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Abraham Lincoln was an American statesman and politician, the 16th President of the United States (March 4, 1861 - April 15, 1865).
The son of a frontiersman and a Kentucky farmer, Lincoln worked hard from an early age and struggled to learn. He was a militiaman in the Indian War, practiced law, and sat in the Illinois legislature for eight years. He was an opponent of slavery and gradually gained a national reputation that earned him victory in the 1860 presidential election.
After becoming the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln turned the Republican Party into a strong national organization. In addition, he drew most Northern Democrats to the Union side. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared permanently free those slaves who were in Confederate territory. Lincoln considered secession illegal and was prepared to use force to defend federal law and the Union. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy, but four remained in the Union, and the Civil War of 1861-1865 began.
Lincoln personally directed the military action that led to victory over the Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln was reelected in 1864, and on April 14, 1865, he was fatally shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. by actor John Wilkes Booth.
Abraham Lincoln is a national hero of the American people, he is considered one of the best and most famous presidents of the United States until today.
Alexander Wilson was a Scottish-born American naturalist, ornithologist, illustrator, and poet.
Wilson emigrated from Scotland to America in 1794, spent several years teaching in Philadelphia and New Jersey, and then became interested in studying native birds. He traveled extensively in the American wilderness and captured and studied over 300 different birds, including several previously unknown. He made his own drawings and detailed descriptions, supported by reading scientific literature.
The results of his research were published under the title American Ornithology in eight volumes beginning in 1808. The ninth volume was published after his death in August 1813. One of the first subscribers was President Thomas Jefferson. Alexander Wilson was a member of the Society of Artists of the United States and the American Philosophical Society. The Wilson Ornithological Society is named in his honor, and a monument is erected in Abbey Close, Paisley. Several species of birds are named in his honor.
John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist and painter, renowned for his groundbreaking illustrations of American birds. Born in 1785 in Les Cayes, Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), Audubon is remembered for his keen observation skills and innovative artistic techniques.
Audubon's most famous work, "The Birds of America," transformed the field of ornithology by presenting birds in lifelike poses and detailed backgrounds. Published between 1827 and 1838, it contained 435 hand-colored engravings, showcasing over 489 bird species. His unique approach to illustrating birds in their natural habitats was a departure from traditional methods, which often portrayed birds in rigid poses.
Audubon used a wire armature to position freshly-killed specimens, allowing him to depict birds with a sense of movement and vitality. This innovative technique was truly revolutionary and set him apart from his contemporaries. Additionally, Audubon's artistic skill and attention to detail made his illustrations highly sought after, with surviving copies of "The Birds of America" considered valuable collectibles today.
For art collectors and enthusiasts, Audubon's work continues to be a source of inspiration and admiration. His legacy endures through his contributions to ornithology and the art world, with museums and galleries showcasing his work. If you're interested in learning more about John James Audubon and his famous illustrations, consider subscribing to our newsletter for updates on new product sales and auction events related to his work.
Karl Bodmer was a Swiss-French printmaker, etcher, lithographer, zinc engraver, draughtsman, painter, illustrator and hunter.
George Washington is the first popularly elected president of the United States of America and one of the founding fathers of the United States.
Born into a noble family in colonial Virginia in February 1732, George Washington served as a Virginian officer with British troops during the French-Indian War (1754-1763) from 1754-1758. This was a territorial war fought largely between the colonies of Britain and France that escalated into a worldwide conflict between the two countries. J. Washington was at the center of the conflicts in the disputed Ohio River Valley area.
In June 1775, he was elected commander-in-chief of the Continental forces in the war already for independence from Great Britain. He commanded American troops throughout the war, becoming famous for his perseverance and bravery.
In 1787, J. Washington represented the state of Virginia as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. This convention created the Constitution of the United States. In 1789, the Electoral College unanimously elected George Washington president, and in 1792 he was re-elected for a second term. Thus George Washington was in office as President of the United States from April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797.
As head of state, he helped to strengthen the Union, implement the principles of the Constitution and build the capital of the United States. He was engaged in the formation of the central authorities and system of government, created precedents for the institution of presidents, encouraged the development of the economy, maintained friendly relations with Congress. In foreign policy Washington avoided interference in the affairs of European states.
After leaving the post of president, George Washington lived in Mount Vernon Manor.
Nathaniel Niles is an American lawyer and politician, a member of the House of Representatives from Vermont.
Niles attended Harvard College and the College of New Jersey, eventually becoming a preacher but also active in politics. Niles sat in the lower house of the Vermont legislature for eight terms. From 1784 to 1787 he was a member of the state supreme court.
In addition to his sermons, he published numerous theological articles. When the American Revolution broke out in 1775, Niles enthusiastically supported the war against England. He even wrote his only work of poetry, an ode entitled "American Hero," to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, which was set to music and became quite popular among New England soldiers and militia.
Thomas Loraine McKenney was an American statesman and author.
After the abolition of the U.S. Indian trading program in 1822, then Secretary of War John C. Calhoun established a position in the War Department called Superintendent of Indian Affairs (later to become part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs). McKenney was the first appointed to this position and held it until 1830. Over the years, he worked tirelessly to promote Indian-American relations, advocating for the interests of Indians and striving to preserve the memory of their vanishing culture. Despite his interest in Native American history, McKenney sought to have them assimilated to Euro-American culture through Christian education.
McKenney commissioned leading artists, including Charles Byrd King, to paint portraits of Indian chiefs from more than twenty tribes who visited Washington on official business over a ten-year period. These portraits formed the basis of the government's National Portrait Gallery, first housed in the War Department and later transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. This gallery was featured in part in the three-volume History of the Indian Tribes of North America (1836-1844), with biographical sketches by McKenney, co-authored with Illinois lawyer and writer James Hall.
In 1865, a fire at the Smithsonian Institution destroyed all but a few of the portraits, which are now in the White House. Thus this three-volume book represents the only reliable source on the appearance of many of the most prominent leaders of Indian tribes.
James Hall was an American lawyer, judge, treasurer, and editor.
Hall studied law, fought in the War of 1812, served as a lawyer and circuit judge, newspaper and magazine editor, Illinois state treasurer, and banker in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition, he was also a historical and fiction writer. In 1828, Hall compiled the first western literary yearbook, Western Souvenir, and edited the Illinois Monthly Magazine. James Hall wrote a travel book, Letters from the West (1828), a novel, The Head of the Harp (1833), and several volumes of short stories.
Hall also contributed to the three-volume History of the Indian Tribes of North America (1836-1844). This book includes portraits of the chiefs of more than twenty Indian tribes, which were painted by noted artists of the day, with biographical sketches by Superintendent of Indian Affairs Thomas L. McKenney.
Abraham Ortelius (Ortels) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer. He is recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World). Along with Gemma Frisius and Gerardus Mercator, Ortelius is generally considered one of the founders of the Netherlandish school of cartography and geography. He was a notable figure of this school in its golden age (approximately 1570s–1670s) and an important geographer of Spain during the age of discovery. The publication of his atlas in 1570 is often considered as the official beginning of the Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography. He was the first person proposing that the continents were joined before drifting to their present positions. Beginning as a map-engraver, in 1547 he entered the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke as an illuminator of maps. In 1560 when travelling with Mercator to Trier, Lorraine, and Poitiers, he seems to have been attracted, largely by Mercator's influence, towards the career of a scientific geographer. In 1564 he published his first map, Typus Orbis Terrarum, an eight-leaved wall map of the world. On 20 May 1570, Gilles Coppens de Diest at Antwerp issued Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the "first modern atlas" (of 53 maps).
Pieter van der Keere (Latin: Petrus Kaerius) was a Flemish engraver, publisher, cartographer and globe maker.
His father was the master of typefaces Hendrik van der Keere (c. 1540-1580); in 1584 he fled from the Netherlands to London, where he lived most of his life. Pieter van der Keere produced engravings and atlases. From 1603, Kere began to produce large city panoramas, including Utrecht, Cologne, Amsterdam and Paris.
An atlas of the Netherlands was published in 1617, with der Keere's name as publisher and his full signature on several maps. He also produced topographical maps of Amsterdam and Nuremberg, as well as a world map ("Nova totius terrarum orbis..."), which was printed by Jan Janszoon in Amsterdam.
