“Beacon Lights of American Liberty” McClellan & Seymour Campaign Broadside
Lithographed and published by Lewis & Goodwin, Albany, New York, 1864 Lithograph - 16½ x 22 inches
 
A Civil War era Democratic campaign broadside promoting the presidential candidacy of George B. McClellan alongside Horatio Seymour. The design situates the candidates beneath portraits of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson, visually aligning them with the foundational figures of the Republic and invoking continuity with earlier political traditions.
 
At center appears the allegorical figure of Liberty, surrounded by banners bearing inscriptions such as “The Constitution,” “The Union,” and “The Laws,” reflecting the symbolic language through which political arguments were framed during the war. Issued in Albany by Lewis & Goodwin, the lithograph exemplifies the visual strategies employed to communicate political identity and ideology during a deeply divided national moment.
 
Condition: Very fine, with three short marginal tears, minor abrasion at left of Jefferson portrait, and a faint dampstain at lower margin; well preserved overall.