?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750
(CIVIL WAR.) Muringer, Caspar, lithographer; after Christian Schussele In Defence of the Union and the Constitution. Chromolithograph, 24 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches to sight, said to be 29 x 22 inches; minimal wear; not examined out of frame. Philadelphia: P.S. Duval & Son, 1861
A remarkably attractive early piece of chromolithography, this certificate was designed for sale to families of returning soldiers. The artist Christian Schussele also designed the Medal of Honor. A bayonet-wielding soldier stands in defense of the allegorical figure of Liberty, who bears the Constitution and shields a family from danger with a draped flag. The main text reads "In Defence of the Union and the Constitution, this certifies that ___ has served as a volunteer in Comp'y ___ in support of the Government against the rebellion of 1861." The present example was never inscribed or presented. We trace only one other example in OCLC, at the Library of Congress.
