Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Counterfeit Confederate notes publicly offered for sale in the "City of Brotherly Love"
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00493.25 Author/Creator: Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Place Written: s.l. Type: Print Date: circa 1880-1890 Pagination: 1 etching : b&w ; 26.2 x 34.8 cm. Order a Copy
Depicts a disreputable fellow, cigarette in mouth, motioning toward a broker's office which bears a sign that reads: "Counterfeit Confederate Treasury Notes for Sale. Soldiers under orders to the South supplied with lots to suit at reasonable rates." Two men with him appear to be examining the notes he has purchased. A rather effeminate officer, replete with puffy bloomers and a tiny waist using his saber as a walking stick, stands in the doorway to the establishment. Around the corner is the "Bible House," which advertises "Tracts for Soldiers." Volck is commenting on what he sees as the hypocrisy of the North's economic, social and cultural establishment. Size in extent is for the mount. The actual size of the etching is 20.1 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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