“‘The Spirit of ’76,’ also known as ‘Yankee Doodle,’ described as the most inspiring patriotic picture in America, hangs in the Town Fathers’ meeting room in Abbot Hall (in Marblehead, Massachusetts). Painted by A.M. Willard, it was presented to the Town in 1880 by General John Devereux, whose son was the model for the drummer boy.” This is a “Lusterchrome” card by Tichnor Bros., Boston 15, Mass.

The card notes that reproduction is prohibited without the express permission of the Board of Selectmen in Marblehead. So assiduously had they guarded this image over the years that the August 12, 1935 issue of Time magazine made special mention of a rare occasion on which they allowed the image to be reproduced.

“Painted by Emanuel Leutze in 1851, this famous canvas, measuring 21 by 12 feet, has been on display since February 1952 in the Washington Crossing Methodist Church at Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. The painting is on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Washington Crossing Park Commission. Here it has been viewed annually by more than 100,000 visitors who have come to admire America’s best known historical painting.”

This card is marked as copyrighted in 1962, with an item number of 56470, and published by The Scheller Company of Hackettstown, New Jersey. The actual painting has since been returned to the Met.