United States Album

Object Details

The United States Album was big, beautiful, and ambitious. Entrepreneur J. Franklin Reigart and lithographer Peter Duval pulled out all the stops for their patriotic publication. A gold Capitol adorned the cover, and inside the luster continued. The Declaration of Independence was printed in gold letters, with facsimile signatures of the signers. Founding documents, engravings of Washington’s official buildings and statesmen, and the arms of each state in the Union made up the balance of the heavy tome. Printed autographs of all the Members of the 28th Congress and other government officers popped up on almost every page, encouraging owners to use the blank pages for their autograph collecting. The copy in the House Collection contains not only autographs but also handwritten snippets of poetry.