National Galaxy, or, Portraits and Biographies of all the Presidents.

1840. Boston: Printed by J. Howe, 1840. Boston: Printed by J. Howe, 1840. "Engraved on Steel, In the Highest Style of the Art" [Broadside]. Dearborn, Nathaniel [1786-1852], Engraver. National Galaxy, Or, Portraits and Biographies of all the Presidents of the United States, Engraved on Steel, In the Highest Style of the Art. Boston: Printed by J. Howe, No. 39, Merchants Row, Boston....Engraved by N. Dearborn.....Entered according to Act of Congress by J. Greenleaf, 1840. 21-1/2" x 29" broadside, printed area measuring 19-1/2" x 26." Headline with "National Galaxy" in floral woodcut capitals, text below in 8 columns, each headed by mounted intaglio portraits of Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Quincy Adams, Jackson and Van Buren, attractive woodcut border surrounding. Toning, faint horizontal and vertical fold lines, a few small tears and faint dampspotting to edges not affecting text or border, negligible light foxing, slight creasing to lower corners, reinforced neatly on verso at corners and five places along edges and fold lines without loss to text or images. A notably handsome broadside. $2,500. * First edition. The National Galaxy depicts the presidents through Van Buren with biographies of each beneath their portraits. It is particularly striking given that each portrait, produced by Boston engraver Nathaniel Dearborn, was printed separately and painstakingly mounted on the printed broadside sheet. This use of steel engraving, which produced more lifelike and detailed images, was laborious and expensive, and is uncommon on broadsides of this period, which were far more likely to use cheaper, cruder woodblock engravings. The publisher describes this intaglio technique as "the highest style of the art." Like others of its kind, this broadside was likely intended to hang in a school or home. "Popular prints offering portraits of all the presidents in a grand design on a single sheet not only celebrated the presidency but also subordinated individual presidents to the institution...the presidency emerged as the central unifying agent and the foremost symbol of the American republic. Mass-produced prints played an important role in reinforcing public perceptions of the president as the center of the Union and its preserver" (Cunningham). Updated broadsides with the portraits and biographies of subsequent presidents were issued by Greenleaf in 1844, 1846, 1849 an.