Sep 28, 2023 - Sale 2646

Sale 2646 - Lot 43

Price Realized: $ 1,000
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,200 - $ 1,800
(AMERICAN REVOLUTION.) Benjamin Tanner; after Barralet. America Guided by Wisdom: An Allegorical Representation of the United States. Etching, 18 1/4 x 23 3/4 inches; 2 3-inch closed tears in image area, several short repaired tears in margins, light mat toning, unevenly trimmed. Philadelphia: Benjamin Tanner, 27 March 1820
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Additional Details

Minerva, goddess of wisdom, is in the foreground offering counsel to the Genius of America (seated with the "Union and Independence" shield). An equestrian statue of Washington stands guard in the background, with the fruits of American commerce, agriculture, and industry all on display.

We are aware of three states of this print, the priority remaining uncertain. The original painting was first exhibited in 1813. We suspect the first state of the engraving was that described in Stauffer 3115, which is undated but credits the engravers and publishers as Tanner, Vallance, Kearny & Co., a firm which Tanner joined in 1815. The possible second state is attributed solely to Tanner as engraver but has no date or imprint line. The present example, with Tanner's 1820 imprint line, may be the third state. Both solo Tanner printings (undated and 1820) have an unusual reversed "N" in "ENGRAVED BY B. TANNER," so they must be adjacent in the chronology. Fowble 324.