(AMERICAN REVOLUTION--HISTORY.) Verger, Peter C., engraver. Triumph of Liberty, Dedicated to its Defenders...

(AMERICAN REVOLUTION--HISTORY.) Verger, Peter C., engraver. Triumph of Liberty, Dedicated to its Defenders in America. Engraving, 16 x 21 1/2 inches, after Renault; moderate toning, mount remnants on verso. New York, November 1796

First state. An unusual allegory of ascendant American liberty using Roman iconography. The goddess Minerva pays tribute to fallen American war heroes amidst monuments, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. A bonfire is fueled by crowns and scepters. In the foreground, horrified monarchs flee into the woods while a partially dismembered hydra twitches in the darkness. A lengthy caption was later added to the 1798 second state which explains all. Reilly 1796-1; Stauffer 3344.