Visual Materials

James K. Polk. Eleventh president of the United States

Description: Image of a portrait of United States President James K. Polk seated in a chair; United States Capitol outside window in background at left.
Type: Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)
Date: approximately 1845
Call number: priJLC_POL_002645
Creator: Last, Jay T(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Gift of Jay T. Last, 2005.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Our presidents. 1789-1881

Visual Materials

Image of a group portrait of the presidents of the United States from 1789-1881, seated or standing all together in a room with desk and table; painting of military officers on horseback and view of the United States Capitol building outside window in background; (left to right, according to key in bottom margin) James Madison, James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Pierce, George Washington, Zachary Taylor, John Tyler, William H. Harrison, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Chester A. Arthur, James Buchanan, John Adams, James A. Garfield, Andrew Johnson, Millard Fillmore, John Quincy Adams, and Rutherford B. Hayes.

priJLC_POL_002665

Presidents of the United States

Visual Materials

Image of the goddess Columbia wearing a draped American flag with staff in hand flanked by bald eagle and Union shield with a steam ship and the United States Capitol building in background; ornate frame made up of portraits of the presidents of the United States from 1789-1861: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William H. Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln; key with last names and dates in office for each president at bottom center.

priJLC_POL_002664

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James K. Polk, eleventh president of the United States

Visual Materials

The Jay T. Last collection of politics and social issues prints and ephemera contains approximately 400 printed items from the United States from the 1800s to the 1950s, with the bulk of the items dating from 1850 to 1910. Most of these items are lithographs, but engravings and woodcuts are also included. The collection includes commemorative portraits of United States presidents, political cartoons and caricatures, portraits of political candidates, album card sets, trade cards, election or rally tickets, and ribbons. The collection highlights both well-known and less recognized American political figures and activists of the 19th and early 20th centuries along with social causes and issues often linked to political activities, most notably the temperance movement. The images provide a rich visual resource for studying the history of American governance of citizens including national, state, and local laws, issues, elections, and causes, as well as a perspective on portraiture, caricatures, and political cartoons of the 19th and early 20th centuries. As graphic materials, the prints and ephemera offer evidence of developing techniques and trends in printmaking, and of the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers, and publishers involved in the creative process.

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James K. Polk. Nominated for eleventh president of the United States

Visual Materials

priJLC_POL_003987

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James K. Polk. Nominated for eleventh president of the United States

Visual Materials

priJLC_POL_003962

The presidents of the United States

Visual Materials

Image of a series of portraits of United States presidents from 1789-1921: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Warren G. Harding; vignettes of Yosemite Valley in California, the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York; the White House in Washington, D.C., and St. John's River in Florida interspersed with portraits; bald eagle, Union shield, allegorical figures of women representing liberty (Columbia) and justice, and American flags frame portraits and vignettes.

priJLC_POL_002670

James K. Polk. Eleventh president of the United States

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