[Britannia toe] Amer[eye]ca – Antique Wall Art
![[Britannia toe] Amer[eye]ca, [London : Pubd. by M. Darly, Strand, 1778 May 6] — historic print](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/79/7985899c0ef0-L.webp)
(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
Step back in time with [Britannia toe] Amer[eye]ca, a historic print rich in period detail. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.
Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful 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.
[Britannia toe] Amer[eye]ca
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The title is a visual pun: the bracketed letters turn "Britannia" and "America" into riddles about a toe and an eye, so the image works as a joke as much as a caption. It was published in London by M. Darly of the Strand on May 6, 1778, when Britain was trying to reopen talks with its rebellious colonies after France allied with the Americans that February. The print belongs to the flood of satirical prints from that period, which often treated the war and the peace overtures as subjects for ridicule. Its subjects, correspondence and peace negotiations, point to the political hopes and frustrations of the moment.
| Created / published | [London : Pubd. by M. Darly, Strand, 1778 May 6] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : etching ; 37.1 x 27.3 cm. (sheet) |
| Genre | D.C. |
| Notes | Title from item. Trimmed within plate lower margin. Print cropped through imprint statement. DLC Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 5, p. 288 Forms part of: British Cartoon Prints Collection (Library of Congress). Published in: The American Revolution in drawings and prints; a checklist of 1765-1790 graphics in the Library of Congress / Compiled by Donald H. Cresswell, with a foreword by Sinclair H. Hitchings. Washington : [For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.], 1975, no. 730. Exhibited in: Creating the U.S." Library of Congress |
| Subjects | Britannia (Symbolic character)--1770-1780. Correspondence--1770-1780. Peace negotiations--1770-1780. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,184 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-122575 |
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