John Quincy Adams Signs a Card Depicting William Henry Harrison's (Alleged) Log Cabin Birthplace

Here ex-President and incumbent Congressman John Quincy Adams has indited his signature on a calling card-size piece of William Henry Harrison campaign memorabilia: an embossed card with an elaborate vignette of Harrison’s log cabin birthplace. Adams supported Harrison against Van Buren in 1840, even though the unabashed hoopla of the Log Cabin campaign made him fear he was witnessing “a revolution in the habits and manners of the people.” Still, in a double-bit of irony, he signed this card, depicting the humble log cabin of Harrison’s birth – a canard, as Harrison was no plebeian folk hero, but the educated scion of an old and important Virginia family.

Card Signed (J.Q. Adams), as Congressman, being a William Henry Harrison campaign souvenir embossed with an elaborate vignette of Harrison’s log cabin birthplace; sextodecimo. No place or date [circa 1840]