Lot 839
Currier & Ives. "The Darktown Fire Brigade - A Prize Squirt. 'Now den! Shake her up once moah fur de Mug'". Color print, 12 x 16 in., 1885, depicting a company of Black fire fighters operating a hand-pump fire hose as part of a competition. In the background, a Black official holds a prize cup for the winning team, labeled "Prize Mug." The leader of the fire crew holds a megaphone and a bouquet of flowers. In the foreground is a red and white May Pole topped with a Liberty Cap. As in other Darktown Series prints by Currier & Ives, this print stereotypes African-Americans as stupid, lazy and inept. The Liberty Cap is probably shown to point out what the White community believed happened when slaves were given their freedom. Done in vivid and highly colorful red, blue, yellow, green, black and browns, this print is housed in a modern wooden frame (not examined out of frame). Fine.
Estimated Value $500 - 1,000.
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