Apr 16, 2019 - Sale 2505

Sale 2505 - Lot 166

Price Realized: $ 500
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750
(PRESIDENTS--1866.) Magee, John L. The Destruction of Pharaoh and his Host. Lithograph, 5 1/2 x 7 inches; minor wear including 2 creases in margins. Philadelphia, [1866]

Additional Details

This print supported the successful candidacy of John W. Geary for the Pennsylvania governorship in 1866. Geary had earlier become a staunch abolitionist during his term as governor of "Bleeding Kansas." Geary's progressive pro-Reconstruction policies under the banner of "Geary and Victory" are contrasted with "Pharaoh" Andrew Johnson, whose pro-Southern policies are drowning his supporters, and have knocked the crown from his head. A subcaption reads "Moses is safe, let Pharaoh sink / And where he goes, he'll get his drink." Magee was a prolific and well-known lithographer, but no other examples of this print have been traced at auction or on OCLC.