Reading the Emancipation Proclamation.

DraftsmanDrawn by Henry Walker Herrick American, 1824 - 1906

LicenserCopyright by Lucius Stebbins American, 1810 - 1901

Date1864

MediumEngraving; printer's ink on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 13 1/2 x 17 5/8in. (34.3 x 44.8cm)
Sheet (height x width): 18 x 20 7/16in. (45.7 x 51.9cm)

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineThe Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund

DescriptionIn the interior of a cabin, a soldier in uniform reads from what appears to be a newspaper, while ten African-Americans listen and react emotionally. A young woman with two children and an elderly man kneel in prayer. A young barefoot boy holding a flaming torch climbs on a chair. Another boy raises his hat in the air. An elderly woman at the left leans on a cane. A woman at the right holds an infant. A cradle is nearby. Two women wear turbans. An open door and a ladder leading to an upper story are in the right background. A pitcher, a plate, and a knife are on a table in the center of the room. A rose and a towel hang from a string above a stone fireplace. A small bust-length portrait of Abraham Lincoln is printed beneath the main image.

Object number2006.50.0

InscribedInscribed in plate, lower center, in black ink, "READING THE / EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION / And upon, this act of justic, warranted by the CONSTITUTION, / I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of ALMIGHTY GOD. / Jany. 1. 1863."

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