Uncle Tom's Cabin

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This clearly demonstrates the sentimentality and morose tones of many of the songs and poems
that were written in the wake of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Furthermore, for the most part, such
tributes to Uncle Tom’s Cabin fall far short of the mark. Many are artistically deficient, wih
authors of the poems and songs basically looking to prosper from Stowe’s monumental success.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin merchandise was also distributed almost everywhere. The book itself
was printed in numerous forms for different audiences. For instance, according to Stephen
Hirsch, the publisher Jewett published a “lavish, gorgeously bound, profusely illustrated
Christmas gift edition at the overwhelming price of five dollars” (Hirsch 316). This edition
followed several other printings, including the original three-dollar printing and a later “thirtyseven-and-a-half
cent paperbound ‘edition for the millions’” (Hirsch 316). Jewett also printed an
edition for children titled Pictures and Stories from Uncle Tom’s Cabin—severely expurgated, of
course. Clothing trends even imitated the fashions in the book, including “St. Clare hats,” “Uncle
Tom Tippets,” and Eliza dresses (Hirsch 316-318). Figurines, collectible dishware, paintings,
scarves, card games and other toys, and the like were also among the Uncle Tom’s Cabin
merchandise sold (Hirsch 316, 318-319, 322). Uncle Tom’s Cabin was clearly a hit—and the
sales of such products proved it.
However, the most significant reaction to Uncle Tom’s Cabin has been through theatrical
productions. Such theatricals have been long-lasting and have shaped American culture
considerably; for instance, George Aiken’s dramatization of the novel may have been the most
influential and successful of the Uncle Tom’s Cabin theatricals. In fact, Hirsch maintains that
when the Troy Daily Times of New York State predicted that Aiken would succeed, “the Times
had made the biggest understatement in American theater history” (Hirsch 321). It was so
successful that, by the time Aiken completed his dramatization of the novel’s second volume, the