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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Slaves Concealing Their Master From a Search Party

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00493.12 Author/Creator: Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Place Written: s.l. Type: Print Date: circa 1861-1863 Pagination: 1 etching : b&w ; 26.1 x 34.8 cm. Order a Copy

One etching entitled, "Slaves Concealing Their Master From a Search Party," by Adalbert John Volck, political cartoonist and sympathist with the Confederacy. Depicts an enslaved woman, directing mounted Federal soldiers as the enslaver hides in the shadows behind the door. The actual size of the etching is 20.1 x 26.7 cm. Title in pencil on verso.

Adalbert John Volck was a dentist, political cartoonist, and a caricaturist who sympathized with the Southern cause. During the Civil War, Volck supported the Confederacy through his satirical political cartoons. He also smuggled drugs and medical supplies for the Confederate army, and served as a personal courier to President Jefferson Davis.

Volck, Adalbert John, 1828-1912

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