Civil War print - Slavery, Emancipation - Black wet nurse

From the exhibit ZOUAVES, DEVILS & SASS, Political Passions & The Printed Envelope During The American Civil War.

Print size 24 x 22, and consciously formatted to work with a standard size store bought frame, or custom framed as you see fit.

Originally conceived as a Northern political cartoon indicating The South's strength and nourishment is solely drawn from the slave economy, this image presented as a large format print has been both very popular and to a few, infuriating. Very popular among mixed race couples and grown children of mixed race parents, I have found, often, that some White folks and less often, some Black folks approach this ready to take umbrage. Perception in this case is entirely what you bring with you when first seeing it, and various scenarios imagined make some uncomfortable and yet brings real joy to others. The latter have purchased quite a number of these. Running into some of those happy customers at other times, I've been thanked and told in glowing terms how much it is loved and where in their homes it hangs.

Interesting again for the emotions that the Civil War can still bring forth. I've noted that the most serious concerns brought forward to me by Caucasian Americans when I exhibit this as part of the entire presentation at shows, etc. are in defense of African Americans, that perhaps the image is or will be offensive to the African American community because for example, the wet nurse here would have been a slave and therefor not at liberty to choose whether to serve as a wet nurse or not. The reaction from Blacks has mostly been fascination, much contemplation and general chin pulling but, with two notable exceptions, satisfaction if not pleasure that the image was included.

Still, as previously mentioned, the image has been warmly and lovingly embraced and purchased regularly by mixed race couples and children of mixed race parents. Both views, both reactions are a valid and legitimate part of the legacy of the Civil War and race relations in America.

Having had two children with my wife, I love this image for the look on her face and how the print transports me back to that happy time. That they are of two distinct colors only reinforces my feelings of the brotherhood of man.

Please note further, and here is a good place to pause and make this clear, that some Civil War envelopes exist with images that are or should be offensive to everyone. I chose, as a curator whose purpose was to mine this rich vein of visual delights for gems to grace walls as decorative art prints, to set the most visually egregious original envelopes aside. That is not to deny them or their existence. They are here in the studio, displayed in our showcases, and remain part of the total exhibit. Common examples would include cartoons depicting the hanging of Southern political and military leaders, and that sort of thing. The vast majority of the images are beautiful, engaging, challenging. Many are comic and full of the razzberry. All serve as an open door to conversation and further inquiry which is what I wished to share with the public in this way.

• Handmade item
• Materials: Art stock enhanced matte paper, archival ink
• Made to order
• Only ships within United States.

SHIPPING

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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.