“THE UNION IS DISSOLVED!” – AN ICONIC IMAGE OF THE CIVIL WAR - CHARLESTON MERCURY BROADSIDE OF DECEMBER 20, 1860

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Item Code: 846-419

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Handsomely framed and mounted in a 35” x 25 ¾” frame, painted dark brown with applied gilt detailing around the outside edge, and on the edge around the inside of the UV filtered glass.  The framing package contains 98% to 99% UV filtering glass/acrylic, with Optium Tru Vue Acrylic Glazing; 100% cotton rag matting and backing, and a final layer of Archival corrugated backing.

The broadside itself measures 12 ½” x 24”.  It has had professional restoration/conservation work; included above are scans of copies of photographs showing it in it’s original condition.

With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, many South Carolinians vowed to leave the Union rather than face the likelihood of the abolition of slavery. Governor Pickens called for a convention to consider secession, and, on Dec. 20, 1860, the 169 delegates in attendance voted unanimously to secede from the Union. The editors of the pro-secession Charleston Mercury recounted that, "Within a few minutes after the announcement of the secession vote our messengers arrived.....in less than fifteen minutes our Extras, containing the long looked for Ordinance, were being thrown off by fast presses and distributed among the eager multitude that thronged under the great banner of the "Southern Confederacy".

Though many copies of the broadside were printed, very few survive today. Additionally, after the war many souvenir copies were printed, but there are several obvious points that delineate the original from these later copies which are present on this specimen, including: the time of secession on the original broadside is "1.15" while on later editions it has been corrected to "1:15”; there is broken type at the top of the letter "E" in the word "DISSOLVED" which was corrected in later editions. This specimen conforms to these criteria.

A wonderful example of this truly remarkable piece of American history, the very first Confederate imprint, defining the moment the American nation was torn asunder, now beautifully preserved.

CHARLESTON
MERCURY
EXTRA:
Passed unanimously at 1.15 o’clock, P.M., December
20th, 1860.
AN ORDINANCE

To dissolve the Union between the State of South Carolina and

other States united with her under the compact entitled “The

Constitution of the United States of America.”

We, the People of the State of South Carolina, in Convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is

hereby declared and ordained,

That the Ordinance adopted by us in Convention, on the twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified, and also, all Acts and parts of Acts of the General Assembly of this State, ratifying amendments of the said Constitution, are hereby repealed; and that the union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States, under the name of “The United States of America,” is hereby dissolved.

THE
UNION
IS
DISSOLVED!

[LD] [PH:L]

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