View of Ascutney Mountain, 1868

View of Ascutney Mountain Taken From High Bridge at Claremont. N.H. 1868
Forbes & Co., Lithographer
Color lithograph
Good professionally restored condition, washed and deacidified, one small tear on top margin, edge wear on one side in margin.
Dimensions: 
19.75 × 14.5 inches
Sale Status: 
For Sale
Price: 
$225.00

    This broadside published by Forbes & Co. Lithographers of Boston in 1868 is the advertising piece of Vermont druggist and apothecary M.K. Paine who catches the viewer's eye with the iconic profile of Mt. Ascutney with Windsor, Vermont nestled at its base.  The manufacturer for Green Mountain Balm of Gilead and Cedar Plaster wants to draw our attention to Windsor as well because it is the location of his factory.   The Balm and Cedar Plaster have the power of the mountain infused into their ingredients as we are told "Universally acknowledged to be the best Plaster ever known. Compounded of the choicest Gum Resins of the Green Mountain State Consisting of Balm of Gilead, Cedar, Hemlock, Spruce, Fir etc....unequalled in removing pain" and any imaginable bodily ailments. In the spirit of American democratic mercantilism the manufacturer assures the reader "No family should be without it. The price has been placed within the reach of all."

    The beauty of Mt. Ascutney is no less eye catching to travelers today who rather than passing by train are more likely to be whizzing by on Rte. 91 by car. There is something reassuring about the power of the mountain to continue to catch our eye because of its natural beauty. How right the manufacturer was to engage an artist to use the local, natural ingredient of the beauty of Ascutney Mountain as much as the sap of its trees to create an iconic image of Americana.

Item Type Taxonomy: 
Geographic Scope: 
Location: