President Lincoln, Writing The Proclamation Of Freedom – Historic Print
(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Few images capture their era like this antique lithograph of President Lincoln, Writing The Proclamation Of Freedom. It is part of the Snapshots of the Past archive, gathered over 25 years of research.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
President Lincoln, Writing The Proclamation Of Freedom
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Lincoln sits in shirtsleeves and slippers in a cluttered study, one hand resting on a Bible set atop a copy of the Constitution, with an open window beside him. The title says he is writing the Emancipation Proclamation, but the record notes that the proclamation was issued in 1862 and took effect on January 1, 1863, so the scene is an imagined one. David Gilmour Blythe, a Pittsburgh-area painter known for satirical and genre work, made the original painting, and this color lithograph was printed in Cincinnati and published in Pittsburgh around 1863. The print shows how quickly wartime images of the president were circulating to a public eager to see Lincoln as the man behind emancipation.
| Created / published | c. 1863 |
|---|---|
| Medium | print on wove paper, lithograph printed in colors, image 39.7 x 49.1 cm. |
| Notes | January 1st, 1863. Painted by David Gilmour Blythe. Lithographed and printed in colors by Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co., Cincinnati, O. Published by M. Depuy, No. 21 Wylie St., Pittsburgh. SUMMARY: A print based on David Gilmour Blythe's fanciful painting of Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation. Contrary to the title, the proclamation was issued in 1862 and went into effect in January 1863. In a cluttered study Lincoln sits in shirtsleeves and slippers, at work on the document near an open window. His left hand is placed on a Bible that rests on a copy of the Constitution in his lap. The scene is crammed with symbolic details and other meaningful references. A bust of Lincoln's strongly Unionist predecessor Andrew Jackson sits on a mantlepiece near the window at Lincoln's right. A bust of another former President, James Buchanan, who was widely viewed as ineffectual against secession |
| Original scan | 6,459 × 5,248 px · prints to 22 × 17 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | L-CW-3 |
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