Vampyre, from The Comic Natural History of the Human Race

Art Historical Context

This color lithograph from 1851 captures the playful spirit of mid-nineteenth-century American satire through its depiction of a “Vampyre” in *The Comic Natural History of the Human Race*. Created by Samuel Robinson, Henry Louis Stephens, and Rosenthal, the print employs the relatively new technique of color lithography, later enhanced with watercolor and gum arabic, to produce a vivid, affordable image suited for wide distribution. Such illustrated volumes humorously classified human “types” in the manner of natural history books, turning social observation into lighthearted caricature. In the early 1850s, vampire imagery had already entered popular culture through literary works like John Polidori’s *The Vampyre* (1819). This print likely pokes fun at both the gothic craze and contemporary social figures, presenting the mythical creature as one more curious specimen in the human comedy. The medium’s crisp lines and layered color allowed artists to blend sharp wit with visual appeal, making satire accessible to a growing middle-class audience. Today the sheet resides in the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints, a gift of Lincoln Kirstein that preserves a lively example of how printmakers used humor to comment on society’s foibles.

About the Artist

Samuel Robinson|Henry Louis Stephens|Rosenthal (American|American|American) · 1800 |1824 |1840 –1900 |1882 |1900

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1824–1882 Bayonne, New Jersey|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania