What does it mean when it says "Entered according to act of congress on the bottom of an old etching or print"

Question

This is on a print or etching dated 1896 entered by Louis Wolffe & Co
in the office librarian of Congress in Washinton any imfo please

Answer 1

many artists worked for the government in that time. there were many who were paid to go out west and "survey" the land. they used this to further their art and/or to make money. so, perhaps it may be connected to such an exploration.

i would start by researching Louis Wolfe & Co first.

this is all a guess according to the information i know above.

Answer 2

Prints issued in large runs by commercial printers and publishers for sale or distribution were copyrighted to protect the proprietor's initial investment. The phrase "Entered according to act of Congress..." often appears on nineteenth-century prints. It indicates that the print bearing this inscription was registered for copyright protection in the year cited. It has no reference to the artistic or monetary value of the image but only to the fact that the copyright law protects it for a limited time. Such protection has been afforded by the federal government for "historical prints, designed, engraved, or etched" since the year 1802. After 1870 many of the prints which bear this legend were deposited in the Library of Congress. They now form part of the collections of the Prints and Photographs Division. Library records seldom provide more information about a copyrighted print than does its text or legend. Information about the quantity made of a particular print is not part of the copyright record. The copyright protection on the Library's 19th century prints has expired, thus placing them in the public domain.