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  "THE LEADER AND HIS BATTLES": A PATRIOTIC PRINT ON STICKS, GLORIFYING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF LT.-GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT DURING THE CIVIL WAR, PUBLISHED BY HAASIS & LUBRECHT, LIBERTY ST., NEW YORK CITY, WHO COPYRIGHTED THE DESIGN IN 1866

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): Approx. 46.75" x 39.5"
Flag Size (H x L): 35.75" x 28.5"
Description....:
This stunning, colorful lithograph, known in the trade as a "print on sticks," features the accomplishments of Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant during the American Civil War (1861-65). Entitled "The Leader and His Battles," the work was published by Haasis & Lubrect at 108 Liberty Street, New York, which copyrighted the design on August 9th, 1866.

Bold in scale, the graphics center on a comparatively large portrait of the Union Army commander and two-term, future President of the United States, set within an oval window. The frame is decorated at the top with a federal shield and leaf-style scrollwork, and cradled below with crossed American flags and a wreath of laurel leaves containing the letters "USA," with the "U" and "S" purposefully emphasized. Below this are the tools of war. The title appears in fanciful lettering, presented as if on scrolling streamers, along the top register, highly decorated and with gold stars in wreath rosettes, flanking left and right. The central image is surrounded by six vignettes that illustrate the capture of Fort Donelson on February 16th, 1862, the Battle of Pittsburg Landing [Shiloh] on April 6th, 1862, the surrender of General Pemberton to Grant on July 4th, 1863, the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox on April 9th, 1865, the Battle of the Wilderness in May, 1864, and the Battle of Richmond, referring to the almost year-long seige of Petersburg and Richmond, which ended in 1865.

Along the bottom margin, in addition to Haasis & Lubrecht's information as publishers, the following is recorded: "Electrotyped by Smith & McDougal, 81 & 94 Beekman Street." Distributors/agents are listed as follows: "B.B. Russell & Co., 55 Cornhill, Boston, Mass.; Golden & Sammons, 179 Lake Street, Chicago, Ill.; W. Holt, 305 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, Cal.; John Beatson, 17 East Third St., Cincinnati, Ohio." The copyright is noted by the following: "Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by Hassis & Lubrecht, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York." An advertisement for distributors is also included: "Agents wanted to sell this Chart and a great variety of other Charts and Maps."

A copy of this work in black and white is among the holdings of the Library of Congress. A colored version survives in the collection of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

The size, graphics, detail, and extensive use of color in this print on sticks are all wonderful, as-is the date of its publishing, just one year following the end of the Civil War, two years before Grant's election to the presidency.

Mounting: The chart was professionally mounted to canvas. It was then mounted and framed within our own conservation department, which is led by expert staff. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and related objects and have framed thousands of examples.

The black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed molding is Italian. A shadowbox was created to accommodate the sticks. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic.

Condition: Many charts of this nature were varnished in the period, probably by the distributor at the time of sale. The varnish has yellowed and there is an overall oxidation of the parchment. There is some foxing. Colors are strong throughout, with only minor fading in limited areas.
Collector Level: Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything
Flag Type:
Star Count:
Earliest Date of Origin: 1866
Latest Date of Origin: 1866
State/Affiliation: New York
War Association: 1861-1865 Civil War
Price:
 

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