VOLUNTEER REFRESHMENT SALOON, SUPPORTED GRATUITOUSLY BY THE CITIZENS OF PHILADELPHIA, PA.
Philadelphia: Lith & Printed by W. Boell 311 Walnut St. Pub. by B. S. Brown, 1861. Elephant folio broadside lithograph, 22-1/4" x 19-1/2." Uncolored. Matted. Closed tear visible at blank upper margin. The matting conceals blank margin chipping and blank corners taped to the lower mat. Good+.
This print depicts the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, located at the southwest corner of Swanson and Washington Avenues in Philadelphia during the American Civil War. "A rather important print, published by subscription, probably his only one" [Peters].
Here is the Library of Congress description: "This print depicts the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, located at the southwest corner of Swanson and Washington Avenues in Philadelphia during the American Civil War. The saloon was a volunteer relief agency supported by the citizens of Philadelphia, which provided meals, hospital care, and washing, sleeping, and writing facilities to military personnel, refugees, and freedmen throughout the war. The print shows soldiers, cheered by civilian onlookers, marching out from the main building to embark on cars of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad for transport to the battlefields to the south. The flag in the upper left-hand corner proclaims "Union For Ever," indicating the main initial war aim of the North and of President Abraham Lincoln: to preserve the Union by forcibly preventing the secession of the Southern states. Below the main illustration are views of the soldiers eating in the enormous dining hall and of meals being prepared. The illustration is by lithographer William Boell (also seen as William Buell). Born in France around 1832, Boell worked in New York from 1854 until about 1859. He then moved to Philadelphia where he established his own firm and was active until the 1880s. His work included book illustrations, advertisements, church views, bird's eye views, and political cartoons."
Library of Congress Control Number 2021670445. Peters, America on Stone 113. OCLC 1424678337 [1- QA IDM TEST WMS 2] as of June 2025. 14 Rosenbach 277 ["Of great interest is the Philadelphia & Baltimore Railroad train being loaded with troops in front of the canteen. Peters 98--9, Phillips 474."]. Item #40961
Price: $750.00