Broadside, dated January 18, 1867, advertising a lecture at Babcock's Hall, Rock Island, Illinois by “Miss Clara Barton," featuring a prominent quote from John B. Gough, stating that Barton had read him her lecture and that “I never heard anything more touching, more thrilling, in my life,” the advertisement also noting that seats have been reserved for residents of Moline (approx. 4 miles away) and that an "Extra Train" has been reserved for the express purpose of bringing Moline residents to and from the lecture. Creases, small nicks to edges, light staining to center, else fine. 18 x 24 inches.
Original period broadsides, especially of such proportions, are rare. In our search of over 50 years of auction records, we have located but one single Clara Barton lecture broadside, much smaller than the present example.
A striking and large original broadside for an appearance by the educator and humanitarian who helped distribute needed supplies to the Union Army during the Civil War and later founded the disaster relief organization, the American Red Cross. Barton garnered nationwide recognition for her efforts during the war, and quickly became known as the “Angel of the Battlefield.” After the war, Barton embarked on a successful lecture tour and it was there that Barton met Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Frederick Douglass, who involved her in the Suffrage/Civil Rights movements, respectively.
In the fall of 1866, at the suggestion of Fanny Gage, Clara embarked on an exhausting lecture tour. She began lecturing on her Civil War experiences in lyceum halls, churches, town halls and schoolrooms. Though she never felt comfortable in front of an audience, wherever she spoke she was well-received, and soon the tales of her work on the battlefields became widely known and even legendary. Clara was even asked to speak on behalf of women's rights, and at a Universal Franchise Convention in 1868 proclaimed that blacks had suffered far greater wrongs than women in their oppression. Her contemporary biographer Percy Epler wrote that "a tear-stained multitude thronged everywhere to hear her," for she made it her mission to show, as she said, not "the glories of conquering armies but the mischief and misery they strew in their tracks; and how, while they march on... some one must follow closely in their steps, crouching to the earth.. faces bathed in tears and hands in blood. This is the side which history never shows."
From 1866 through 1868, Clara delivered over 200 lectures throughout the northeast and Midwest regarding her Civil War experiences. She shared platforms with other prominent figures including Frederick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Lloyd Garrison, and Mark Twain. She often earned $75 to $100 per lecture.
Broadside, dated January 18, 1867, advertising a lecture at Babcock's Hall, Rock Island, Illinois by “Miss Clara Barton," featuring a prominent quote from John B. Gough, stating that Barton had read him her lecture and that “I never heard anything more touching, more thrilling, in my life,” the advertisement also noting that seats have been reserved for residents of Moline (approx. 4 miles away) and that an "Extra Train" has been reserved for the express purpose of bringing Moline residents to and from the lecture. Creases, small nicks to edges, light staining to center, else fine. 18 x 24 inches.
Original period broadsides, especially of such proportions, are rare. In our search of over 50 years of auction records, we have located but one single Clara Barton lecture broadside, much smaller than the present example.
A striking and large original broadside for an appearance by the educator and humanitarian who helped distribute needed supplies to the Union Army during the Civil War and later founded the disaster relief organization, the American Red Cross. Barton garnered nationwide recognition for her efforts during the war, and quickly became known as the “Angel of the Battlefield.” After the war, Barton embarked on a successful lecture tour and it was there that Barton met Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Frederick Douglass, who involved her in the Suffrage/Civil Rights movements, respectively.
In the fall of 1866, at the suggestion of Fanny Gage, Clara embarked on an exhausting lecture tour. She began lecturing on her Civil War experiences in lyceum halls, churches, town halls and schoolrooms. Though she never felt comfortable in front of an audience, wherever she spoke she was well-received, and soon the tales of her work on the battlefields became widely known and even legendary. Clara was even asked to speak on behalf of women's rights, and at a Universal Franchise Convention in 1868 proclaimed that blacks had suffered far greater wrongs than women in their oppression. Her contemporary biographer Percy Epler wrote that "a tear-stained multitude thronged everywhere to hear her," for she made it her mission to show, as she said, not "the glories of conquering armies but the mischief and misery they strew in their tracks; and how, while they march on... some one must follow closely in their steps, crouching to the earth.. faces bathed in tears and hands in blood. This is the side which history never shows."
From 1866 through 1868, Clara delivered over 200 lectures throughout the northeast and Midwest regarding her Civil War experiences. She shared platforms with other prominent figures including Frederick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Lloyd Garrison, and Mark Twain. She often earned $75 to $100 per lecture.