1865

REALITY:
This print is a composite; the head of Abraham Lincoln is  superimposed on the figure and background of an 1852 print of John C. Calhoun by A.H. Ritchie. Some believe this print was made because there were not enough “heroic-style” portraits of Lincoln made during his life. In the Calhoun image, the papers on the table say “strict constitution,” “free trade,” and “the sovereignty of the states.” In the Lincoln image, these words have been changed to read, “constitution,” “union,” and “proclamation of freedom.”