[African-Americana] [Thirteenth Amendment] (Powell, George May) The Great National Picture, with Rare Printed Advertisement Sign

Photomontage Commemorating the Passage of the Thirteenth Amendment with Very Rare Sign Advertising Powell's Studio

New York: Powell & Co., 1865. Oval albumen print mounted to card, approximately 10 x 8 3/4 in. (254 x 222 mm). Scattered light foxing and soiling along mount, and image; two small abrasions within mount, not affecting image. Card: 13 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (343 266 mm). With an extraordinarily rare printed advertising sign: "G. M. Powell & Co. Publishers Of The Great National Picture Room 24."; mounted to card. 11 x 14 in. (279 x 356 mm). Lightly toned, small chips around the margin, dampstain at lower right; offsetting on verso from another example.

A scarce contemporary photomontage commemorating the end of slavery in the United States with the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Featuring portraits of President Lincoln at bottom, Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin at top, and encircled by all 157 senators and congressmen who voted in favor of the Amendment. It was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the required 27 (of 36) states on December 6 of that year. This photo was very popular at the time, and was printed in various sizes, on different mounts, and sometimes with a different imprint. Some copies were issued with a printed key identifying each individual (not included here).

George May Powell (1835-1905) was a respected Union Army statistician but became famous for his anti-slavery Great National Picture. He later expanded his career as an archeologist, cartographer, inventor, evangelist, and social reformer. Some of his most notable inventions include improved prosthetic limbs for fellow Civil War veterans, more efficient army rifles and cots, and methodical improvements to the processes of photography and cartography. He was active in religious work for most of his life, founded the Evangelical Press Association in 1868, and made several trips to Palestine where he completed maps of the Holy Land that were used in Sunday School programs across America.

As we can find no other examples--nor records--of this sign, it is perhaps a unique surviving example, presumably used in either one of Powell's studios or in a retail establishment.

Both the photo and sign are Powell-family retained copies.

Provenance

George May Powell, thence by descent in the family, to current owner