| RARE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION ADVERTISING FLIER, DISTRIBUTED BY J.B. WESTBROOK & CO., NEW YORK CITY, WITH U.S. TREASURY NOTE STYLE IMAGERY FEATURING IMAGES OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN & ANDREW JOHNSON, COMMEMORATING THE 1865 PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION |
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| Web ID: | pat-544 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | 8.75" x 13" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 3.5" x 7.5" |
| Description: | |
| This rare and interesting advertising bill was issued by New York City dry goods retailer, J.B. Westbrook & Co., as part of a campaign to raise funds for the United States Sanitary Commission. The owner, J.B. Westbrook, was a wealthy and well-known railroad contractor. Designed like a $5 U.S. Treasury note, the graphics feature portraits of Abraham Lincoln & Andrew Johnson, commemorating their inauguration in Washington, D.C. on March 4th, 1865. Issued in that year, the reverse of the bill contains explains how special packages could be purchased from Westbrook in support of the Sanitary Commission, and what sort of objects were included, accompanied by a circular 1865 calendar. Only two examples of this flier are presently known, including this one. The other is different on the reverse. In 1861, American clergyman Reverend Henry Bellows, of the Unitarian Church of Manhattan, working with members of his congregation, organized the United States Sanitary Commission. This occurred just four days following the Confederate attack on Ft. Sumter, SC, that marked the outbreak of the American Civil War. The name of the organization was derived from concern about the conditions of military encampments and the forthcoming attention necessary in the care of wounded soldiers. Bellows became the head of the aid society. He and others involved in the Sanitary Commission would, in 1863, help to form the Union League Club of New York, to aid the war in many other ways. The Union League and the Sanitary Commission became closely intertwined. In addition to actual care of soldiers via the efforts of volunteers, members--many of them extraordinarily wealthy or associated with well-to-do families and friends--raised funds and organized Sanitary Fairs that generated money for their work. The most significant of the fairs, held outside the Union League Club in 1864, raised approximately 1.3 million dollars, a simply enormous sum at the time. The charity spread and commissions were formed throughout the North, raising an estimated total of $25 million (the modern equivalent of $400 million) during the course of the war. The organization existed under this name until 1879. In 1881 the effort was reorganized by Sanitary Commission nurse Clara Barton and became the Red Cross. Mounting: This is a pressure mount between U.V. protective plexiglass and 100% cotton twill, black in color. The exceptional American molding may date as early as the late 18th century and retains its original surface (with only the most minor restoration on the face. The sides were extended the sides to accommodate the mount and painted to match. Condition: There is minor foxing and staining and very minor losses. |
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| Video: | |
| Collector Level: | Intermediate-Level Collectors and Special Gifts |
| Flag Type: | |
| Star Count: | |
| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1865 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1865 |
| State/Affiliation: | New York |
| War Association: | 1861-1865 Civil War |
| Price: | $2,850 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
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