Mar 20 at 10:30 AM - Sale 2697 -

Sale 2697 - Lot 16

Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500
(ABOLITION.) John G. Whittier and Manuel Emelio. Little Eva Song: Uncle Tom's Guardian Angel. Engraving on linen, 12½ x 12¼ inches; folds, light foxing, moderate dampstaining, wide margins. Massachusetts: John P. Jewett & Co., 1852
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Additional Details

A song written to promote Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," published earlier that year. It is illustrated with a depiction of "Little Eva and Uncle Tom in the Arbor" after the original book's Chapter XXII illustration. Streaming through the decorative border is a statement on the book's popularity and veracity.

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published in book form by John Jewett's firm on 20 March 1852, and the 4-page musical score for this song was being advertised in newspapers by 26 June. This handkerchief textile by the same publisher was apparently produced circa September, as it boasts of the book's sales: "115,000 copies . . . have been sold in 6 months."

The song's words were written by John Greenleaf Whittier, one of the nation's most popular poets at the time. The music was by Manuel Emilio, a native of Spain; his son was later a prominent officer in the fabled 54th Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War. The song's melody is printed in two lines, with two additional verses below. Collins, Threads of History 233.

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