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Unrecorded Campaign "Poster" of 1868.

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:112.00 USD Estimated At:225.00 - 300.00 USD
Unrecorded Campaign  Poster  of 1868.
Oversize mezzotint portrait of "Hon. Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House of Representatives," believed intended as a campaign poster in his successful 1868 race as Grant's running mate. Pleasing original light cream underprint; facsimile signature in black. 17 x 22 3/4. Published by John Smith, 710 Sansom St., Philadelphia. Considerable handling evidence, average soiling on front, more so on blank verso, tear at lower left tip, old number "17" at lower left on tiny label and in red and blue pencil, "17 'of?] 17" in blue crayon-pencil on verso, else very satisfactory. Its complete absence from all searches - we find no mentions, Google finds no citations, and WorldCat locates no examples - suggests that it may have been a trial imprint, possibly a salesman's sample, the old number "17" pertinent. A unique survivor?