Jefferson Davis Upside Down Topsy Turvy Political Cartoon Caricature Card, 1800s Civil War Politics
This United States Civil War-era cartoon card measures 4 by 2.5 inches. The image itself is about 3 by 2.25 inches.
Turned one way, it reads “Jeff Davis as he was.” Turned the other way, it reads “Jeff Davis as he is.”
It
appears to be distributed by “John P Hunt, Wholesale Agent, Masonic
Hall, Pittsburgh.” There is some additional printing or credit on the
other end of the card but it is unreadable.
An “upside down” or
“topsy-turvy” is a picture that can be seen differently from a different
direction. A good example of a topsy-turvy is this lampoon of Jefferson
Davis (1808-1889), the first and only president of the Southern
Confederacy. When Davis is going to war (as he was), he is seen as a
forward-leaning soldier but when the card is flipped, Davis is returning
from war (as he is) as a jackass. During the American Civil War, a
number of these topsy-turvy's were produced to make fun of politicians
and military generals, among others.
PLEASE READ: All items I
list as vintage, antique and/or collectible have had previous lives and
show wear appropriate to their age, some more than others. All the
items I am selling come from my family’s estates of Northern Michigan,
Ohio farm country, or Boston and Cape Cod. In most cases, I leave the
deep cleaning, polishing and/or repairs, or not, up to the buyer. I
describe each item honestly and to the best of my ability, however, I am
NOT an expert on every item I list. Please read item descriptions
carefully and contact me with your questions before you buy.
Please see the photos and feel free to ask questions. Thanks!
IMPORTANT INFO - PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU BUY:
Item Descriptions: All items I list as vintage, antique and/or collectible have had previous lives and show wear appropriate to their age, some more than others. Most items come from my family estates.
In most cases, I leave the cleaning and polishing, or not, up to the buyer. I describe each item honestly and to the best of my ability, however, I am definitely NOT an expert. Please read item descriptions carefully before you bid and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
Shipping: I am happy to combine shipping whenever possible.
I cannot combine shipping on items that are especially fragile and need to be packaged separately or items purchased under the eBay Buy It Now offer.
Because I am generally selling quite old items, I prefer to ship Priority Mail in order to reduce the time fragile items are in the post. Whenever I am able to safely ship using a less expensive option I will do so.
International Buyers: Please contact me before buying if you are from outside the U.S.. I will be happy to calculate Shipping and Handling for an international address. You will be responsible for all tariffs, duties or custom fees related to the item purchased. I ship internationally using only Priority Mail as that is the only international method of shipping through the U.S. Postal Service that provides delivery confirmation. I will ship only to the address provided in your eBay account.
Questions: Please ask. I’m happy to help.