"By the way this puts me in mind of a little story in Esop's Fables"

Creator Role

repository author publisher

Description

The print is a reproduction of an illustration originally appearing in Frederick Leypoldt's 1863 publication, Ye Book of Copperheads. In the illustration, Abraham Lincoln's head is mounted on a nail file. A copperhead snake is shown with its body wound around the file and biting the file's shaft. During the Civil War, Copperhead, a snake with a predisposition to strike without warning, was a nickname given to Peace Democrats who opposed the war and called for reconciliation between the North and South.

Description Source

Internet Archive. https://archive.org/stream/yebookofcopperhe00lela#page/5 (accessed August 2, 2018).

Contributor

Justice Frank J. and Virginia Williams

Approximate Creation Date

n.d.

Measurement

8 X 10 inches

Materials and Techniques Display

photographic paper

Inscription

recto, in cartoon: "By the way this puts me in mind of a little story in Esop's Fables" / There once was a Copperhead vile, who attempted to damage a file, / So he tried it in truth, but soon broke every tooth / On that rust and crusty Old File. / 5 verso, on stamp: PRINT FROM PHOTOGRAPH / in possession of the Lincoln / National Life Foundation / Fort Wayne, Indiana / Identification Number 903

Subjects

Copperhead movement; Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Work Type

political cartoon--reproductive print

Class

cartoons

Rights

Copyright protected by Mississippi State University Libraries. Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required.

ID

3176

Current Location

Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana (Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States)

Repository

Mississippi State University Libraries

Digital Publisher

Mississippi State University Libraries (electronic version).

Contact Information

For more information about the contents of this collection, email sp_coll@library.msstate.edu.

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