1863. Letterpress poster, Curtz, printer. New-York
Historical Society, PR 055.
In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation authorized the
recruitment of African American soldiers. These men received
less pay and were less eligible for promotion than their white
counterparts. Yet the presence of black volunteers meant that
news of their military achievements appeared in the North and
sent a strong message to Lincoln-doubters, who feared the
consequences of Emancipation.
File Name: 1865.6_DraftWheel
Draft Wheel, ca. 1863. Wood, metal. New-York Historical Society, Gift of
Frederic C. Wagner, 1865.6.
This lottery wheel was for use in the draft lottery held in the 7
th
Congressional District on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Cards
inside listed the names, occupations, and addresses of potential draftees.
The wheel was rescued from destruction after the outbreak of the draft
riots in July 1863. It still contained 3,500 draft cards when it was
donated to the New-York Historical Society in 1865.
4
File Name: 82129d_ThisRemindsMeOfALittleJoke
Unidentified artist. "This Reminds me of a Little Joke." Wood engraving,
published in Harper's Weekly, September 17, 1864. New-York Historical
Society.
While referencing Lincoln’s reputation as a joke-teller, this image
also depicts George McClellan’s dim chances for election in 1864, as
Lincoln holds his opponent in his palm and appears merely amused
by his short statured opposition.
File Name: 80060d_LincolnsBodyCityHall
Unidentified artist. Lincoln's Funeral (detail), City Hall, New York City, 1865.
Stereograph card. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Mrs. Elihu Spicer, PR
065.
Although New York had been the site of some of the harshest criticism
of Lincoln and his policies, within days after the President’s
assassination, New Yorkers had draped their homes, businesses, and
even ships in the harbor in mourning bunting. Well over 100,000 New
Yorkers viewed President Lincoln’s open coffin during the twenty-four
hours that he lay in state in City Hall.
File Name: 1909.6_LincolnFamily_byFrancisCarpenter
Francis Bicknell Carpenter (1830-1900). The Lincoln Family, ca. 1865.
Oil on canvas. New York Historical Society, Gift of Warren C. Crane,
1909.6.
Shortly after Lincoln’s assassination, New York printmaker John
Chester Buttre commissioned Francis Bicknell Carpenter to paint
this portrait of the Lincoln family for the purpose of creating an
engraved print. The family is depicted as they would have
appeared in 1861, when both Lincoln and his middle son William,
seated in front of the table, were still living. Carpenter painted in
black and white to facilitate printmaking, and drew upon
photographs and sketches of the Lincoln family and their
furnishings, as well as his own recollections from an extended
stay at the White House in 1864.