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Two images of the "family" of Virgina. The first image depicts a happy, prosperous "family" at the Declaration of Independence in 1776. All five sons are standing attentively around the mother, who is at center of the image. The mother, who is wearing a bonnet, is sitting primly in the chair reading from a book. The second image depicts a miserable, dissolute "family" at the Ordinance of Secession in 1861. The mother, still wearing a bonnet, is slouching in the chair after drinking herself into a stupor. Two of the boys are playing poker. One is rifling the contents of a bag that he has stolen. The fourth boy, the only one wearing a hat, is waving a Confederate flag in his right hand. He appears to have a whip in the left hand and a cat-of-nine-tails sticking out of his right jacket pocket. He is standing with his left foot on a slave doll. The fifth boy is drinking something, most likely alcohol. The words "Entered according to act of Congress, by John G. Wells, in 1861, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court, for the Southern District of New York." appear to the left of the image. |
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