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Please note that though we try to keep these pages up to date, we may have other Presidential portraits not listed here.
Please contact us if you would like a current list of any President, and also visit our page of small portraits.
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A rare set of the first seven Presidents issued in Philadelphia in 1846. In the second quarter of the nineteenth century, companies appeared around the United States making small sized popular lithographs for homes and offices. The most famous of these was the N. Currier (later Currier & Ives) firm from New York, but there other important firms located in New York, as well as in Boston, Hartford, Washington and Philadelphia. One of the most popular subjects for the images produced by these firms were Presidential portraits. While sometimes these images were purchased to be hung in sets, rarely do runs of Presidents over two or three survive intact. Here we have a rare set of seven from one of the most interesting and desirable of the Presidential series.
The publisher of this series was C.W. Williams, whose output was limited. However, to produce these lithographs, Williams used two of the most important figures in early American lithography, Alfred Newsam and P.S. Duval. Alfred Newsam, a deaf mute, began work as a lithographic artist almost two decades before working for Cephas G. Childs, a Philadelphia engraver and print publisher. Newsam was particularly noted for his portraits, including all the earliest images for the McKenney & Hall series of Indian portraits. In 1831, Childs formed a partnership with Henry Inman, at which time he went to Europe to learn more about lithography, which was still in its early stages. Childs came back with P.S. Duval, to help run the Childs & Inman presses. This was perhaps Childs' most significant contribution to American lithography, for Duval was to become one of the foremost lithographers in the country and the world.
The quality of the work of both Newsam and Duval is evident in these fine lithographs. The portraits are derivative on other sources, as was typical of this type of popular print, but they are finely drawn, lithographed, and colored. Each image is surrounded by an elaborate border, indicating that Williams wanted his series to stand out from the plainer prints issued by his competitors. His strategy does not appear to have been very successful, as the scarcity of these images indicates not that many were sold. We are lucky to have this set of seven, which are fine examples of American popular printmaking, as well as handsome images of our first Presidents. $2,800
"Presidents of America."/"Zachary Taylor, The People's Choice for 12th President." New York: Read & Co., 1848. Engraving. Ca. 15 1/2 x 11 1/2. Two repaired marginal tears, expertly repaired and not touching image. Very good condition. Not in Reilly (cf. 1848-5).
A rare, unrecorded political print showing Zachary Taylor surrounded by an oval containing portraits of the first eleven Presidents. This print is an engraving issued by Read & Co., and it was intended to be used as part of Zachary Taylor's campaign as Whig candidate for the Presidency in 1848. Towards that end it associates the General, hero of the Mexican War, with all the illustrious Presidents from George Washington to James Polk. The oval of portraits is surmounted by symbols of America, presenting not only as worthy of those who came before, but also a fully and patriotically American. Nathaniel Currier issued a very similar lithograph in 1848, and it seems likely that the Currier print was copied from this finer quality image. $475
Nathaniel Currier's 1844 Presidential Group
The Gale listing includes six versions of Currier's popular group portrait issued in 1844, each showing Polk as "President Elect." The following are hand colored, small folio prints issued by N. Currier in 1844. Each shows Washington, just above an image of the Declaration of Independence, and surrounded by the following ten Presidents.
"Presidents Of The United States Of America, First Century." Washington: T.S. Arthur & Son., 1876. Engraving by J.R. Rice. 14 1/4 x 22 7/8. Strong impression. Very good condition.A striking group portrait of the Presidents of the United States issued at the time of the Centennial. This engraving, with the images based "From Authentic Portraits," was issued in Washington, D.C. and it distinctively celebrates the Chief Executives of the "First Century." 18 oval portraits are laid out on an engraved background and the quality of the engraving, with the rich impression, makes this gallery a most impressive decorative as well as historical document. Facsimile signatures of the Presidents are placed below the image. We have not found any reference to this print, nor have we seen it before, so it is rare as it is wonderful. $950
[George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and James Garfield.] Boston: John A Lowell, 1884. 16 3/8 x 23. Engraving by J.A.J. Wilcox. With blind stamp. Wide margins. Excellent condition.
The assassination of a President brings on both national mourning and a desire to honor the slain. Abraham Lincoln's murder generated a large number of prints both scenes of the event and portraits of Lincoln memorializing him. Less than twenty years later, on July 2, 1881, another President, James Garfield, was shot in a Washington railroad station and died about two months later. Printmakers once again issued prints to memorialize the slain President. This print is a moving tribute to Garfield, linking him both with Lincoln, but also the father of our country, George Washington. Washington's portrait sits in the center flanked by two American flags and an incense pot labeled "Pro Patria." To the sides are portraits of the two assassinated Presidents, each surrounded by laurel leaves. Finishing this rich image are vignettes depicting statues of Lincoln and Garfield and, at the top, a scene of the sun rising before the Washington monument. $600
"America's Greatest Patriots." Chicago: Kurz & Allison, [1890]-1891. Ca 16 1/2 x 22. Lithograph. Very good condition.
On September 6, 1901, a third President, William McKinley, was shot and killed in Buffalo, New York. This print, by the Chicago firm of Kurz & Allison, is an updated version of the print above, with McKinley now joining the pantheon of Washington, Lincoln and Garfield. $575
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©The Philadelphia Print Shop, Ltd. Last updated May 7, 2008
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