Uncle Tom's Cabin. ca. 1920.

Artist: ROBERT KEMP
Size: 40 x 88 1/8 in./101.7 x 224 cm
Condition: A-/ Slight tears at folds.
Printer: Moody Bros., Birmingham
Reference: Ref: Separate Cinema/100 Years, p. 11
Key Words: Art Nouveau; Black Images; Theatre

Uncle Tom's Cabin. ca. 1920.
Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was the best-selling novel of the 19th century, and its revolutionary abolitionist sentimentality helped spur the end of American slavery. Her themes and techniques of theatrical melodrama made for an easy transition to the stage, and theatrical productions flourished. But because Stowe refused to authorize any dramatization of her work—and copyright laws did not exist—the plays vacillated widely between true antislavery adaptations and more moderate or even pro-slavery interpretations. In either case, stereotypes about black people were pervasive, as seen in this promotion for a British stage production. This is a three-sheet poster.