Trial by Battle.

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

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

Date1840-1844

MediumLithography; printer's ink and watercolor on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 10 1/4 x 12 7/16in. (26 x 31.6cm) Sheet (height x width): 15 7/8 x 15 7/8in. (40.3 x 40.3cm)

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number1961.101.0

DescriptionTwo boys are engaged in mock combat in the interior of a cellar or abandoned house. Both boys hold wooden swords in their right hands. The boy on the left holds a hatchet in his left hand. He wears a long-handled saucepan on his head as a hat. In addition, he wears a short jacket, vest, shirt, and trousers. The boy has a pan or basin on his left arm which he uses as a shield. He wears the lid to a pan as a hat. In addition, he wears a shirt and pants. There is a hole in the knee of his trousers, and his toes are poking through the front of his left shoe. A third boy sits on a barrel in the background, holding a wooden sword in his left hand and a flag made of a piece of clothing tied to a wooden staff in his right hand. He wears a coffee pot on his head with a plume attached to it and has a sash tied over his right shoulder. A fourth boy leans on a barrel at the right; he holds a knife in his left hand. A fifth boy sits on the floor in the lower right corner, playing marbles. Two bottles are on the mantle of a fireplace in the right background. Another barrel, a jug, a broken bowl, and a small hoe are in the left foreground. A battered top hat lies on the floor in the center foreground. Baskets are in an alcove or separate room in the left background. Stairs lead upwards in the center background. A stocking hangs from a rope strung across the stairs. The floor is paved with stone, the walls are constructed of brick.

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