Lot 625: Rare 15th Amendment Illustration, 1872

Extremely scarce Black voting rights related illustration, "Voting by Ballot in the United States," from the English magazine "The Graphic," published Nov. 23, 1872. The image depicts an African American man in suit and hat, casting a ballot at the center of a busy polling place, surrounded entirely by white men wearing clothing suggesting a variety of classes. A uniformed police officer is partially depicted at one side, and through a window, the American flag is visible flying outside. Matted and framed under glass in a molded wood grain frame. Sight: 11"h x 14 1/2"W. Frame: 17 5/8"H x 21 1/4"W. Note: the 15th Amendment, granting African American men the right to vote, was passed by Congress February 26, 1869, and ratified February 3, 1870. The first subsequent U.S. Presidential election, likely depicted in this scene, was held Tuesday, Nov. 5, 1872. Incumbent president Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Democratic-endorsed liberal Republican nominee Horace Greeley.

PROVENANCE: Estate of Judge John Nixon, Nashville, Tennessee.

CONDITION: Excellent condition, professionally cleaned and deacidified. Not examined out of frame.