Henry Farny illustrated this amazing overview of the Pork Packing industry that was big business in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the time, earning the city the nickname “Porkopolis”.
Farny completed these series of “cartoons” at the end of March, 1873. Then, they went on public display at the Chamber of Commerce where they were well-received. According to an April 1, 1873, article in the Cincinnati Daily Gazette, these were done in charcoal. They were not framed at the time of showing at the Chamber, but were expected to be framed before being shipped to Vienna for the World’s Fair. By May 19, Farny was reportedly in Paris, likely stopping at Ribeauville to visit family, before heading to Vienna.
Meanwhile, in the absence of the real thing, photographs of Farny’s work had been taken at Leon Van Loo’s studio, then copies made and being sold by Van Loo’s studio.
The original artwork was “sold at an exorbitant price to one of the New York newspapers”. However, copies were made for visitors in Vienna and, apparently, were very popular among Americans, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer, May 26, 1873, pg2, col3.
Most likely, it was Harpers Weekly that purchase the pictures, given that the weekly magazine featured them in its September 6, 1873, issue, Volume 17, No. 871.
For his effort, Farny received a medal within the co-operative category, per several newspapers, which I can only assume is the category in which the drawing was entered.
The Library of Congress has a color copy posted to its website: https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3b52782/
