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Estimate: $ 600 - $ 800
(RACISM--HUMOR.) TREGAR, GABRIEL SHEAR. Tregear's Black Jokes. 'The Lubbers' Quarrel' * "The Route." Two chromolithographic prints, 7-5/8 x 11 inches (image size), with generous margins (10-7/8 x 14-7/8 inches), a few early repairs to the wide margins. London, circa 1840's
Gabriel Shear Tregear's chromolithographic 'Black Jokes' series was a great success among the more racist inclined British public. The basic idea of lampooning the successful free Black community originated with Edward W. Clay, an American engraver and printmaker whose 'Life in Philadelphia' series was tremendously popular. Just as Clay had tapped into the resentment of poor whites in Philadelphia, Tregear had a lively following for his 'Jokes.' Crowds would gather in front of his shop window to see each new print in a series of 'Jokes' that finally numbered 19.
