[Transformation Card] Going to the War. Coming from the War

Stonehouse, England: H. M. Currie, 1850. First Edition. NA. A scarce piece of Crimean War ephemera. In one direction, with the caption, "Going to the War", you see a mustached soldier. Flip it around, to "Coming from the War", the image is now of a bridled horse or mule. Clearly an anti-war statement of some sort, the actual specific point is no longer obvious. Taking the card at face value, though, it suggests a dehumanization of the soldier, his transformation from a vigorous well-appointed man to a beast-of-burden. H.M. Currie was a printer in Devonshire. We can not be sure that he was the artist who came up with the image. We could find no other copies of this card. Typical card size, 113 by 74 mm. Light film of dusty soiling. A flattened crease. (Inventory #: 19842)