Columbia lays aside her laurels to mourn at the burning of her birth-place

Columbia lays aside her laurels to mourn at the burning of her birth-place

Item Information

Title:
Columbia lays aside her laurels to mourn at the burning of her birth-place
Description:
Thomas Nast's dramatic and symbolic representation of the devastation caused by the Great Fire was published in Harper's Weekly, three weeks after the event. Columbia, the historical female personification of the United States, is depicted in despair at the destruction of the city. A hideous Gorgon sweeps fire across the sky, as Columbia shields her eyes from the monstrous flames that consume Boston - the proverbial birth place of liberty. Casting aside her victory laurels representing recent political events, the goddess is overcome by grief to see the "Athens of America" succumb to the inferno.
Creator:
Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902
Artist:
Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902
Name on Item:
Th. Nast.
Date:
1872
Format:
Prints
Location:
Boston Public Library
Norman B. Leventhal Map Center
Collection (local):
Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection
Subjects:
Great Fire, Boston, Mass., 1872
1870–1880
Places:
Suffolk (county) > Boston
Extent:
1 print : wood engraving ; 41 x 28 cm.
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/cj82m653z
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
Publisher:
New York : Harper & Bros.
Language:
English
Notes:
Title from item.
Published in Harper's Weekly, 1872 November 30, p. 941.
Publication may be restricted. For information see "Ben and Beatrice Goldstein Foundation Collection"
Notes (exhibitions):
Exhibited: "Boston in the Gilded Age: Mapping Public Places" organized by the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, 2012-2013.
Identifier:
06_01_010406
Call #:
AP2 .H32 v. 16 no. 831
Barcode:
39999065671495
LCCN:
2010644058