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Large 1864 engraved broadside of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, 17.5 x 21.75, designed and published by Albert Kidder and lithographed and printed by Charles Shober & Co. of Chicago. The visually striking broadside presents the text of the proclamation in elaborate calligraphy and ornamental typography, centered around a small engraved portrait of Lincoln and five patriotic vignettes, including an American eagle, a personification of Columbia, and scenes relating to the Civil War and the preservation of the Union. Key words and phrases are dramatically emphasized throughout the text, including “Emancipation,” “Free,” “Slaves,” “Justice,” and “Independence.” The lower margin bears Kidder’s New York and Chicago publisher addresses and the imprint of Charles Shober & Co. of Chicago. Framed to an overall size of 20.5 x 24.5. In very good to fine condition, with scattered stains and toning, and dampstaining to the right and bottom edges.
This is the second issue of Kidder’s design, distinguished by the inclusion of his New York and Chicago addresses and by the portrait of Lincoln with a noticeably receding hairline, a feature altered for the subsequent third issue before an example was presented to the president. Issued during the Civil War, the broadside transforms the text of Lincoln’s landmark executive order into an elaborate patriotic display, visually linking emancipation with military necessity, preservation of the Union, justice, liberty, and national prosperity.
Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, five days after the Union victory at Antietam, warning that enslaved people in states remaining in rebellion at the start of the new year would be declared free. With the rebellion continuing, he followed with the final Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring enslaved people within designated areas of the Confederacy “shall be thenceforth and forever free.”
