Lo the poor Indian Oh why does the White man follow my path! – Vintage Print
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
This rare antique lithograph captures Lo the poor Indian Oh why does the White man follow my path! in remarkable detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
Lo the poor Indian Oh why does the White man follow my path!
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The caption turns a familiar phrase against itself. "Lo, the poor Indian" comes from Alexander Pope's *Essay on Man* (1733), where it expresses a patronizing pity, and this lithograph borrows that tone while having the Native figure ask why the white man keeps following his path. The joke rests on a stereotype of the doomed, passive Indian, which the title itself mocks even as it reproduces the caricature. Published in New York by Vance, Parsloe & Co. around 1875, the print belongs to a period when westward expansion and the Indian wars were headline news, and its comic jabs were aimed at a popular audience.
| Created / published | New York : Vance, Parsloe & Co., c1875. |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : lithograph. |
| Genre | Ethnic stereotypes 1870-1880.Caricatures 1870-1880.Lithographs 1870-1880. |
| Notes | Copyright by Parsloe & Vance. Published in: Many nations: A Library of Congress resource guide for the study of Indian and Alaska native peoples of the United States / edited by Patrick Frazier and the Publishing Office. Washington : Library of Congress, 1996, p. 165. |
| Subjects | Indians of North America--1870-1880. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,000 × 1,536 px · prints to 3 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-164049 |
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