An Interesting Surprise in this 18th Century Print

We recently acquired a few early prints dating to the late 18th century. One such print is "General Washington" by Thomas Cheesman, after John Trumbull, circa 1796. This print is based off of Trumbull’s original standing portrait of George Washington, “George Washington at Trenton,” circa 1792. Washington is depicted on the night of January 2nd, 1777, just after the Battle of the Assunpink Creek and before the decisive Battle of Princeton. The engraving was published by Antonio Cesare Poggi in London, in 1796.

One of the really cool details of this print, taken from Trumbull’s original oil painting, is the inclusion of an American flag in the background. Early depictions of the American flag in art are hard to find. In fact, the original 1792 “George Washington at Trenton” painting is considered one of the earliest depictions of the American flag in American art, and the earliest to depict this star pattern of 13 stars. The stars are arranged in a single medallion, often referred to as the “Betsy Ross” pattern. The flag in the background stands for American unity and patriotism.

By the American Centennial, Americans looked to the past for inspiration in designing flags and printed materials to celebrate the anniversary of the country’s founding. One such design that we currently have in the store is this 13-star Cowpens flag canton, designed for the Centennial. The canton depicts the same single circle of stars as that depicted in the George Washington print by Cheesman after John Trumbull. This canton adds one star in the center, for a total of 13, and is referred to as the “Third Maryland” or “Cowpens” pattern.

Small details like these make our jobs so interesting- finding connections between different pieces we currently have or have seen come through our doors. I hope that you will take a look at the new prints we recently acquired, available on our website and in store.