First Reading/Emancipation Proclamation - After Frances Bicknell Carpenter 1866


First Reading/Emancipation Proclamation - After Frances Bicknell Carpenter 1866

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First Reading/Emancipation Proclamation - After Frances Bicknell Carpenter 1866:
$1599.20



Historic Americana

1st Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation

After Frances Bicknell Carpenter, an engraving titled "The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation Before theCabinet"

Eng. by A H Ritchie 1866 Even toning

The Empty Chair Story - Anna Carroll

Framed & Matted


Item Description

Here is a nice rendering of President Abraham Lincoln from an event in 1863 dealing with the Emancipation Proclamation, near the middle of the Civil War, for your buying consideration. Would make a great gift for a special occasion, or keep for yourself!


This fine antique engraving is being offered to you at a price below what you would see in a high end sale house or art gallery, as we have been selling artwork out of our home for over 35 years. We can therefore better control our acquisition costs, keep commission costs low (if applicable), and finally, we don't have the overhead that the higher end houses and art galleries experience.


Offered here is a nice antique stipple black and white engraving of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. The rendering is very well done. The engraving captures President Lincoln and his Cabinet reviewing a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. The piece was engraved by A H Ritchie in 1866 after a painting by Francis Bicknell Carpenter. We believe this is an original 1866 engraving, not a more recent copy. You need to be the final judge if this is an original engraving, or an older copy before acquiring.


One of the better examples of this engraving we have come across in our over 35 years of collecting and dealing.Quite fascinating piece here!


Says Abraham Lincoln below the image of him and then "Engraved by A H Ritchie" below the plate image. The engraving has not been examined out of the frame.Some pretty even toning to the piece to the engraving overall. Some watermarking in the bottom left of the engraving that runs for a few inches along the bottom. Does not get into the engraving or the lettering. A couple of spots in the engraving where stippling is white, not sure what caused that.


The wood frame is gold gilted and ebony in color. Some minor chipping and loss of finish to the wood frame overall. The backing paper and hanging wire is in place on the back of the piece.


The glass is intact, no cracks or blistering. An off white matting around the engraving. There are only a couple other of these same engravings offered online as of the time of this listing and this appears to be the one in the best condition of those available.


Here is the story of the empty chair and the very accomplished woman whom was in that chair when the painter first finished the original oil painting. Mary Todd Lincoln was supposedly jealous of Anna Carroll, and that First Lady Lincoln had the painter remove her from the painting after she first viewed it;


Anna Ella Carroll was an intriguing and atypical 19thCentury woman who emerged from the male-dominated realm of war, politics, anddiplomacy.


Anna Carroll, eldest of eight children, was born in 1815 onMaryland's Eastern Shore. Her father Thomas King Carroll, influential inMaryland affairs, was governor in 1830 and 1831. At an early age, Carrollbecame involved with her father's political and legal activities. Educated andtrained by him, she gradually gained entry into the male world of politics.

During an era when women were not expected to do more thanwrite about politics and war, Carroll became active in the Whig party. Throughher relationship with President Taylor, and later President Fillmore, Carrollmaintained involvement in party development and policy-making. She wroteletters to party officials to influence political decisions. It is said shecould "scheme, connive, and maneuver as well as any man."

When Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860, Carrollinitially did not have much faith in his leadership. However, as ananti-slavery spokesperson, she celebrated his election by freeing her slaves. Adedicated nationalist opposed to the secession of the Southern states, sheturned her political activities towards shaping policy in Maryland and fightingto keep Maryland in the Union. Again, she used news articles and letters toaccomplish her purpose. Her pro-union crusade culminated in her efforts to getPresident Lincoln to plan the future of American Blacks.

Anna Carroll's role as a military strategist during theCivil War was controversial. President Lincoln sent her, accompanied by an armyofficer, to observe and report on the War on the western front. Her reportsresulted in major military strategies that eventually doomed the Confederacyand ended the intervention of the European nations on the behalf of the South.The President and his Cabinet kept her authorship a secret; the public was notto know that the Union plans were devised by not only a civilian, but by awoman.

Carroll continued to advise the federal government and writeUnion propaganda throughout the War. After President Lincoln's assassination,she devoted her efforts to reconstruction. However, Anna Carroll was largelyignored during those early reconstruction years. She appealed to Congress forrecognition and compensation for her contributions to the War effort.Eventually, indirect recognition came in Francis B. Carpenter's 1864 paintingof Lincoln and his Cabinet at the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Thepicture shows an empty chair with a folder of maps and notes similar to thoseCarroll had carried. It is believed that this was Carpenter's way ofacknowledging the "unrecognized member of the Cabinet."

In 1881, a bill was finally introduced in Congress to grantrecognition and pension to Anna Carroll. The compensation was to be at a rategiven to major generals. Unfortunately, President Garfield was assassinatedwhile the bill was under consideration, and House Bill 7256 mysteriouslydisappeared. Instead, Congress passed a bill to put Anna Carroll's name on thepension rolls and to pay her $50.00 a month for life for the, "importantmilitary service rendered by her during the late Civil War."

Even though an invalid in her old age, Carroll continued towrite. When the leaders of the Women's Suffrage Movement learned of AnnaCarroll's story, they attracted attention to her plight, claiming such an injusticewould not have happened if women were allowed to vote.

Anna Ella Carroll died on February 19, 1894. The epitaph onher grave reads, "A woman rarely gifted; an able and accomplishedwriter."


From other readings, Carroll was also instrumental in bringing up the Liberia solution to slavery. The original 9' by 15' oil painting this engraving is based on now hangs in the U.S. Capitol Building.


The 1st Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation Engraving including the frame is 31.75" tall, by 41" across, by 1-5/16" wide. The engraving showing thru the matting is 23.25" tall by 32.5" across. Let us know if you have any questions or need additional pictures. Don’t be shy to make anoffer, we are always open to reasonable suggestions.


Makesure that this item meets your needs and requirements before deciding to acquire it. The item can be returned, there is a 15% restocking fee to do so.


So, please carefully review all the attached pictures,ask all the questions you have, comesee in person or send a friend to see the item on your behalf, prior to deciding to acquire it.


Please check out our other Timeless Tokens store listings as we are regularly adding new items. We specialize in antique and vintage artwork, books,collectibles, furniture, musical instruments, paper ephemera, marine/nautical, and clocks. Thanks for your business. (J21002).

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    First Reading/Emancipation Proclamation - After Frances Bicknell Carpenter 1866:
    $1599.20

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