{"product_id":"israel-putnam-johnson-fry-co-1861","title":"Israel Putnam: Johnson, Fry \u0026 Co., c.1861","description":"\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eTitle:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cem\u003e Israel Putnam\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Johnson, Fry \u0026amp; Co.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDate: \u003c\/b\u003ec.1861\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eCondition: \u003c\/b\u003eA crisp steel engraving on a very clean sheet. Superb.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eInches:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 8 1\/4 x 10 3\/4 [Paper] \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eCentimeters:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 20.95 x 27.30 [Paper] \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eProduct ID: \u003c\/b\u003e308723\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDon’t Fire Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eFrom the \u003ci\u003eNational Portrait Gallery of Eminent Americans\u003c\/i\u003e, after a painting by Alonzo Chappel.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eA fine steel engraving printed on wove paper, issued as part of Johnson, Fry \u0026amp; Co.’s ambitious patriotic series celebrating notable figures in the nation’s political and cultural history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIsrael Putnam (1718–1790) was one of the most colorful and popular folk heroes of the American Revolution, a Connecticut farmer‑soldier whose courage in the field made him a symbol of rustic patriot virtue. He had already earned a reputation for toughness during the French and Indian War, surviving captivity, frontier combat, and a famously narrow escape from being burned at the stake, so when the Revolution broke out he was a natural choice for leadership and quickly became a major general in the Continental Army. At the Battle of Bunker Hill, tradition credits Putnam with urging the nervous colonial troops to hold their fire until the British were close—later remembered in the famous line “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”—and although the exact wording is debated, the story captures how contemporaries saw him: steady under pressure, fearless, and determined to make every shot count.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003ePutnam’s later wartime service was more mixed, as age and the strain of campaigning took their toll, and he never again achieved the sort of iconic battlefield moment that Bunker Hill represented in patriotic memory. Still, in the decades after independence he was celebrated in prints, chapbooks, and 19th‑century “eminent American” series as the archetypal citizen‑soldier—rough‑edged, brave, and rooted in the New England countryside rather than in aristocratic or professional military traditions. Engraved portraits of Putnam from that period lean into this legend, presenting him as a stout, plainspoken general whose fame rests less on high command than on the enduring power of a handful of vivid Revolutionary anecdotes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Antiquarium Antique Maps | Quality Custom Picture Framing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47636293091467,"sku":"308723","price":175.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0389\/6416\/6795\/files\/Johnson_FryIsraelPutnam_1861.jpg?v=1782505210","url":"https:\/\/theantiquarium.com\/products\/israel-putnam-johnson-fry-co-1861","provider":"The Antiquarium Antique Maps | Quality Custom Picture Framing","version":"1.0","type":"link"}