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Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00493.03 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 33.7 cm. Order a Copy

Depicts a menacing-looking Lincoln slumping in his chair writing the Emancipation Proclamation with his left foot sitting on top of a copy of the U.S. Constitution. Demon imagery is found throughout. The Statue of Liberty's head is covered by Lincoln's Scotch cap to simulate a baboon. Background has two paintings. One depicts the slave rebellion on Saint Domingo and the other John Brown as "St. Ossawotamie." Osawotamie is a reference to a battle at the town of Osawatomie, Kansas in August 1856 when some 250 border ruffians attacked the free-soil town. Brown defended the town with 30 men, but it was burned to the ground and his son, Frederick, was killed by a bullet through the heart. A curtain is pulled back from a window showing a flock of birds ominously flying in the distance. Size in extent is for the mount. The actual size of the etching is 20.4 x 26.2 cm. Title found 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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