The National Game. Three "Outs" and One "Run" – Abraham Winning the Ball

Art Historical Context

In 1860, as the United States teetered on brink of civil war, Currier & Ives, the era's premier printmakers, captured the drama of the presidential election in this vibrant hand-colored lithograph, *The National Game. Three "Outs" and One "" – Abraham Winning the Ball*. Created by Louis Maurer, depicts the contest as a baseball match: Abraham Lincoln, the Republican tallboy, triumphantly slides home with the winning run, while his rivals—Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, and John Bell—are humorously struck out as the "three outs." Measuring about 10 by 13 inches, this affordable print brought political satire into American homes. Baseball, America's burgeoning pastime, served as the perfect metaphor for the high-stakes race, reflecting the nation's growing fascination with the sport amid sectional tensions over slavery. Lincoln's victory that November fractured the Democratic Party and propelled the country toward conflict, making this image a snapshot of pre-war optimism for his supporters. Currier & Ives' masterful lithography technique—stone-based printing with vivid colors—ensured mass appeal, disseminating pro-Lincoln commentary far and wide. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Prints collection (gift of A. S. Colgate, 1952), it exemplifies 19th-century visual journalism, blending humor, patriotism, and prophecy in a single, playful frame.