Unattributed. [Lafayette.]

Unattributed.  [Lafayette.]

New York: William Schaus, ca. 1855. Lithograph. Printed by J.H. Bufford, Boston. Tinted lithograph. 25 1/2 x 19 3/8 plus margins. A few smudges in margins. Else, very good condition.

A large bust portrait of General Lafayette from the mid-nineteenth century. The print is part of a series of portraits of eminent Americans published by William Schaus. Schaus in 1847 was sent to New York by the Paris firm of Goupil, Vibert & Co. as their American agent, but in 1850 he set up on his own as a print publisher. As one of his first projects he intended to issue twelve portraits a year in a series called the "Illustrious Americans," which was to include Daniel Webster, General Lafayette and Benjamin Franklin. This striking portrait is typical of the series, with an imposing image of America's French ally, the Marquis de Lafayette.