Life in Philadelphia

Life in Philadelphia is a beautiful colored lithograph on paper realized by the American artist Edward Williams Clay (1799-1857).

This original print is from the satirical series with the same title Life in Philadelphia , modeled after George and Robert Cruikshank’s Life in London , a  series composed by 14 engravings, of which 4 depicted white people, 10 portrayed black people.

Our original print is a racist caricature of the  nouveau riche African Americans, or the new Philadelphian citizens, depicted as criminals against the African American lower class.

These cartoons became very popular and were imitated by artists in other metropolises, such as New York and London. Their images became a standard stereotype in the minstrel shows of the middle and late nineteenth century.

Original title:  Life in Philadelphia / The Cut Direct or How to get up in the World

Published by W. H. Isaacs Charles St. Soho, this old master’s original print reflects Clay's anti-abolitionist feelings, and represents the pretensions and the social ambitions of the new middle-class Philadelphians, namely the growing community of educated free African Americans, in the early 19th-century.

Life in Philadelphia  is held in the collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia.

In excellent conditions, with some dust on paper on the lower margin.