From the exhibition
Vers bij de Patriotse Grenadier
· 1787

This Dutch broadside combines text and image in the tradition of political verse-prints that flourished during the Patriot movement of the 1780s. The "Patriotic Grenadier" poem addresses the volunteer militias opposing Orange authority, urging obedience to superior officers and willingness to sacrifice for the cause. Printed as letterpress typography on paper, such verses circulated widely among middle-class supporters of democratic reform. The form descends from centuries of satirical broadsides and popular prints—a democratic medium that would evolve into the illustrated newspapers, political cartoons, and eventually comic strips of the nineteenth century.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/