"Hi! H-O-O-O! He Done Come. Jumboloro Tell You First."

"Hi! H-O-O-O! He Done Come. Jumboloro Tell You First." by Winslow Homer is a significant work executed in 1869. This piece is classified as a print, specifically a wood engraving, a popular and efficient medium for mass distribution in the nineteenth-century United States.

Homer was keenly focused on defining American identity and cultural life during the pivotal years immediately following the Civil War and throughout the Reconstruction period. As a prolific illustrator and printmaker, Homer often created works for widely circulated illustrated magazines like Harper’s Weekly, which relied heavily on skilled wood engravers to reproduce visual reportage and detailed cultural scenes for a national audience.

Although the exact subject remains open to interpretation without further contextual material, the energetic title and conversational phrasing suggest a moment of lively announcement, communal gathering, or a scene drawn from the everyday life of recently emancipated African Americans, a subject that occupied much of Homer’s attention during this era. The technique of wood engraving provided the necessary clarity and contrast to translate the artist's quick, observational sketches into durable, repeatable images suitable for high-speed printing.

This method allowed for the rapid production of detailed images, ensuring that Homer’s visual observations of life in the United States reached a wide audience. As one of the many important prints created by the artist, Hi! H-O-O-O! He Done Come. Jumboloro Tell You First. offers essential insight into the visual culture of 1869. The work is held in the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, preserving a key example of Homer’s early mastery of illustrative printmaking.