Existing comment:
Adalbert Volck:
Artist -- Rebel -- Spy:
Adalbert Volck (1828-1912) is an exception to the rule that the 48ers who left Germany were anti-slavery and supporters of the Union. Born in Augsburg, Bavaria, Volck participated in activities that surrounded the failed revolution of 1848 and was sentenced to four years of military service to the King. He chose to flee to America, settling in Baltimore, where he studied dentistry at the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, graduating in 1852. He was one of the first dentists to use porcelain in his dentistry and had a busy practice in Baltimore. Volck was a multitalented artist. He worked as a sculptor and silversmith as well as a graphic artist. He also was a great admirer of Robert E. Lee, whom he portrayed shortly before Lee's death.
Volck's work illustrates his early support for the Southern cause and his contempt for the politicians and generals of the North. Benjamin F. Butler was a particularly hated figure due to his unauthorized occupation of Baltimore early in the conflict.
Volck's activities in support of the Confederacy did not stop at graphic commentary. He carried messages across the Potomac, helped Southern sympathizers cross to the South, smuggled medicines and contraband across enemy lines, and used his Charles Street home as a refuge for Confederate sympathizers. He claimed that he had suffered numerous arrests for his clandestine activities.
Volck was no friend of his fellow German-born immigrant, Thomas Nast. In a 1900 letter, Volck states that he was motivated to create his drawings to counter the "illustrated papers of the North filled with one-sided pictures of the war filled with villainous caricatures" and singles out Nast in a clever word-play as "that nastiest of caricaturists, the notorious Nast."
Had Volck's work had the exposure that Thomas Nast enjoyed, he would certainly occupy an important position in the field of political cartooning and caricature. |