A Hopeless Undertaking

Name/Title

A Hopeless Undertaking

Entry/Object ID

1991.52.1

Description

Engraving printed on an interior page of "Harper's Weekly". The illustration shows a man in a diving suit underwater. He is attached to a sailboat filled with men by a long line, and he is grasping a rope attached to a shipwreck. The sail of the boat is labeled "VERMONT" over a maple leaf, and a man on the prow is blowing into a horn labeled "LOST CAUSE". The shipwreck is labeled, "DEMOCRACY. SUNK 1869". The weighted shoes of the diving suit are labeled, "TOO SOLID / SOUTH". There is a steam-assisted sailing ship at the right with a flag labeled, "THE REPUBLICAN SHIP", and there is a man floating in the water between the two vessels. Beneath the image is the caption, "HANCOCK (who has been sent down to see what can be done to raise an ancient wreck). "If I only had this old hulk above water, and on the White House dry-dock, she might be made ready for action again."" The back of the page is printed with four columns of political news stories.

Acquisition

Accession

1991.52

Source or Donor

Hathaway, Richard O.

Acquisition Method

Gift

Made/Created

Artist

Rogers, William Allen (1854-1931)

Date made

1880

Place

City

New York City

State/Province

New York

Country

United States of America

Continent

North America

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Print

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Graphic Documents

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Overall

Height

16 in

Width

11 in