Civil War print - Uncle Sam as fisherman - from the exhibit ZOUAVES, DEVILS & SASS at The Grand Review
Regular price
$50.00
Sale
Print size 22 x 24, and consciously formatted to work with a standard size store bought frame, or custom framed as you see fit.
We originally began work on this exhibit more than a decade ago with the acquisition of the Yours Til Death devil image and the Oh, Let Me Alone skull and crossbones. Then there was a period of casual collecting and digital restoration, then a more serious period of more determined collecting and negotiations with other collectors to access some images we did not own.
Over the years we also collected some Civil War envelopes that were not strong enough artistically to include in the restored and enlarged print form, but we knew we would display them in showcases with those we did put through our process. As we prepared the display of tiny originals in the showcases the other day with strong and less strong examples shown together, three envelopes reappeared that we'd acquired some time back, set aside during a time of transition, and forgotten about.
I am happy to present this as one of those three that stepped out strongly, saved from being accidentally left with the 'also rans'.
This large print shows an early Uncle Sam like character having successfully landed Maryland from the secession pond with cannon for bait while the rest of the Southern state fishies consider the bait, but don't seem particularly interested at this point in the contest. Uncle Sam seems confident. South Carolina could care less.
The contest for Maryland is one of the most bizarre chapters in the annals of the Civil War. A fascinating story worth spending some time with, it is a ferocious moment where Washington usurped power in a way never done before or since in America to force Maryland by any means necessary to stay within the Union fold. Never taught in school likely because it doesn't fit neatly into the Grant versus Lee battles style of lesson plans we're used to, it is relegated to less than a footnote nowadays like so many of the stories and passions explored in this exhibition.
Forgive me for stepping into salesman mode, but this really should grace the wall of the living room, den or office of every modern gentleman who loves to fish and is fascinated by the American Civil War.
- Handmade item
- Materials: Art stock enhanced matte paper, archival ink
- Made to order
- Only ships within United States.
SHIPPING
All prints are shipped in a sturdy mailing tube for $8, which covers postage, tube and S & H.
BUYING MORE THAN ONE PRINT? Add a second print or any number thereafter of this or any other prints in our catalog and shipping is still just $8, total!!!
International shipping is available and reasonable. Please contact us for details.
A NOTE ON OUR PROCESS, OUR CHOICES AND THE QUALITY OF THE GRAPHIC CRAFTSMANSHIP THAT GOES INTO OUR PRINTS.
Every print we deem exciting enough to present to the public via our Etsy store or available here at our studio has gone through a number of steps. The first of those is always discovering and falling in love with an obscure image, always an original that we can hold in our hands. That image is speaking to us, sometime screaming “Don’t leave me here. See what I am, what I was, what I can be, what I SHOULD be!”
There is a real sense of excitement involved, and a great many smiles and knowing grins when we make that deal and bring that ancient print, that battered photo, that scrap of ephemera that contains some scrap of genius from an unknown commercial artist home with us, knowing already how we mean to approach its restoration.
There is the heady promise of a further hunt just as real as what drags a weekend fisherman out of bed at 3AM to work a favorite brook as we start our research, looking for that great backstory, and both ready and willing to tumble down as many rabbit holes as are revealed to us to get that story.
Then there is a meticulous digital restoration that is as often as much fun as riding a vintage Moto Guzzi on a winding coastal road. I don’t care if that sounds crazy, it really is like jumping in the saddle! So many choices, so many chances to take to subtly or spectacularly give new life to otherwise permanently obscure images.
This dedication and the ongoing rush of joy in the accomplishment of it, and the opportunity to share the results in our studio and here on Etsy, is the fire of passion that keeps these engines roaring. We make every effort to ensure our customers are not just satisfied but thrilled, and we happily stand 100% behind our work.