James Buchanan's Inaugural Ball
This illustration was published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, a successful weekly publication that combined pictures and news. All magazine illustrations originated in artists' sketches, and Leslie's system employed a team of engravers to convert the sketches, enabling him to publish pictures only a week after an event took place. This speed was unheard of in journalism in the mid 19th-century. The building for President James Buchanan's inaugural ball in March 1857, was a temporary structure erected on Judiciary Square. The reported cost of the building was $15,000, and it boasted two rooms: one for dancing and one for eating.
- Artist
- Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
- Date of Work
- March 4, 1857
- Medium
- Print of a wood engraving
- Credit
- Library of Congress
