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1862 print by THOMAS NAST: CHRISTMAS Toast in Civil War;
1862 print by THOMAS NAST: CHRISTMAS Toast in Civil War;
1862 print by THOMAS NAST: CHRISTMAS Toast in Civil War;
1862 print by THOMAS NAST: CHRISTMAS Toast in Civil War;
1862 print by THOMAS NAST: CHRISTMAS Toast in Civil War;

1862 print by THOMAS NAST: CHRISTMAS Toast in Civil War; "Union Forever!" Zoaves

$ 39.6

Availability: 100 in stock
  • Condition: Used
  • Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
  • Restocking Fee: No
  • All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
  • Item must be returned within: 30 Days
  • Refund will be given as: Money Back

    Description

    THOMAS NAST
    Christmas print
    The New-York Illustrated News
    ,
    1862
    This is a very rare double-page wood-engraved sheet which was
    published over 150 years ago
    , in the
    Jan. 4, 1862
    issue of
    The New-York Illustrated News
    .
    The sheet measures 15.5 x 22.5 inches in size. It has two old vertical creases from when it was originally folded into the
    News
    issue, but is in excellent condition, almost as good as when it was first published, early in the Civil War. Unlike many centerspread engravings of this era, it does not have any binding pinholes, a flaw which is often found in such double-page prints surviving from a century and a half ago.
    The print will be shipped folded twice, as originally issued
    .
    The drawing is by
    THOMAS NAST
    (1840-1902), the most famous and influential political cartoonist in American history. This artwork is from
    early in his career, before he achieved widespread fame for his decades of work as a staff artist for
    Harper's Weekly,
    during which he was responsible for
    creating our modern image of Santa Claus, as well as establishing the donkey and elephant as national symbols for the Democratic and Republican parties.
    This scene of Nast's presents a lively group of representative soldiers from the New York Volunteers, State Militia, and the Zoaves, etc., as they celebrate the first Christmas held during the Civil War. It is a rousingly patriotic depiction of loyalty by Federal troops loyal to the cause of the Union Army.
    On the reverse side of the sheet is a short description of Nast's scene. It says, in its entirety:
    THE CHRISTMAS TOAST:
    “THE UNION FOREVER.”
    Drawn by T. Nast.—Page 136.
    This fine illustration is symbolic of the Union sentiment which pervades the Great Army of the United States. In the centre, Young America proud and erect, undismayed by intestine conflict or foreign dangers, looks kindly on the Nationalities and proposes the Christmas toast: “THE UNION FOREVER!”
    On the right of the picture, in the foreground, a Garibaldi and one of the Twelfth N. Y. V. (German) respond with earnest loyalty. On the left a D'Epineuil Zoave (French), and a soldier of the 2th N. Y. S. M. take up at once the foaming draught and the inspiriting sentiment; whilst Scotch, Irish, and people of all tongues, shout their earnest determination to maintain with their life's blood. “THE UNION FOR EVER.” The sentiment will find an echo in the heart of every one of the readers of the New York ILLUSTRATED NEWS, to whom this picture is most respectfully dedicated.
    ****************
    Compared to his immensely popular contributions to
    Harper's Weekly,
    this engraving by Thomas Nast is extremely rare, as
    The New-York Illustrated News
    was dwarfed in circulation by both
    Harper's Weekly,
    and the other major pictorial weekly of the era,
    Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly.
    Both those publications flourished from the 1850s through the rest of the 19th Century, but
    The New-York Illustrated News
    lasted only a little over four years, first appearing in Nov., 1859, and subsequently going out of business in Jan., 1864.
    [ph11308]
    _gsrx_vers_856 (GS 7.0.20 (856))