Forbes, Edwin (1839-1895) A Slave Cabin
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02199.10 Author/Creator: Forbes, Edwin (1839-1895) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Print Date: 1876 Pagination: 1 etching : b&w ; 46.9 x 59.6 cm. Order a Copy
Marked "Plate 10." Contains 3 images. Upper left image is titled "A Slave Cabin," and shows a shabby wooden shack with a makeshift canopy for a porch. Upper right image is titled "The Old Grist Mill," and shows a large clapboard mill with a very tall waterwheel and a stone foundation. Bottom image is titled "'Got any pies for sale, Aunty?'" and shows a Union soldier straggling from the line of march in a search of luxuries. The cabin the soldier is at has a roof that is caving in. The bottom picture is flanked on one side by the image of an enslaved person named "Sam" and flanked on the other by an image titled "A Picaninny" and shows an enslaved child child and grandfather. Actual size of the image without the margins is 27.3 x 40.5 cm. Outline from matting is faintly visible. Titles taken from the table of contents.
Created by Forbes, a member of the French Etching Club, while he travelled with the Union Army from 1862-1865. Born in New York City, Forbes became a Civil War reportorial artist for Leslie's Illustrated newspaper, joining the staff at age 22 in 1861.
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