That Nasty Ol’ Uncle Sam – stunning 19th Century Advertising Litho

Ever seen Uncle Sam look so mean? Can’t this Uncle Sam afford the heat? Is this Uncle Sam a racist? Is this Uncle Sam a xenophobe?This little sign was meant to be placed on a shop door in winter-time for practical reasons. The old wood stove would take a while to heat up the frigid air the door let in, and the sign is a reminder of that. A note on the back of the 10” x 8” sheet tells us that the sign could be placed either on the outside or inside of the glass, but luckily for us, this sign was not used at all. It is beautifully preserved in all its nastiness.There is no date on the sign, but the printer, Charles Shields and Sons, left his imprint. The company operated under that name from 1878 to 1881 at Platt and Gold Streets in Manhattan, so it had to have been printed within that time period. The United States was undergoing massive immigration at that time, and there was strong resistance to the new arrivals. At the same time race hatred was going strong having morphed from its slavery days into wide spread anti-Negro bigotry. This little sign seems to have captured it all – the malice, the fear, the unfriendly attitude, and then presented it to everyone coming in the door. Welcome! And Get Out!