The Spirit of --76.

PrinterPrinted by E.B. & E.C. Kellogg (American, 1840 - 1867)

PublisherPublished by E.B. & E.C. Kellogg (American, 1840 - 1867)

Date1852-1853

MediumLithography; printer's ink and watercolor on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 8 x 12 5/16in. (20.3 x 31.3cm) Sheet (height x width): 9 7/8 x 14in. (25.1 x 35.6cm)

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number1988.44.0

DescriptionA young man in eighteenth-century clothing consisting of a coat, breeches, hose, shoes with shoe buckles, and shirt with a ruffled front, stands in the interior of a room. A young girl buckles a strap across his breast. An old bald man at the left, checks a flint lock rifle with bayonet attached. An elderly woman at the right wearing a cap, an apron, and a fringed shawl over her dress hands the young man a sword and points heavenwards. A young boy kneels on the floor, either filling a powder horn or casting bullets. A woman holding an infant in her lap is seated at the far right. Her foot rests on a footstool. She holds a sheet of paper inscribed: "DECLARATION OF / INDEPENDENCE / JULY 4, 1776." A canteen, two bottles, and a small trunk are nearby. A kitten looks into a box with a hinged lid. A second man, carrying a rifle and wearing a sword, enters through an open door at the far left. Behind the door are a barrel and a basket. A shelf, candles, a towel, an almanac dated "1776", and two framed portraits, probably of George Washington and his wife Martha Washington, hang on the wall. A pitcher, a mug, and two candlesticks are on the mantle of a fireplace. Dishes, platters, jugs, and ladles are in corner cupboard at the right. A reflector oven with a spit, a brush, a towel, and possibly a cheese mold are on the wall at the far right. A basket, a two-handled jug, and a pail or bucket are in the front left corner.

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