Print Inspired by the Emancipation Proclamation

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

Published by Philadelphia, 1863

About this Item

Emancipation Proclamation Issued January 1st 1863 Engraved Print. Philadelphia: Gilman R. Russell, 1865. Printed by P. S. Duval & Son. 1 p., 19 x 26 in. This print celebrates and commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It features an image of Lincoln by a table with the text of the Proclamation around him. In the design prepared by calligrapher Gilman R. Russell, the top features an eagle, a woman representing Liberty, and a freed slave against a backdrop of draped flags. Cherubs and flowers border the entire design. Historical BackgroundAs historian John Hope Franklin wrote, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation "was a step toward the extension of the ideal of equality about which Jefferson had written" in the Declaration of Independence. Though controversial at first, in time, "the greatness of the document dawned upon the nation and the world. Gradually, it took its place with the great documents of human freedom."The Emancipation Proclamation was the single most important act of Lincoln's presidency. Its text reveals the major themes of the Civil War: the importance of slavery to the war effort on both sides; the courting of border states; Lincoln's hopes that the rebellious states could somehow be convinced to reenter the Union; the role of black soldiers; Constitutional and popular constraints on emancipation; the place of African Americans in the United States, and America's place in a worldwide movement toward the abolition of the "Slave Power," the president took a decisive stand on the most contentious issue in American history.Gilman R. Russell (1822-1874) was born in Woodstock, New Hampshire. He became well-known as a professor of penmanship and a calligrapher, or "teacher of practical, plain & ornamental writing and drawing." He created lithograph broadsides of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Emancipation Proclamation. His 1856 Declaration of Independence print had a similar design with a standing George Washington in the central position.Peter Stephen Duval (ca. 1805-1886) was born in France and emigrated to Philadelphia in 1831 to work as a lithographer with the printing firm of Childs and Inman. By 1837, Duval had established his own lithographic printing shop, which he operated until his retirement in 1869. He became a naturalized citizen in 1841. He was the most prominent Philadelphia lithographer of the nineteenth century. By the mid-1840s, he was printing in colors, and he soon began to win awards for his chromolithography. At its height, Duval's firm operated nearly thirty presses and employed sixty to seventy artists, draftsmen, and workmen. In 1857, his son Stephen Duval joined the firm, then known as P.S. Duval & Son.Condition: Very Good, professionally conserved.

Seller Inventory # 27982

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Print Inspired by the Emancipation Proclamation
• Publisher: Philadelphia
• Publication Date: 1863
• Binding: No binding
• Condition: Very Good
• Book Type: Print
• Seller catalogs:
  • African American History
  • Abraham Lincoln
  • Prints