(CIVIL WAR NAVY) Not Whittington and His Cat Cartoon by

Sale 2455 - Lot 92

Price Realized: $ 531

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Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600

(CIVIL WAR--NAVY.) Not Whittington and His Cat. . . . Cartoon by Powell for the Great Naval Picture to Adorn the Capitol. Lithograph, 17 3/4 x 11 1/2 inches; folds, minor foxing and soiling. Np, circa 1865

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A scarce Civil War satirical print--and more obscure than most. Let's walk through the allusions. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles is sitting at his desk, trying to evaluate a model of one of the new proposed ironclad warships. However, a fox has its paws over his eyes--presumably representing Welles's assistant secretary Gustavus Vasa Fox, an outspoken advocate for the expansion of the ironclad fleet.
In March 1865, artist William Henry Powell was commissioned to produce a mural 'illustrative of some naval victory' for the United States Capitol. In this print's subcaption, the satirist proposes mischievously that Fox's deception of Welles would be a suitable "naval victory" for the capitol mural. We are left with one final obscure reference, in the title: "Not Whittington and His Cat." This is an allusion to the old English ballad "Dick Whittington and His Cat"--but why, we cannot say. The artist and publisher are unknown. 2 copies in OCLC, and none traced at auction.