Price: $275.00
SKU: 104243
ARTIST: Edward Clay
MEDIUM: Lithograph
DATE: Undated. c. 1831
EDITION SIZE: Vignette, Paper size 10 x 6 5/8" (25.5 x 17 cm)
DESCRIPTION: <b>A early lithographic portrait of Nimrod Wild-Fire, AKA, Davy Crockett.</b><br><br> In 1831, actor James Henry Hackett trod the boards of America’s theaters costumed in a buckskin suit, wildcat-skin cap and Tennessee long-rifle. As Nimrod Wildfire, he caricatured the public’s perception of a Tennessee backwoodsman, specifically one of the most popular Tennessee backwoodsmen of the time, Congressman David Crockett.<br><br> In 1831 the actor-producer James H. Hackett presented in New York a play by James Kirke Paulding called <b>Lion of the West</b>, based loosely on the legends of David Crockett and other frontier figures. The play was an instant and runaway success and was later presented to acclaim in other American cities and in Britain. In Colonel Nimrod Wildfire, Paulding created the type of the backwoods humorist and teller of tall tales. Claiming to be half alligator and half horse, the colonel bragged, "I can jump higher - squat lower - dive deeper - stay longer under and come out drier!" than anyone foolish enough to challenge him. The play thrilled city audiences who felt superior to the frontiersman but also dreamed of aggressively expanding the United States into the promised land of the West. The president at that time, who personified the passion for westward expansion, was Old Hickory, Andrew Jackson of Tennessee. Congressman David Crockett, in the audience for the play in Washington, D.C., was called out and saluted by Hackett, and rather than being offended, he seemed to enjoy the burlesque of his public image.<br><br> Signed in the stone “Clay”. This is likely Edward Williams Clay (1799-1857), a noted American artist, illustrator political satirist and lithographer.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
CONDITION: Good condition save for four minor glue stains where it was once attached into a scrapbook. B/W
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