American Historical Ephemera & Photography, Featuring Property from the James Milgram, M.D., Collection of Broadsides, Ephemeral Americana & Historical Documents

Visible 19 1/2 x 25 1/2 in. letterpress broadside (old creases, minor offsetting, loses at corners); framed to 22 3/8 x 28 1/2 in. (not examined out of frame). 

A broadside published in the lead-up to the 1860 presidential election, issued before Lincoln's nomination at the 1860 Republican National Convention in May. The Republican party was originally a coalition of ex-Whigs, ex-Free Soilers, and others opposed to slavery formed in 1854. Though they lost the 1856 election, in part to a split vote with Know Nothing and Whig coalition candidate Millard Fillmore, they gained political ground in congressional and local elections. The party was electrified in preparation for the 1860 election, with the party organizing political meetings across the county, such as the one advertised here.