The Union Must And Shall Be Preserved – Antique 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 antique lithograph of The Union Must And Shall Be Preserved brings a moment of history to your wall. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.
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.
The Union Must And Shall Be Preserved
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Oval portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin sit inside rustic frames of bent twigs, a deliberate nod to Lincoln's well-publicized backwoods origins. Above them, a rail fence carries the Republican motto "Free Speech, Free Homes, Free Territory," and an eagle with spread wings stands among American flags. Issued around 1860, the lithograph served as a campaign banner for the Republican ticket that year, when its title, "The Union Must and Shall Be Preserved," spoke to the growing secession crisis. The imprint credits W.H. Rease of Philadelphia as the printer.
| Created / published | c. 1860 |
|---|---|
| Medium | print on wove paper, lithograph printed in grey-olive and black, image 30.3 x 42.9 cm. |
| Notes | For President Abraham Lincoln Of Illinois. For Vice President Hannibal Hamlin Of Maine. W.H. Rease, Philadelphia. SUMMARY: Print shows a campaign banner for the Republican ticket. Oval bust portraits of the two candidates are enclosed in rustic bent-twig frames, intended perhaps to recall Lincoln's much-publicized backwoods origins. A rail fence appears above the portraits, draped with a banner with the motto, "Free Speech, Free Homes, Free Territory." An eagle stands on top of it, spreading his wings, surrounded by American flags. Below, between the portrait ovals, stand two American laborers flanking a shield marked "Protection to American Industry." On the left is a smith holding a hammer and standing before an anvil. On the right stands a woodman with his ax. The ax-head is embedded in a large, fallen tree. Behind the shield are several smokestacks and the sails of a ship. At the shi |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 3,833 × 2,656 px · prints to 13 × 9 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | L-E-4 |
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