[Advertising Poster] "From the articles on the Pennsylvania Coal Regions in The Century for April" [1898]

New York: Orcutt Co, [1898]. Lithograph in colors, 49cm x 32.5cm (19" x 12-3/4"). Printed on thin coated stock, text in three lines below large central image of a bearded laborer. Small marginal loss at left (away from printed area); a few small marginal tears, small area of ink (?) specks at left of image. Overall Very Good. The artwork is unsigned; date and artist supplied by us (see below).

Original newsstand advertising poster for the April, 1898 issue of Century, illustrated with a dramatic portrait of a coal worker by the prominent Canadian-American illustrator Jay Hambidge (1867-1924). The portrait is one of a dozen or so by Hambidge published to illustrate an article by Henry Edward Drood on the recent disruptions in the Pennsylvania anthracite fields. In its magazine appearance, this portrait is captioned "A Factor in the Problem (Italian)" and illustrates a passage by Drood on the problems of immigrant enfranchisement: "...A vote of the English-speaking man who reads these words will carry no more weight in deciding the destinies of our nation than the ballot cast by any one of thousands of foreigners who have become naturalized citizens as a matter of business; who care nothing for our country, except as a place wherein to make money...who believe firmly in witchcraft, and are content to eat and sleep and fight among themselves, like so many half-domesticated animals..." Despite its ungenerous intent, this modern viewer senses a quiet dignity in the eyes of Hambidge's subject, leaving a far better impression to posterity than Drood's xenophobic ranting.

An atrractive example. The poster does not appear to be separately catalogued by any OCLC member institution.