Mose, Lize & Little Mose Going to California

Frank Chanfrau|Henry R. Robinson

ca. 1849 · Hand-colored lithograph · Drawings and Prints

One of America’s first successful caricaturists, Robinson here depicts Mose the Bowery B’hoy, a figure popularized on stage by Frank Changrau. Mose embodies a New York type of working class, single man who lived in lower Manhattan, found employment as a fireman or mechanic, dressed jauntily, enjoyed plays, and often joined a gang. Mose’s bright red shirt, rolled pants, top hat, and tilted cigar made him unmissable and are evident in this print, which is inspired by an 1849 play that sends Mose, his son Little Mose, and his girlfriend, Lize (a New York G’hal), to California during the Gold Rush. Here, they depart from Catherine Market in an open wagon pulled by a jackass.

Artist

Frank Chanfrau|Henry R. Robinson

Date

ca. 1849

Medium

Hand-colored lithograph

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954