| MEXICAN WAR ERA SCROLLING BROADSIDE, WITH DYNAMIC IMAGERY THAT FEATURES THE FIRST 11 AMERICAN PRESIDENTS AND 28 STATE SEALS; PRODUCED BY AUGUSTUS MITCHELL & PETER S. DUVAL OF PHILADELPHIA DURING THE ERA WHEN TEXAS WAS THE MOST RECENT STATE TO JOIN THE UNION, circa 1845-46 |
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| Web ID: | pat-373 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | 42.25" x 54.25" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 30.75" x 41" |
| Description: | |
| “Prints on sticks,” as they are called among specialists in 19th century engravings, served a two-part function, both utilitarian and visual. Popular educational tools, these graphically appealing examples of American decorative art, with colorful maps and historical American images, hung in schools, public buildings and the like. Some, like this example, were keenly patriotic. This particular print on sticks was designed by Augustus Mitchell, then printed by Peter S. Duval, both of Philadelphia. The illustration features highly detailed and rather attractive portraits of the first eleven American Presidents, accompanied by a rendering of Christopher Columbus’ 1492 landing. Arranged in a lazy oval, with George Washington serving as a keystone, the oval windows, adorned with floriated scrollwork, surround a rendition of a federal shield, flanked to either side by trios of American national flags, their dipped staffs topped by with spear and halberd shaped finials. Perched above, on the drooping swag created by the striped field of another flag, draped like bunting, The eagle’s head faces the olive branches in its proper right talon, with the typical clutch of arrows gripped in its proper left. Seals of the first 28 states appear on the red pales of the central device. The inclusion of James Polk, who was elected in November of 1844 and assumed office office in 1845, and the state of Texas, which joined the Union on December 29th, 1845 and was followed by Iowa as the 29th state on December 28th, 1846, allows specific dating of the engraving to an approximate one-year time frame. This is confirmed beneath the image of Polk, where a legend indicates that the design was: "Entered according to the act of Congress in the year 1846, by H.N. Burroughs, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Penn." Note the molded, step-down profile of the “stick” along the top edge, and the turned staff along the bottom, capped with acorn finials, each of which retains its original black-painted surface. According to records in the rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Pennsylvania, Duval, a Frenchman who emigrated to the U.S. in 1831, "was one of the first to experiment with color lithography and is credited with the first color printing in the United States." Because his first color work appeared in 1843, this example falls among the very earliest American color lithographs. Fancifully framed with scrolling vines, punctuated in each corner by shell-shaped decoration, the bold graphics of this work of Mitchell & Duval outweighs all other similar forms that I have personally encountered. Mounting: The print was professionally linen-backed and bound with green silk. It was then hand-hand-stitched to 100% cotton, black in color. The black fabric was washed to reduce excess dye. An acid-free agent was added to the wash to further set the dye and the fabric was heat-treated for the same purpose. The mount was then placed in a black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed Italian molding. A shadowbox was created to accommodate the sticks, which were affixed to the mount with wire. The glazing is U.V. protective Plexiglas. Condition: There were significant losses along the top, in the upper left-hand corner, and in the lower right corner, and there were more minor losses elsewhere. These were professionally restored. There is modest to moderate foxing and staining throughout. There is significant creasing and some splitting throughout. |
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| Video: | |
| Collector Level: | Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings |
| Flag Type: | |
| Star Count: | 28 |
| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1845 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1846 |
| State/Affiliation: | Texas |
| War Association: | 1777-1860 Pre-Civil War |
| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
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