institute is a nonprofit organization that promotes the knowledge and appreciation and achievement of american independence by supporting advanced studies presenting exhibitions and other public programs, advocating reservation, and providing resources to teachers and students. comesrrent expedition from the portraits of the war for independence. one of the most sought after likenesses was that of george washington, the commander-in-chief of the continental army. acquire a likeness of the general. wendy reeves was a curator of .merica during the 40 years of her collected rare books, cartoon characters -- -- character term -- include many articles and books. she received a masters degree in early american culture and she is a member and former board member of the print council of america. -- mr. eva -- miss ree ve. >> i'm honored to be asked to help celebrate george washington's birthday and cincinnati. i'm happy to share with you a slightly different picture of george washington than is typical. thank you all for coming out on just a miserable evening. -- your matchless strength at sea, since we your sons and sensed our swords. for war and for washington. all yours, laugh at empty puff and so does washington. on a lyrics are printed broadside and adorned at the top with a pair of cut profile portraits. washington on the left and jennifer's -- major general artemis ward. posed forhington artists and produced multiple to help us understand demand that helps anchor the nations founding history. my goal today is to take you beyond those artists discerning and another view of washington that circulated through all levels of society during his day. what these images lack and refinement, they make up for an patriotic fervor which had implications for the nature of washington's leadership and his makingay before the miss began. of thebeginning revolutionary war, pictures of heroes were sought. or onlyes were dubious roughly insinuated. probablyhis was -- eded by the same profile the caption leads us to believe they depicted the glorious gates.ton and to right profile could made show her ratio gate -- gates firstnd arrived in boston to take command of the continental army. despite the variability of they needed heroes and believe in the commander-in-chief. let's examine this pennsylvania german almanac published in 1778. in the middle of a very discouraging war was news from the battlefield, rarely give hurried what can we discover about george washington? imagery pertains to almanac making her at sun, moon, front and a strawman of and a calendar. create work from and i -- prominently about this iconic her trumpet. remarkably, from the mouth of emerge the word's, the father of his country. the profile cannot be said to represent a likeness. title with its for a king. vectorial imagery, there is a grip on washington negatively and figuratively. fully provede himself as a commander. emerging about the were easier to examplete one egregious was a set of portraits of washington and his generals, published around 1775. general charles lee serves as one example. in pose, variations americans all represent each other. there were copies and variations --h as those the pitching in 1780. london added a proud, patriotic -- crucial purveyor madeshington space he several paintings from life. 1772.nted him in , he painted him again. thought he would try a print. there, his experts were guided and supported by a thriving industry, which included a consumer and market. the process was technically -- demanding. from softdmired him, grays to bright whites. madederable money could be so he thought he would give it a try. many generations of collectors searched for his effort. the national portrait gallery has been collecting washington by the way, the majority come from the portrait gallery's collection. delightedpecially that a second copy recently emerged. here is only one of two known examples. making it an america was especially challenging. he wrote to friends abroad. there were no technicians to do the tedious rocking of the plates or skilled printers to do although he did not achieve the velvety richness, he had the skill to washington's paintings to print we have a personaldirect and experience that that term implies. i would like to think that this image reveals something of washington's character. portraits date from after the war. this is a rare insight to prewar washington. remember, it is based on a 1776 portrait before washington took command. this exudes a confidence, as well as a calm, mature demeanor. so, i offer hearty congratulations to be society of cincinnati for acquiring what i feel is a very important documentation of washington's character. reveal that he struck over 100 impressions, presenting them to friends and advertising them in the newspapers. he was facing some competition and did not sell well. peel himself was going to have to up his game and he did. own780, he had produced his three-quarter length military portrait based on a new painting of washington from a life. again, peel has produced -- franklin,, in 1787, , herend joseph thome are still had to prepare plates and turning in sales were .isappointing one of my or the niche for an .ngraver, john norman he arrived in london around 1774. he also taught engravings, printed copper plates and sold almanacs and frames. in august, 1779, he advertised for sales and elegant head of george washington. norman himself was not a particular skilled artist, but he was a ardent copyists and became an enthusiastic purveyor of washington's likeness. he advertised one of his first attempts in 1779. the ubiquitous printer was often the only schoolbook available for colonial children. the first toobably substitute the new american hero. copy,graving was a close eyesting -- almond shaped looking straightforward, the curl of hair at each side of the head. and even the highlight on the long nose. just a few months later, norman repeated it, this time using it as a heading for a single sheet, broadside almanac. advertise and the pennsylvania packet on september 16, 1779, the philadelphia almanac for 1780 featured the face of washington. norman embedded these simple portrait. complete with banners and to figures the same and a shield with a rattlesnake. another snake slithers across the bottom. john norman does intrigue me. he makes up with his lack of skill with a noticeable lack of strength. encouraged in his to parch or no , norman appears frequently in this dispute -- and this -- and these days he would get in a whole lot of trouble on twitter. the first printmaker appears to be none other than paul revere, who probably reduced this leads cut image in 1781. revere's portrait of washington is more elaborate than most and while it does not have the details of norman's engraving golf -- allegorical setting. over the next two decades, the revere cut passed from one publisher to another, use repeatedly for almanac or various conditions of the newington primer. last time i researched it, i was located in the same little cot. there were undoubtedly many more. ownhermore, it had its limitations. otherllustrated numerous almanacs and printers. here we have the federal almanac for 1792. ,he banners, canon, cartouche s -- in the next version, there is less artistry. it is better than the conehead version of 1798. for all its failings, it could -- abe called admiral inifully crude rendition at the time of washington's death. you will even here, there were ovalremains of the uniform -- it was not hard to guess the identity. must havellishments been ingrained in the public consciousness. meanwhile, our friend john norman continues to produce his engravings. this print of the commander-in-chief paired with an image of martha washington was published in 1782. it was in the possession of governor hancock. norman is thinning -- sticking -- he adds many embellishments from the philadelphia almanac. unfortunately, for his repetition, norman did not stop with this relatively dignified print. congresscontinental had voted unanimously that an equestrian statue of general washington be erected in the place were residents of congress be at. inwas not only depicted horseback, but in roman dress wearing a laurel brief. reese -- enthusiastic -- to dress, hee answer came up with this. you can't win every time, but give norman credit for being one enthusiastic.s the visual culture of wartime america was quite limited. the publishers of the new boston magazine for andh he engraved the plates produced this image of washington. ambitionn, norman's exceed his talent. here, he copies his magazine illustration published in a french volume from 1772. on the inside cover, norman explains his conception. "nature stands ready to strike the liar, while the genus liberty presents the metal of the illustrious man who has defended her standard in the new world." we can also recognize fame in the lower left corner and the blindfold of justice with her scales in the lower right. allegorical figures are familiar, the multi-breasted new female called nature is less so. closely, there are workingbare of breast awkwardly. they symbolize natures condit the -- think it is fair to say that this particular figure was still considered. i'm guessing it worked better in france. mid-1780's,the competition was going. large prints were appearing in washington. replicas thatd on were sent abroad. mayor,aving by nola accompanied by a prince lafayette, depicted the general in a military camp, littered with treaties and the declaration of independence. a peel painting is a 1785 print by valentine green, one of england's best engravers. , it shows great advantage. while to my eye it does not show the animation and depth of character, it's a superior finish and handsome military imagery would have been impressive to an american audience. -- inme can be said contrast, john norman's enthusiastic attempts seemed awfully crude if not preposterous. this was a few months after the washington engraving was published. unfortunately, the new publishers were not impressed by his ingenuity. they announced that they were the plates after customers had found faults with them being badly executed. >> the snarkiness of the internet is built on a grand tradition. norman responded immediately in the newspapers. blaming the -- refusal of them to pay him. it is hard to know the accuracy of either claim. but if he had indeed complained, you can hardly blame him. but i still have a soft spot in my heart for john norman, laboring over the copper plates. between the strings of the liar. base ofan spread the the commander-in-chief. and he created images that could be copied by even less skilled artists on two blocks that would be in continual use during the 1780's-17 90's. throughout the war and immediately afterwards, it was really nothing short of amazing. cannot know, but we cannot discount the notion that those banners encouraged the army or -- and thecasional dissemination of this alone must've had an impact. it wasn't just those who had seen the painting, like members of the continental congress, or the urban myth is bird who are able to buy the engraving. washington's portrait was available to children, farmers, women readers of magazines, soldiers intrigued by a new federal man and anyone who found it useful to buy an almanac. the facee can see that of washington has much greater and deeper penetration into that washroom -- internet wartime society, let's take a look at the images that dominated after the war. a small etched profile made around 1790 has always fascinated me because it was printed on card stock and you can see it trimmed to an oval and put in a frame. the heavyweight paper made it ideal for sending through the mail. thomas jefferson purchased one in june, 1790, which e-mails to his daughter. william bentley received the notice of a copy from a friend. perhaps because of the small size and easy transportability, the right profile, a strong, determined looking face, became an instantly popular presidential image and was copied in prints, medallions and metals both here and abroad. no --e of the profile -- here we go, it was doolittle's large display of united states of america. this celebration of the constitution and the new federal government enclosed the portrait in a ring of interlocking seals, representing the united states and the 13 original colonies. washington, described as president of the united states and the protector of his country and the supporter of mankind, is elevated here to a major role as a central figure of a newly strengthened federal government. the shift from a loosely connected federation of states was clipped by factual differences. it was a crucial change in our history. doolittle celebrated the constitution and its import by presenting strengthened executive power dramatically and symbolically within the unity of interlocking circles. edward savage's portraits were prominent during the presidency. his three-quarter length image, published in london, depicts washington seeking at a table contemplating the new federal city. it had all the refinement of the british technique, softness of texture and shading, and effects that made him so popular. furthermore, it had the advantage of showing him out of uniform, dressed in an elegant and presidential suit. tall andscribing the manly figure of washington clad in black velvet were impressed with his magnificent presence. this was an important symbolic addition to iconography. he is no longer the soldier that the statesman. the peaceful succession of one elected president to the next had yet to be proven. but to some, a very military president had been informative. washington had been -- his appearance and clothing. so did the printmakers. and there were also many copies that were separate framing prints and book illustrations. at this point, in the 1790's, finally arts were developing, particularly fast in philadelphia, the capital of the book trade. english engravers arriving in america found steady work illustrating bibles, books and magazines. bookstores would have on display and for sale illustrated framing prints. or they were made locally. this replace the laborious technique because it was faster and easier. and the copper plates that were done could survive many more printings without loss of detail. this copy, copied from the stewart, proliferated in books and illustrations. from tobias'smple history of england. engraving.est sword ists helmet and a symbol of military strength as well as the oak branches, which symbolize peace and strength. together, these emblems implied that washington's leadership and nagel the peace that comes through military strength. the inscription on this piece indicates that the design of the print was john james barrel at. an irishman who arrived in america and took up the embellishment of washington portraiture where they had left off. he hady earlier, designed a handsome framingham print of washington based on a miniature. the oval framed portrait rests on the back of the eagle, which also fares a baton for justice and a ribbon. he did not stop there. and the palmers branch is for victory. the laurel wreath all aimed towards encircling the clouds and a radiating son. we might keep two points in mind. here is a seemingly heavy-handed symbolic engraving. thet of all, norman used language, you didn't have to be an upper-class man with an upper less education to understand the implications of the laurel wreath. or the national eagle. secondly, this print was advertised and inscriptions were solicited in 1790 five, during washington second term in office. internal struggles such as the whiskey rebellion, along with controversial foreign entanglements like a treaty, created a contentious debate. and the president himself was viciously assaulted in the foreign press by political and enemies. in the middle of this moment, there were attacks on his general character. he had introduced the radiating life and clouds of this imagery, presenting washington as godlike. within this context, a profusion of symbolism does not seem arbitrary. but his counterweight to negative publicity. otherigned several engraved portraits of washington. repeating similar embellishments. general washington's resignation was published as an illustration in the newspaper in 1799 and it is one of my favorites. withirs the symbolic fame the mount vernon mansion in the background. in an explanation, the print is retiring fromem public office. so it's clearly relates to his 1783 resignation for his military work from his retirement to the presidency after the second term. in this scene, adorned with eagles and the signature helmet sword and baton that is that washington's feet, george washington surrenders his symbols of power to america, who holds a peace pipe. he points with his other hand to mount vernon, with the plow parked in front as the reference to a written legendary roman leader. what makes this print even more fascinating is its connection to another element of visual culture of the day, completely lost to future generations. public spectacles often include something called a transparency. which was a large painting that was led from behind why candles. made itpaper is what transparent and unfortunately, very flammable. needless to say, these images made for parades and ceremonies and other public gatherings, they didn't have much life expectancy. those that survived the evening without bursting into flame were doomed by the oil. so they don't have them today but they did have an important public resins. the explanation here actually described the event that preceded it. it was described as a public inner at a hotel, held march, 1783. on the occasion of his retirement. after dinner, guests marched to and empathy theater. there was a special with ainment feature transparent female figure with a large as life representation of america. the explanation goes on to probably itemize all of the symbolic components that you see here. clearly, a barrel at showed the transparency as well as the print and we are lucky to have a lasting version of the grand celebratory spectacle. and don't miss the cornucopia. is a much more common and successful implication of the new nation than the multi-breasted figure of fame. i won't linger long. left -- of his last visual oath to virtue. wasapotheosis of washington later retitled as the commemoration of washington and it was designed shortly after washington's death. and it was first advertised in december of 1800. in addition to father time, there was face, hope and charity in the background. you will recognize the familiar helmet and sword as well as the eagle shield and ribbon. the morning figure of america with her cap and a grieving indian. in addition to the amalgam of classical and christian and it wasl references, draped over the side of the tomb. they are metals from the order of the free and the order of the cincinnati. this tour de force was reissued over the years. and it was copied for liverpool pictures and chinese reverse paintings on glass. really, that story belongs to the 19th century and the generation eulogizing washington. but the conception at the time of his death does help to reinforce the idea that visual enhancements to washington's face and reputation were widely disseminated and understood by the president's own contemporary . you will notice that the face in this image was recognizably the one by gilbert stuart. best known by the national portrait gallery. itich, in the 19th century, would come to dominate all other faces of washington. once again, a look at the print enriches the stewart story. showing that it's gained information before then. engraved it several times in 1798. here are some examples. efforts, itough the appeared in numerous framing prints. designed aphysician full-length image of washington, which was engaged in 1978. like there let's endeavor, his design was an up welcome -- and to show his achievement in forging the new nation. the figure had the covert stewart head and stands on a pedestal. masonic imagery abounds in the architecture. including the pots of incense. we can assume the other elements of the emblematic scheme would be familiar to this. the background scene introduced a new note, the view of bowling green, new york. depicting nmp pedestal where a statue of george the third stood before being pulled down by a crowd of patriots. a tiny pedestal, right there. washington then stands on his pedestal as a symbolic replacement for the toppled king. he sent copies of this print to george washington, including this one. which fortunately eventually made its way back to mount vernon. ever polite and appreciative, washington acknowledged the gift, calling it elegantly ,xecuted and modestly noting was not the late president of the united states a character in this piece, it would now become me of me for fitness of the design. it was dedicated to the congress of the united states. with the optimistic notion that each of the distinguished politicians might be potential subscribers. as we have seen, there was a range of washington prints, from the large, sophisticated highbrow efforts to the modest endeavors available to every man, woman and child. so i would like to return us to where we began. patriotic music. another of edwards engravings was a very tiny version of covert stewart, also from 1798. this small print, trimmed to a circle, seems to have been made specifically to paste the title of a music sheet. in april, 1798, joseph hopkins composed a piece called the favorite new federal song. written for his friend, the singer and actor, gilbert fox. at that moment, war with revolutionary france appeared inevitable and tensions were mounting between federalists and antifederalists. imagine that. contentions in the capital city. d a patriotic some might rise above the debate and inspire unified american spirit. and indeed, his performance was triumphant. abigail adams attended the theater that evening. and she reported the next day that her head still aches from the thunderous applause. immediately, hell columba -- immediately, hail columbia, which was written to a familiar tune, delighted audiences everywhere. the first public addition up in it with a small engraving of president john adams pasted into the center of the title. 1798, as war threatened to explode, george washington briefly returned to public service when he was appointed, once again, commander-in-chief of the american forces. the enterprise and publisher of the sheet music saw an opportunity for a new sale. he didn't even have to reprint the music itself. since the engraving was mounted on the sheet. it was at the top in the middle of the title. at least three different washington engravings serve this purpose, including this image by edwards. apparently encouraged by the sales, benjamin carr repeated his formula of ornamenting sheet music by mounting the engraving of washington on another patriotic song. but benjamin carr and his fellows must have been especially busy in december, 1799, just after the announcement of washington's death. benjamin carr himself composed the death march played for washington's funeral in six,delphia on december 20 1799. and he published the sheet music on december 31. it was advertised in the philadelphia gazette. so, what can we conclude from these remains of a visual culture we still understand incompletely? we know the record from his contemporaries, the details of his impressive physical presence. his heroism, his steadiness and moral strength. but to my mind, the visual depictions of washington during his own life also help us see the development of his reputation in the public imagination. the effect of a single crude almanac cut isn't impossible to gauge. when you assemble the materials together, there is a cumulative effect from which i think we can legitimately extrapolate meaning. consider the penetration into all levels of society. consider the enhancement of those portraits with widely understood symbolic and allegorical embellishment. let's not discount the context of a washington portrait hovering over patriot -- over patriotic words. is it too much to suggest that washington's engraving had greater impact as a grieving nation consider the lyrics? with honor crowned, mature in age, he felt the wonder of mankind. late with laurel, it he left the stage. he leaves not his alike behind. thank you very much. [applause] thank you. i would be happy to take any questions if anyone has some. t thes, could you talk abou copyright and trademark law to the extent that it existed and as to whether any of these people paid attention to it when they recirculated other people's work? my daughter has just arrived. she is in the third here of law at school. can you tell us anything? there was a lot of borrowing back and forth. certainly, everybody engraved the pictures. as for music copyrights, i don't think there was much available. maybe some of the else knows the answer? ellen? >> there was no american copyright law until the 30's or the 20's. so they were free to do what they want. >> yes, they could steal anything they wanted. anyone else? yes. a wonderful talk. how were the images generally circulated? on almanacs, did you have to buy an almanac to get an image? >> yes. the almanacs would have been purchased. but almanacs were critical. they were very important for most people. particularly farmers or anybody in agriculture. they were widely disseminated. so they would have just been purchased for the use of the almanac. and the pictures came along with it. magazine started being more widely circulated in the 1790's. the prints would have been sold in bookstores. in england, they would have had print shops. there were not buyers so much. not until the 1790's. meager culturey compared to england. ts would have been imported and sold at bookstores. engravers would advertise for subscriptions. so if it was a large engraving and it was expensive to do, they would get people to pay in advance to subscribe to help fund them. good question. anyone else? yes? >> thank you. i am the library director here and i am the one who has had the most extraordinary experience and honor of taking this newly ofnd second copy of the 1778 washington to the national portrait gallery to have wendy print out. the conservator took a look at it and it was quite a moment in my career. we noted when we compared the two copies that there was evidence that each of them had been folded. there was a slight evidence of a crease in different spots, which was reassuring to me, it meant that ours was not a good facsimile of the others. and then i was just thinking portrait little tiny on the cards. and the idea that a small scale -- you think of something larger. but the small-scale was something that could be in another generation. these small images could be mailed and sent. that was for an audience who was hungry for the image of washington. and they might have been talked away, not framed or put on a wall but just they were something you would tuck into a book or a tour. >> i think it could have been that. that is a really good point. it probably was sent around to his friends and i think it is very likely. and it probably was used in a personal way. in the way you would collect a book or a miniature. and just have it for your personal use and share it with a friend, as opposed to putting it in a frame and on the wall. so i think there was a difference between that and the larger file and kind green message from england that would have been framed. congratulations on getting a print. anyone else? yes? >> george washington's image is quite current on the currency of the time. and what image was used , or were there were theires -- varied images used? >> what i have found with george washington's face, and the use on currencies, were some printed bills from westerly rhode island. they were some local currency and they were metals before that. do you know? if there was any currency? i don't think so. coins, yes. i don't think it was on a paper theency until that copy in 1800s. and i remember calling up in westerly and trying to see if there was a historical society or something and the person that i got said, why don't you call the washington bank? i said, is there still a washington bank? so i got the president on the phone. and he said yes, we still have the original copper plates with the engravings of george washington. so for a little exhibit that i did, we brought them down and printed off a couple of pieces of washington currency from the washington bank. so i think that was probably the first instance, for printed currency. thank you all for coming. [applause] >> thank you all for coming tonight. our next program is next thursday, march 3. we are having a concert of early american music by the historic trumpets and flutes from the old guard. i hope you can attend that. thank you and have a good evening. you are watching american history tv. 48 hours of programming on american history every weekend on c-span3. follow us on twitter for information on our schedule and to keep up with the latest history news. the 2016eek until presidential election, american history tv rings you coverage of our presidential races. next, the 1984 democratic debate. between former presidential nominee and the reverend jesse