Emil Ackermann Sold at Auction Prices

Black Valley Railroad. 1863

Artist: EMIL ACKERMANN (1840-?) Size: 40 1/8 x 23 1/4 in./102 x 59 cm Ch. H. Crosby, Boston This large and early American lithograph is one of the rarer examples to come out of the Temperance movement that swept the country during the 19th century. Many other broadsides and posters feature this fictitious Black Valley Railroad, the tickets for which can be purchased at all liquor stores. Remarkably detailed, it humorously depicts the horrors that will befall all who board, from brawls to poverty, injury to to arrest. On either side of the design is a listing of the various undesirable stops along the route (Crimeland, Brothelton) interspersed with Biblical passages that highlight sinful behavior. Peters calls it "one of the best temperance prints ... show[ing the artist's] command of the details of a crowded scene" and notes that Ackermann "takes rank as a lithographer of considerable merit" (pp. 71-72).