Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Smuggling medicine into the South
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00493.18 Author/Creator: Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Place Written: s.l. Type: Print Date: circa 1880-1890 Pagination: 1 etching : b&w ; 26.1 x 34.6 cm. Order a Copy
Depicts a boat laden with medical supplies being unloaded quickly by a group of men, both civilian and military. A gentleman, perhaps a doctor, climbs down from his perch in a tree, presumably from whence he has been waiting for the shipment to arrive. An ardent Confederate sympathizer, Volck was active in smuggling medicines into the South across the Potomac River. Size in extent is for the mount. The actual size of the etching is 20.4 x 26.6 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.
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