1861 Magnus Broadside Portraits of U.S. Presidents, incl. Lincoln

A c. 1861 lithographed broadside published by Charles Magnus celebrating the 16 presidents of the United States from Washington to Lincoln.

A Closer Look

Each president is represented by a well-executed engraved portrait in a small oval that also includes the president's name and the years of his presidency. The portraits surround a central depiction of the White House, proceeding clockwise from Washington at center-top, with the most recent presidents (Pierce, Buchanan, and Lincoln) situated close to the White House vignette.

Issued in New York City, most likely in early 1861, this broadsheet was one in a series of romantic and patriotic sheets Magnus produced throughout the 1850s and 1860s. This example is nevertheless fascinating as a gauge of national sentiment because it dates to such a fraught period in the country's history.

Publication History and Census

This sheet was published c. 1861 by Charles Magnus in New York City. It most likely was published in the period after Lincoln's election in 1860 but before the full onset of the U.S. Civil War in the summer of 1861, though it could date to any time during Lincoln's term in office. A range of presidential sheets and broadsides were produced by different lithographic companies in the 1850s and 1860s, including at least two by Magnus with this title. Nevertheless, the OCLC only records two examples of this particular sheet at the Library of Congress and Brown University. However, the arrangement of the sheet held by the Library of Congress is different, oriented vertically rather than horizontally and containing two vignettes of the White House instead of one, as here (their example is also cataloged as a 'b and w film copy neg.,' so a physical holding may not survive).