Six Months of Britain’s Punch Magazine,
with Numerous Engravings Showing Lincoln’s Frustration
at the War’s Progress |
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[ABRAHAM LINCOLN].
Newspapers. Punch, or the London Chariari, London, England, July 5, 1862 through December 27, 1862. Bound volume of 26 weekly issues, 9 x 11 in., tight, gold-embossed boards.
Inventory #22848
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Historical Background
Widely read in the United States, Punch addressed a number of American issues, especially the progress of the Civil War. England had considerable trade relations with the United States, including a large Southern cotton interest, and the moral and economic issue of slavery created conflict in Britain which had abolished slavery between 1772 and 1834. The six months offered here represent a critical period during the war, when Union fortunes were down.
Includes important Lincoln and slavery engravings:
● Anticipating the importance of former slaves to the Union war effort, an August 9, 1862, “One Good Turn Deserves Another,” cartoon shows Lincoln approaching an African American man in the effort to recruit him into the army.
● August 23, 1862, “Lincoln's Two Difficulties” presents Lincoln dressed as Uncle Sam with hands in pocket and a perplexed expression on his face, protesting to a tax collector and a soldier: “What? No money! No men”!
● September 27, 1862, “The Overdue Bill” shows Lincoln seated at a desk glumly staring at a paper inscribed, “I promise to subdue the South in ninety days—-Abe Lincoln,” held out to him by a Confederate soldier, who says: “Your ninety days’ promissory note isn’t taken up yet, sirree”!
● October 18, 1862, Lincoln playing the race card, “Abe Lincoln’s Last Card; Or, Rouge-Et-Noir.” The cartoon comes with a related poem, in small part, “From the Slaves of Southern rebels: Thus I strike the chain: But the slaves of loyal owners Still shall slaves remain.”
