Item #26534 The Golden Era of the South. 1890 Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper - August 16.

The Golden Era of the South.

NY: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 1890. 20 x 13. Is this best categorized as a print or a map? While a map is at the center of this engraving, the surrounding illustrative material is far more interesting, so my vote (the only one that counts) is that it is a print. It appeared in a supplement to Leslie's, undoubtedly a promotional for southern interests. Here a gentleman gestures at a railway map of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railway System (substantially augmented by connecting lines) while an audience gapes at a representation of southern prosperity that includes everything from the "blessings of Mother Earth" to winter and summer resorts, rich land, labor and capital, work for all and much more. A florid caption reads, in part, "You can reach forth your hand and almost clutch the gold that the sun rains down with his beams as he takes his daily journey between the cotton field and the coal mineÉ" The drawing is by Thomas Nast, famed political illustrator. Folded as issued but without binding holes and with a blank verso. Item #26534

Price: $175.00