Antislavery cartoon criticizing presidential nominees James Buchanan and John C. Breckenridge's support of pro-slavery forces over freesoilers in the violent political struggle in "Bleeding Kansas" during the Democratic Convention of 1856 in Cincinnati. Depicts a pro-slavery militia, carrying a flag labeled "Kansas and Liberty," that has marshalled a group of shackled, enslaved African American men who wear loin-cloths. Several of them clasp their hands together and look with pleading expressions at the white militiaman, behind them, and who carries a whip in his left hand and drives them forward. They march toward a settlement, which has a "Free Soil and Fremont" flag where homes burn and settlers and cattle lay wounded or dead. In the right is the corpse of an assaulted, white mother, who lies on the ground with her breasts exposed. Her naked, dead baby lies face down over her left arm. In the upper left, Buchanan and Breckenridge, standing in front of seated convention delegates on a platform, oversee the violence and comment about the freesoilers being a curse to the country who would surely leave if forced to work for "10 cents a day.", Title from item., Date inferred from content., Copyright statement printed on recto: Entered in according to act of congress in the Clerk’s Office of the district Court for the Eastern District of Penna. By I. [sic.] Childs., Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[1856]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1856-10W [5760.F.95]
Critical satire of the American Anti-Slavery Society, which was founded on the principle of immediate abolition by Arthur Tappan and William Lloyd Garrison, who are depicted discussing the society's principles with an unnamed abolitionist, possibly Lewis Tappan. Above their heads is the banner "Anti Slavery Society Founded Anno Domini MDCCCXXXIII." The seated Garrison comments on the origin of the bundle of Italian linen at his feet, which is to be used for his newspaper "the Emancipator." In the right, the figure of a leopard rests upon a pedestal marked "Fanaticism. Brought the Inquisition upon Spain. Beggary upon Italy. And may drench America in blood!!" (an allusion to the idiom a leopard cannot change its spots and to the Spain and the Iberian War, 1807-1814). In the left, a Black man, labeled "Emancipated Slave," is portrayed in racist caricature and is naked except for a leaves wrapped around his waist. He chases an insect calling, "Food," while carrying a knife. In the background, a scene labeled "Insurection (sic) in St. Domingo! Cruelty, Lust, and blood!" depicts Black people using swords and axes to kill white people, including a white woman on the ground. A building burns behind them., Title from item., Date supplied by Weitenkampf., Probably the "A Caricature" cited in the Emancipator (New York, N.Y.), October 19, 1833 and Liberator (Boston, Mass.), November 2, 1833., The "Emancipated Slave" figure is similar to the figure depicted in the lithograph by Alfred Ducôte, "An Emancipated Negro" ([London]: Thomas McLean, 1833). Copies in the collections of National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London., Purchase 1986., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[1833]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1833 - 27W [P.9140]
Advertisement containing twenty-five examples of Civil War envelope vignettes published by King & Baird. Majority of the vignettes include titles and slogans. Designs depict the American flag; liberty, the American eagle; soldiers (including the martyred Colonel Ellsworth); caricatures of Brigadier General Henry A. Wise (former governor of Virginia), Jefferson Davis, and the Southern gentry; a portrait of Washington; an abolitionist scene showing the whipping of an African American man entitled "The persuasive eloquence of the Sunny South"; and a racist caricature of an African American man on all fours carrying a whip and asking in the vernacular, "Whar's Jeff Davis?" Also contains a description of the envelopes and shipping information, as well as the scale of prices ranging from "25 Assorted Envelopes, (25 kinds)" at 25 cents to 1000 at 5 dollars., Title from item., Text printed on recto: Single copies of this sheet will be mailed free of postage, upon receipt of six cents, by King & Baird, Book and Job Printers, 607 Sansom St., Philadelphia., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of miscellaneous Civil War prints. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886 [5786.F.161a]. Accessioned 2002 [P.2002.45]., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator
King & Baird
Date
[ca. 1863]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Civil War [5786.F.161a; P.2002.45]
Racist caricature about free African Americans' summer celebratory processions commemorating the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade by the United States, an act that took effect in 1808. Shows a Philadelphia street scene with an African American peddler and an African American shoe shiner. In the left, the peddler, attired in a wide-brimmed hat, waist coat with tails, and pantaloons carries a basket and exclaims, "Philadelphia Uly 14, 1825 & little arter." The shoe shiner, attired in a waistcoat and pants, holds a rack of boots and responds "That is de day ob de grand Celebrahsun." The men stand in profile. Also shows, in the background, two African American boys, attired in jackets and pants, facing the viewer, and one with his hands playfully raised in the air. Also contains several lines of text in vernacular and dialect addressed to "Peter Mink, de Chief Marshal ob de day, he Majesty de President” and “Per order Pompey Peterl, President and Snappo Gripes, Secretary" printed below the image. Text explicates the appropriate attire and manners expected during the celebratory procession, including "two sleebes to dare coat"; "trousaloon be all ob light complexion"; and "de Soulger dat know he duty always hold upun head like Lamb Tail an look savage like Meat Ax." Also details the punishment for "neglec to discomply," including "whip to death"; "fine of 40 shillings"; and placement in "de House of Destruction for Ninety nine years." Figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains two bubbles of dialogue in the vernacular within image: “Philadelphia_ Uly 14 1825_ & little arter”/”That is de day of de grand Celebrashun”, Lib. Company. Annual report, 2003, p. 40-42., See Reilly 1825-1 for variant published in Boston., Added to African Americana Digital Collection through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date
[ca. 1835]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) [P.2004.4]
Propaganda envelopes published by various publishers predominately utilizing racist caricatures and satires of African Americans in relation to Jefferson Davis, slavery, and secession to promote Union support of the Civil War. Satires utilize themes of inversion of social roles, retribution, and Northern superiority. Includes envelopes with same graphic and variant text or title; sexually explicit illustrations; images originally published in different media such as cartoons; and one Southern imprint promoting a united Confederacy as the safeguard of slavery. Some caricatures portray African Americans with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular., Includes images of enslaved people seeking freedom, as living "contraband of war," celebrating, or depicted as the shyster character Jim Crow; depictions of the "peculiar institution" of slavery showing a white enslaver in bed with an enslaved African American woman, her breast visible, and who is breastfeeding a white baby; secession equated to African American freedom seekers, economic destruction of the South, and the moral corruption of people emancipated from enslavement; Jefferson Davis caricatured as a traitor in execution and imprisonment scenes overseen by enslaved people; and views of enslaved people working on plantations with text declaring the end of "King Cotton." During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some copyrighted by Magee and Harbach & Brother., Various publishers including: Philadelphia publishers John Magee, S.C. Upham, Harbarch & Bro., and King & Baird; New York publisher Charles Magnus; and Charleston, S.C. publisher G.W. Falen. Other publishers located in New York, Buffalo, Hartford, Cincinnati, and Lancaster, Pa., See Steven Berry's "When mail was armor: envelopes of the Great Rebellion," Southern culture (Fall 1998)., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War envelopes., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1861-1865
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War envelopes - African Americana [various]
Propaganda envelopes published by various publishers predominately utilizing racist caricatures and satires of African Americans in relation to Jefferson Davis, slavery, and secession to promote Union support of the Civil War. Satires utilize themes of inversion of social roles, retribution, and Northern superiority. Includes envelopes with same graphic and variant text or title; sexually explicit illustrations; images originally published in different media such as cartoons; and one Southern imprint promoting a united Confederacy as the safeguard of slavery. Some caricatures portray African Americans with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular., Includes images of enslaved people seeking freedom, as living "contraband of war," celebrating, or depicted as the shyster character Jim Crow; depictions of the "peculiar institution" of slavery showing a white enslaver in bed with an enslaved African American woman, her breast visible, and who is breastfeeding a white baby; secession equated to African American freedom seekers, economic destruction of the South, and the moral corruption of people emancipated from enslavement; Jefferson Davis caricatured as a traitor in execution and imprisonment scenes overseen by enslaved people; and views of enslaved people working on plantations with text declaring the end of "King Cotton." During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some copyrighted by Magee and Harbach & Brother., Various publishers including: Philadelphia publishers John Magee, S.C. Upham, Harbarch & Bro., and King & Baird; New York publisher Charles Magnus; and Charleston, S.C. publisher G.W. Falen. Other publishers located in New York, Buffalo, Hartford, Cincinnati, and Lancaster, Pa., See Steven Berry's "When mail was armor: envelopes of the Great Rebellion," Southern culture (Fall 1998)., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War envelopes., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1861-1865
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War envelopes - African Americana [various]
Propaganda envelopes published by various publishers predominately utilizing racist caricatures and satires of African Americans in relation to Jefferson Davis, slavery, and secession to promote Union support of the Civil War. Satires utilize themes of inversion of social roles, retribution, and Northern superiority. Includes envelopes with same graphic and variant text or title; sexually explicit illustrations; images originally published in different media such as cartoons; and one Southern imprint promoting a united Confederacy as the safeguard of slavery. Some caricatures portray African Americans with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular., Includes images of enslaved people seeking freedom, as living "contraband of war," celebrating, or depicted as the shyster character Jim Crow; depictions of the "peculiar institution" of slavery showing a white enslaver in bed with an enslaved African American woman, her breast visible, and who is breastfeeding a white baby; secession equated to African American freedom seekers, economic destruction of the South, and the moral corruption of people emancipated from enslavement; Jefferson Davis caricatured as a traitor in execution and imprisonment scenes overseen by enslaved people; and views of enslaved people working on plantations with text declaring the end of "King Cotton." During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some copyrighted by Magee and Harbach & Brother., Various publishers including: Philadelphia publishers John Magee, S.C. Upham, Harbarch & Bro., and King & Baird; New York publisher Charles Magnus; and Charleston, S.C. publisher G.W. Falen. Other publishers located in New York, Buffalo, Hartford, Cincinnati, and Lancaster, Pa., See Steven Berry's "When mail was armor: envelopes of the Great Rebellion," Southern culture (Fall 1998)., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War envelopes., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1861-1865
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War envelopes - African Americana [various]
Propaganda envelopes published by various publishers predominately utilizing racist caricatures and satires of African Americans in relation to Jefferson Davis, slavery, and secession to promote Union support of the Civil War. Satires utilize themes of inversion of social roles, retribution, and Northern superiority. Includes envelopes with same graphic and variant text or title; sexually explicit illustrations; images originally published in different media such as cartoons; and one Southern imprint promoting a united Confederacy as the safeguard of slavery. Some caricatures portray African Americans with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular., Includes images of enslaved people seeking freedom, as living "contraband of war," celebrating, or depicted as the shyster character Jim Crow; depictions of the "peculiar institution" of slavery showing a white enslaver in bed with an enslaved African American woman, her breast visible, and who is breastfeeding a white baby; secession equated to African American freedom seekers, economic destruction of the South, and the moral corruption of people emancipated from enslavement; Jefferson Davis caricatured as a traitor in execution and imprisonment scenes overseen by enslaved people; and views of enslaved people working on plantations with text declaring the end of "King Cotton." During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some copyrighted by Magee and Harbach & Brother., Various publishers including: Philadelphia publishers John Magee, S.C. Upham, Harbarch & Bro., and King & Baird; New York publisher Charles Magnus; and Charleston, S.C. publisher G.W. Falen. Other publishers located in New York, Buffalo, Hartford, Cincinnati, and Lancaster, Pa., See Steven Berry's "When mail was armor: envelopes of the Great Rebellion," Southern culture (Fall 1998)., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War envelopes., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1861-1865
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War envelopes - African Americana [various]
Propaganda envelopes published by various publishers predominately utilizing racist caricatures and satires of African Americans in relation to Jefferson Davis, slavery, and secession to promote Union support of the Civil War. Satires utilize themes of inversion of social roles, retribution, and Northern superiority. Includes envelopes with same graphic and variant text or title; sexually explicit illustrations; images originally published in different media such as cartoons; and one Southern imprint promoting a united Confederacy as the safeguard of slavery. Some caricatures portray African Americans with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular., Includes images of enslaved people seeking freedom, as living "contraband of war," celebrating, or depicted as the shyster character Jim Crow; depictions of the "peculiar institution" of slavery showing a white enslaver in bed with an enslaved African American woman, her breast visible, and who is breastfeeding a white baby; secession equated to African American freedom seekers, economic destruction of the South, and the moral corruption of people emancipated from enslavement; Jefferson Davis caricatured as a traitor in execution and imprisonment scenes overseen by enslaved people; and views of enslaved people working on plantations with text declaring the end of "King Cotton." During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some copyrighted by Magee and Harbach & Brother., Various publishers including: Philadelphia publishers John Magee, S.C. Upham, Harbarch & Bro., and King & Baird; New York publisher Charles Magnus; and Charleston, S.C. publisher G.W. Falen. Other publishers located in New York, Buffalo, Hartford, Cincinnati, and Lancaster, Pa., See Steven Berry's "When mail was armor: envelopes of the Great Rebellion," Southern culture (Fall 1998)., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War envelopes., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1861-1865
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War envelopes - African Americana [various]
Propaganda envelopes published by various publishers predominately utilizing racist caricatures and satires of African Americans in relation to Jefferson Davis, slavery, and secession to promote Union support of the Civil War. Satires utilize themes of inversion of social roles, retribution, and Northern superiority. Includes envelopes with same graphic and variant text or title; sexually explicit illustrations; images originally published in different media such as cartoons; and one Southern imprint promoting a united Confederacy as the safeguard of slavery. Some caricatures portray African Americans with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular., Includes images of enslaved people seeking freedom, as living "contraband of war," celebrating, or depicted as the shyster character Jim Crow; depictions of the "peculiar institution" of slavery showing a white enslaver in bed with an enslaved African American woman, her breast visible, and who is breastfeeding a white baby; secession equated to African American freedom seekers, economic destruction of the South, and the moral corruption of people emancipated from enslavement; Jefferson Davis caricatured as a traitor in execution and imprisonment scenes overseen by enslaved people; and views of enslaved people working on plantations with text declaring the end of "King Cotton." During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some copyrighted by Magee and Harbach & Brother., Various publishers including: Philadelphia publishers John Magee, S.C. Upham, Harbarch & Bro., and King & Baird; New York publisher Charles Magnus; and Charleston, S.C. publisher G.W. Falen. Other publishers located in New York, Buffalo, Hartford, Cincinnati, and Lancaster, Pa., See Steven Berry's "When mail was armor: envelopes of the Great Rebellion," Southern culture (Fall 1998)., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War envelopes., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1861-1865
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War envelopes - African Americana [various]
Propaganda envelopes published by various publishers predominately utilizing racist caricatures and satires of African Americans in relation to Jefferson Davis, slavery, and secession to promote Union support of the Civil War. Satires utilize themes of inversion of social roles, retribution, and Northern superiority. Includes envelopes with same graphic and variant text or title; sexually explicit illustrations; images originally published in different media such as cartoons; and one Southern imprint promoting a united Confederacy as the safeguard of slavery. Some caricatures portray African Americans with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular., Includes images of enslaved people seeking freedom, as living "contraband of war," celebrating, or depicted as the shyster character Jim Crow; depictions of the "peculiar institution" of slavery showing a white enslaver in bed with an enslaved African American woman, her breast visible, and who is breastfeeding a white baby; secession equated to African American freedom seekers, economic destruction of the South, and the moral corruption of people emancipated from enslavement; Jefferson Davis caricatured as a traitor in execution and imprisonment scenes overseen by enslaved people; and views of enslaved people working on plantations with text declaring the end of "King Cotton." During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some copyrighted by Magee and Harbach & Brother., Various publishers including: Philadelphia publishers John Magee, S.C. Upham, Harbarch & Bro., and King & Baird; New York publisher Charles Magnus; and Charleston, S.C. publisher G.W. Falen. Other publishers located in New York, Buffalo, Hartford, Cincinnati, and Lancaster, Pa., See Steven Berry's "When mail was armor: envelopes of the Great Rebellion," Southern culture (Fall 1998)., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War envelopes., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1861-1865
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War envelopes - African Americana [various]
Collection of fifteen cartes de visite of sentimental, satiric, and racist Civil War era scenes, predominately depicting white men soldiers, by Philadelphia artist Henry Collins Bispham. Includes scenes of soldiers flushing out a sharpshooter, engaged in battle, wielding a knife, being thwarted from stealing a chicken and honey, dozing on watch, and confronted on horseback by a growling dog, as well as contrasting views of a Union and Confederate amputee soldier returning home. Racist caricatures show an ape walking with a cane, Lincoln spoon feeding a white man soldier the "Black Draft," and a downtrodden Southern white woman on the defense with an enslaved African American man on crutches and an African American boy. Other images show Abraham Lincoln as a dog confronting opossum Jefferson Davis on a tree and an itinerant white man musician with a monkey and dog. One scene includes a zouave., Two of the images signed by artist., Thirteen of the images attributed to Bispham., Created postfreeze., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of humorous caricatures and photographs. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1863]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv - miscellaneous - Civil War - Caricatures & cartoons - Bispham [5780.F.51 a, d, & h; 52a, l, p & q, u & v; 53 a,c, l&m, o&p]
Cartoon predicting the dire consequences to follow President Jackson's withdrawal of federal funds from the Bank of the United States. Depicts a riot in which Supreme Court Justice John Marshall warns that "the day of retribution is at hand" as anti-bank fiscal advisors Reuben Whitney and Thomas Ellicott use a rope to pull down a statue of Justice, depicted as a white woman holding scales and stepping on a snake, from a pedestal labeled "Constitution." An angry mob of white men farmers, laborers, and tradesmen carry instruments including axes, pitchforks, and shovels and papers labeled, “Broken Bank.” They fight and demand the recharter of the bank, shouting "Send back the deposites! Recharter the Bank!" and "Come back old responsibility." In the right, Jackson escapes on the back of "Jack Downing" cursing Postmaster General Kendall, "By the Eternal Major Downing; I find Ive been a mere tool to that Damn'd Amos [Kendall] and his set, the sooner I cut stick the better." In the left background, under "Senate Chamber," Henry Clay gloats to Daniel Webster and John Calhoun, "Behold Senators the fulfilment of my predictions." In the left foreground, two African American men, portrayed in racist caricature and speaking in the vernacular, predict freedom and the ascension to the throne of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, "Hurrah! for Massa Garison, den he shall be King!" A Jewish banker, portrayed in caricature, undercuts a sailor offering him a ten dollar bank note, "Mine Got that ish one of the Pet Bankhs I'll give you one Dollar for the Ten." In the right foreground, newspapers supportive of Jackson, "collar presses," symbolized as dogs with human heads labeled "Evening Post, N. York Standard, Journal of Commerce, Albany Argus," run away chained together., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the Clerk's Office for the Southern District of New York by T.W. Whitley in the year 1834, and for sale at 104 Broadway., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Whitley was a mid-19th-century New York landscape and figure painter who also wrote about art and drama for the New York Herald.
Creator
Whitley, T. W. (Thomas W.), artist
Date
1834
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1834-7 [1884.F.3]
Racist cartoon depicting the 1868 Presidential Election as a carriage race between the "patriotic" Democrats and the "bum" Republicans who support Reconstruction. Depicts the elegant Democratic carriage with the banner "This is a White Man's Government" pulled by the horses with the heads of Horatio Seymour and Francis P. Blair racing passed the stalled Republican wagon steered by the asses with the heads of nominees Ulysses Grant and Schuyler Colfax. In the Democrats' carriage are four allegorical figures: Liberty, depicted as a white woman holding the Constitution and a banner which reads "Our Glorious Union Distinct, like the Billows, One, Like the Sea' This is a White Man's Government!"; Navigation, depicted as a white woman holding a miniature ship; Agriculture, depicted as a white woman holding sheaves of wheat and a scythe; and Labor, represented by a bearded white man with a hammer and flywheel. The Republican wagon passengers include radical Thaddeus Stevens, the grim reaper, and an African American man and woman couple, portrayed in racist caricature and speaking in the vernacular. Massachusetts Republican representative Benjamin F. Butler tries to push the stalled wagon passed the bones of those who paid "The Price of Nigger Freedom" and the rocks of "Ruined Commerce," "Debt," and "Negro Supremacy.", In the background, a cheering crowd brandishing American flags near the U.S. Capitol await the winning Seymour and Blair while on the building's other side a group of African American men dance. In the left foreground, Henry Ward Beecher and Horace Greeley play a shellgame looking for Grant and an African American man and woman, attired in torn and worn clothes, discuss another man returning to his former enslaver. In the right foreground, an African American man sits behind a table labeled, "Pompey Smash, Salt River Line Ticket Agent" and sells tickets to "Salt River" (i.e., political disaster) to a white man with a bag labeled, "J.G.B. Boston Carpet Bagger." Behind them, two African American men and a drunken white man holding a bottle talk about the Republican wagon., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to an Act of Congress in the year 1868 by Bromley & Co. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the U.S. for the southern District of New York., Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1868
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Political Cartoons - 1868-15 [5760.F.125]
Racist and sexist caricature depicting two African American dandies attempting to attain a date with "Miss Dinah" who stands between them on a New York street. In the left, "Mr. Sancho", wearing tan pantaloons, a brown waistcoat, a high neck collar, and blue cravat, stands with his left foot pointed, and slightly bows. He holds his top hat in his left, ungloved hand and his removed glove in his right, gloved hand. He asks “Miss Dinah” to "squeze the brupt inbitation" and go to the Battery with him. "Miss Dinah," dressed in a pink gown with puffed sleeves and a lace collar, a wide-brimmed hat with pink and yellow ribbons, feathers, and a veil, as well as gloves, has her head turned to him and informs him that she has a "privyous gagement to Mr. Romio." She also holds a closed fan in her right hand. In the right, "Mr. Romio," dressed in a black top hat, striped, tan trousers, a blue waistcoat, a large pink tie, and with a monocle hanging from his neck, stands slightly bowed, and responds that as he has been standing there for three hours he hopes that she will not break her "gagemen" to him. The figures are portrayed with oversize features and their skin tone is depicted in brown hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: Shall I hab the honour of glanting you to the battery, this afternoon, Miss Dinah? Hope you’ll squeeze the brupt inbitation/O you allready squeezed, Mr. Sancho, only, I made a privyous gagement to Mr. Romio/hope you not going to break your gagemen, to me, I hab been standing here, for three hours., Anthony Imbert, a New York artist, was a pioneer of American lithography who was also known for his ability as a marine painter., Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American Expressive Culture... (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 95. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1971.
Date
[ca. 1830]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [7993.F.2]
Racist and sexist caricature depicting two African American dandies attempting to attain a date with "Miss Dinah" who stands between them on a New York street. In the left, "Mr. Sancho", wearing tan pantaloons, a brown waistcoat, a high neck collar, and blue cravat, stands with his left foot pointed, and slightly bows. He holds his top hat in his left, ungloved hand and his removed glove in his right, gloved hand. He asks “Miss Dinah” to "squeze the brupt inbitation" and go to the Battery with him. "Miss Dinah," dressed in a pink gown with puffed sleeves and a lace collar, a wide-brimmed hat with pink and yellow ribbons, feathers, and a veil, as well as gloves, has her head turned to him and informs him that she has a "privyous gagement to Mr. Romio." She also holds a closed fan in her right hand. In the right, "Mr. Romio," dressed in a black top hat, striped, tan trousers, a blue waistcoat, a large pink tie, and with a monocle hanging from his neck, stands slightly bowed, and responds that as he has been standing there for three hours he hopes that she will not break her "gagemen" to him. The figures are portrayed with oversize features and their skin tone is depicted in brown hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: Shall I hab the honour of glanting you to the battery, this afternoon, Miss Dinah? Hope you’ll squeeze the brupt inbitation/O you allready squeezed, Mr. Sancho, only, I made a privyous gagement to Mr. Romio/hope you not going to break your gagemen, to me, I hab been standing here, for three hours., Anthony Imbert, a New York artist, was a pioneer of American lithography who was also known for his ability as a marine painter., Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American Expressive Culture... (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 95. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1971.
Date
[ca. 1830]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [7993.F.2]
Racist and sexist caricature depicting two African American dandies attempting to attain a date with "Miss Dinah" who stands between them on a New York street. In the left, "Mr. Sancho", wearing light blue pantaloons, a blue waistcoat, a high neck collar, and cravat, stands with his left foot pointed, and slightly bows, He holds his top hat in his left, ungloved hand and his removed glove in his right, gloved hand. He asks “Miss Dinah” to "squeze the brupt inbitation" and go to the Battery with him. "Miss Dinah," dressed in a yellow gown with puffed sleeves and a lace collar, a wide-brimmed hat with ribbons, feathers, and a veil, as well as gloves, has her head turned to him and informs him that she has a "privyous gagement to Mr. Romio." She also holds a closed fan in her right hand. In the right, "Mr. Romio," dressed in a black top hat, white trousers, a green waistcoat, a large blue tie, and with a monocle hanging from his neck, stands slightly bowed, and responds that as he has been standing there for three hours he hopes that she will not break her "gagemen" to him. The figures are portrayed with oversize features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: Shall I hab the honour of glanting you to the battery, this afternoon, Miss Dinah? Hope you’ll squeeze the brupt inbitation/O you allready squeezed, Mr. Sancho, only, I made a privyous gagement to Mr. Romio/hope you not going to break your gagemen, to me, I hab been standing here, for three hours., Charles Ingrey was a premier London lithographic printer of the 1830s., Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American Expressive Culture...(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 95. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1968.
Date
[ca. 1831]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (London Set) [7701.F]
Racist and sexist caricature depicting two African American dandies attempting to attain a date with "Miss Dinah" who stands between them on a New York street. In the left, "Mr. Sancho", wearing light blue pantaloons, a blue waistcoat, a high neck collar, and cravat, stands with his left foot pointed, and slightly bows, He holds his top hat in his left, ungloved hand and his removed glove in his right, gloved hand. He asks “Miss Dinah” to "squeze the brupt inbitation" and go to the Battery with him. "Miss Dinah," dressed in a yellow gown with puffed sleeves and a lace collar, a wide-brimmed hat with ribbons, feathers, and a veil, as well as gloves, has her head turned to him and informs him that she has a "privyous gagement to Mr. Romio." She also holds a closed fan in her right hand. In the right, "Mr. Romio," dressed in a black top hat, white trousers, a green waistcoat, a large blue tie, and with a monocle hanging from his neck, stands slightly bowed, and responds that as he has been standing there for three hours he hopes that she will not break her "gagemen" to him. The figures are portrayed with oversize features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: Shall I hab the honour of glanting you to the battery, this afternoon, Miss Dinah? Hope you’ll squeeze the brupt inbitation/O you allready squeezed, Mr. Sancho, only, I made a privyous gagement to Mr. Romio/hope you not going to break your gagemen, to me, I hab been standing here, for three hours., Charles Ingrey was a premier London lithographic printer of the 1830s., Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American Expressive Culture...(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 95. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1968.
Date
[ca. 1831]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (London Set) [7701.F]
Series of twelve captioned illustrations from the Clarence Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes 1880 calendar portraying scenes after the racist “Blackville” series drawn by Sol Eytinge for “Harper’s Weekly” in the 1870s and depicting caricatures satirizing the social mores, customs, and daily lives of African Americans of all classes. The figures are portrayed with exaggerated features and mannerisms. The attire of the figures includes long-sleeved dresses, shirtwaists and skirts, smocks, shirt, pants, jackets, and caps, and hats. Some of the attire depicted, particularly for younger figures, is worn and/or tattered. Includes scenes from the Eytinge Blackville series within a series - “the twins” (March, May, September illustrations). Scenes are titled (sometimes with text in the vernacular) and depict “The First Ulster in Blackville” (January) of a winter scene showing African American children, attired in shirts, pants, or skirts and hats or bonnets, paused from a snowball fight as an African American man in a blue ulster (an overcoat with hood), holding a cane, and smoking walks between them; “Christmas Dinner Done!” (February) showing an older African American man, attired in an overcoat, pants, and hat, and African American boy, attired in a shirt, pants, and a hat with a scarf tied around his head and chin, in a field, and watching a rabbit run away from a trap held by the boy; “Love in Blackville. The Wooing of the Twins” (March) showing African American women twins, each being courted by an African American man within an open room that has a stove and mantle as their older African American parents “watch” from a doorway;, "April-Fools Day-An Aggravated Case (April) showing an older African American woman, with an upset expression, standing in front of a row of cabins and near a basket of cabbages on a town block, and holding a dead rat within a cabbage as she is watched by two snickering African American boys, the practical jokers, standing within the opening to an alley; "The Great Social Event at Blackville. The Wed"ding of the Twins" (May) showing two African American women twin brides and their grooms within a parlor, near a table of food, being married by a reverend in front of friends and family of all ages; "The Coaching Season in Blackville._ The Grand Start" (June) showing an African American driver pulling at the reins of an unruly four-mule team coach of which African American passengers of all ages sit in and on the cab as African American towns folk wave from a line of cabins in the background and an African American boy and dog run past the wheel of the vehicle; "The 'Fourth' in Blackville" (July) showing a fenced paddock in which an African American boy holds an American flag in one hand and a gun in the other by a group of African American children and a woman who run, cover their eyes, jump the fence, and shield each other under the sight of an African American man in the window of an adjacent cabin; “Hi Abe Come Under De Brellar! Does Your Want to Sunstruck Yerself! De Fremoniter’s Gone Up Moren a Foot!” (August) showing a group of African American children of different ages, under a torn umbrella held by the tallest child, a girl, and approaching a young African American boy, “Abe,” within a fenced yard with a pond and patches of greenery and across from a cabin in which an African American man and woman, stand and sit in the doorway;, “After Doing Paris and the Rest of Europe, The Bridal Party Return to Blackville" (September) showing “the twins” on promenade with their husbands and an African American women caregiver holding their two babies as they walk on a dirt path lined by African American townsfolks of all ages who stare and also include an older woman who laughs behind a tree; "Who Struck De Futest?” (October) showing an older African American man, seated outside a cabin, and holding up a switch to two African American boys, in worn clothing, standing within the yard, near a broken object, and across from an African American girl in the cabin doorway and three boys seated and looking over a fence lining the property in the background; The “Small Breeds” Thanksgiving-Return of the First-Born from College 'Bress His Heart! Don’t he look edgecated?' ”(November) showing a young African American man portrayed in disheveled attire and manner as though drunk entering the door to his family, including a grandmother figure and a child in a high chair, at dinner around a cloth-covered table; and “No Small Breed Per Yer Uncle Abe Dis Chris'mas! Ain’t He a Cherub?” (December) showing “Uncle Abe,” an African American man holding a large, plucked turkey (with head and feet) near his chest and on a table surrounded by older women and child-aged family members who stand near a chest of drawers, a stool, and two windows with curtains visible in the background. Exterior scenes also often include a dog or cat, or a cabin or cabins, the latter marked “Clarence Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes. Cor. West & West 12th St. N.Y.” in the background; as well as fencing, groves of trees, and dirt paths. Interior scenes often include a dining table, chairs, displays of food and household items, such as a candlestick and framed prints advertising Clarence Brooks & Co. April-Fools Day image includes a cobble-stone street., Clarence Brooks established his varnish business in 1859 as Brooks and Fitzgerald, later Clarence Brooks & Co. In the early 1880s the firm issued calendars illustrated with African American caricatures in genre scenes, often after Sol Eytinge Harper’s Weekly illustrations., Title supplied by cataloger., Publication information inferred from image content and similar material issued by Clarence Brooks & Co. during the early 1880s., Two of the series contains ornamented borders (P.2022.8.2 & 4)., All of the prints inscribed in pencil on the verso with the name of a month, some abbreviated, between January and December., Image for “The First Ulster in Blackville” (P.2022.8.1) originally published in Harpers Weekly, March 18, 1876., Image for “Love in Blackville. The Wooing of the Twins” (P.2022.8.3) originally published in Harpers Weekly, May 11, 1878., Image for The Great Social Event at Blackville. The Wedding of the Twins (P.2022.8.5) originally published in Harpers Weekly, July 13, 1878., Image for “The Coaching Season in Blackville._ The Grand Start” (P.2022.8.6) originally published in Harpers Weekly, September 28, 1878., Image for “The ‘Fourth’ in Blackville” (P.2022.8.7) originally published in Harpers Weekly, July 14, 1877., Image for “After Doing Paris and the Rest of Europe, The Bridal Party Return to Blackville” (P.2022.8.9) originally published in Harpers Weekly, October 26, 1878., Image for “Who Struck de Futest” (P.2022.8.10) originally published in Harpers Weekly, June 13, 1874., Image for “No Small Breed fer yer Uncle Abe….” (P.2022.8.12) originally published in Harpers Weekly, January 1, 1876., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC
Date
[1879]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *ephemera - calendars - C [P.2022.8.1-12]
Antislavery print denouncing the immorality of the Fugitive Slave Law by exploiting abolitionist Senator William H. Seward's famous quote that "a higher law" than the Constitution should exist regarding slavery. Shows "King Slavery," depicted as a bearded, bare-chested, white man, attired in a crown made of finger bones and armed with pistols in his waistband. The King sits and leans upon the arm of his throne composed of the "Fugitive Slave Bill," the Bible, and human skulls as he defiantly holds a whip of chains above his head. An American flag on a pole billows behind the throne. Below the throne, Seward, depicted as a priest, looks up and raises his left hand toward the King. He stands before a cat-faced altar inscribed "Sacred to Slavery," which rests upon a book of "Law" and pours oil from a container onto the altar fire, generating clouds of smoke. In the right, three enslaved men squat with their heads bowed. Senator Daniel Webster gestures toward them and holds a paper supporting the Fugitive Slave Bill "to the fullest extent." Near them, "Freedom," depicted as a bearded, white man and attired in a robe, displays his sense of defeat by removing his crown and lowering his liberty pole. In the left, an African American man freedom seeker fends off dogs attacking him. An African American woman freedom seeker and two children flee from two white men mercenaries on horseback and run toward a white woman with outstretched arms in front of a house. In the right background, the figure of Liberty falls from her pedestal., Title from item., Place of publication inferred from the residence of the distributor., Weitenkampf suggests date of publication as 1851., Text printed on recto: Price $3 A Hundred And Six Cents Single Copy., William Harned was an abolitionist printer in New York who also published the pamphlet, "The Fugitive Slave Bill:...." in 1850. (LCP Am 1850 Fug 16809.D.1)., A.B. Maurice and F.T. Cooper's The History of the 19th century in caricature (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1904), p. 156., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2000, p. 40-2., Purchase 1999., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[1851]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1851 - 2W [P.9739]
Satire of the presidential election of 1844 depicting the potential candidates; Whig Henry Clay, and Democrats Martin Van Buren, Lewis Cass, John Calhoun, Richard M. Johnson, and John Tyler on various mounts racing for the White House. Clay riding a racoon leads the pack claiming that no one can overtake him. Van Buren follows riding a fox and holding a weather vane labeled "N" (North) and "S" (South) with the slogans "Free Trade Texas" and "Abolition Oregon" attached. He acknowledges that Lewis Cass is closing in. Cass on his hound gloats that he has finally overtaken the "old fox." Calhoun, positioned fourth, rides a lion with an enslaved African American man and child, portrayed in racist caricature, on his shoulders and bemoans his extra weight. Johnson, on foot and holding a hook, follows Calhoun stating he will "hook on" to whomever gets in. Last is Tyler, who switched political parties, trying to ride the two mounts of the "Loco Foco" (radical Democrats) donkey and the "Whig" horse., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in year 1844 by J. Childs in the Clerk's Office in the District Court of the Southern District of N.Y., Gift of Mrs. Francis P. Garvan, 1977., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1977, p. 51-52., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Clay, born in Philadelphia, was a prominent caricaturist, engraver, and lithographer who created the "Life in Philadelphia" series which satirized middle-class African Americans of the late 1820s and early 1830s.
Creator
Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, artist
Date
1844
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political cartoons - 1844-55W [8366.F.36]
Antislavery print depicting a fight between Northern abolitionists and supporters of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. In the left, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and an African American man both raise guns to protect an enslaved African American woman who is attired in a head kerchief, earrings, a short-sleeved dress, and shoes. She raises both arms in the air and clutches a handkerchief in her right hand and exclaims “Oh Massa Garrison protect me!!!” Garrison wraps his right arm around her and says, “Don’t be alarmed, Susanna, you’re safe enough.” In the right, the white man mercenary, attired in a top hat with a star on it, who may represent the federal marshals or commissioners authorized by the act (and paid) to apprehend freedom seekers, carries a noose and shackles. He sits astride Secretary of State Daniel Webster, who is on his hands and knees clutching the Constitution and bemoaning, "This, though constitutional, is extremely disagreeable." Behind them a white man, possibly John C. Calhoun, declares "We will give these fellows a touch of Old South Carolina" and carries two volumes labeled "Law and Gospel." Another white man carries a quill and ledger and says "I goes in for Law & Order." In the background, a number of men on both sides fight. A white man lies on the ground on his back. An African American man grabs a white man enslaver by the head and holds a whip while saying “It’s my turn now Old Slave Driver.” A "Temple of Liberty" stands in the background with two flags flying which read, "A day, an hour, of virtuous Liberty is worth an age of Servitude," and "All men are created free and equal.", Title from item., Probable place and date of publication supplied by Reilly., Weitenkampf attributed this cartoon to the New York artist Edward Williams Clay, but Reilly refutes this attribution on the grounds that the draftsmanship, signature, and political opinions are atypical of Clay., Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[1850 or 1851]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1851-6 [5760.F.104]
Cartoon ridiculing the Democratic and American (Know-Nothings) Party presidential candidates James Buchanan and Millard Fillmore by depicting them in a race to win the election of 1856. Depicts Buchanan having crashed his mount (i.e, running mate John C. Breckenridge depicted as a buck) into a rickety platform marked "Democratic Platform," Slavery," and "Cuba." An enslaved African American man, portrayed with racistly caricaturized features, and wearing shackles on his ankles and worn and torn clothes, shoes, and a hat, stands upon and ridicules the "Democratic Platform." Buchanan angrily replies, "You infernal Black Scoundrel, if it had not been for you and that cursed Slavery Plank that Scared and upset my Buck, I should have won this race certain." Following Buchanan is Fillmore using his running mate Andrew Jackson Donelson, depicted as a goose, as his mount. Fillmore, the American Party candidate, carries a "Know-Nothing" lamp and fears his loss will dissolve the Union. In the distance, the Republican candidate John C. Fremont pulls ahead to the cheers of many of the spectators. Brother Jonathan, (predecessor of Uncle Sam), stands on an observation or judging deck and carries a timer’s watch. Additional spectators include white men belittling Fillmore as "spineless" and a "goose," and a white boy holding a sign inscribed, "We Po'ked Em in 44; We Pierced Em in 52; and We'll 'Buck Em' in 56." He is being hoisted by two African American men, portrayed with racistly caricaturized features, upon the back of a gruff and annoyed-looking, bearded, white man asking him if he's a "Fre'mounter.", Title from item., Artist and publication information supplied by Reilly., Political cartoon Horse sassengers! A free lunch lithographed on recto. (political cartoons - 1858 Hor, P.2275.18b)., Accessioned 1979., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Magee was a New York cartoonist and lithographer who eventually established his own lithographic firm in Philadelphia in 1850.
Creator
Magee, John L., artist
Date
[1856]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1858 Hor (verso) [P.2275.18a]
Cartoon satirizing politicians' support of James Buchanan and the Democratic platform of 1856. Depicts Buchanan as "the platform" of his party prostrate across the backs of the kneeling antislavery advocate Senator Thomas Benton ("Old Bullion"), President Franklin Pierce ("Franklin the last"), and son of Martin Van Buren, John Van Buren ("Prince John"). An enslaved African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, sits atop Buchanan’s legs with his arms crossed. Sitting opposite him atop Buchanan’s chest is a white man enslaver, armed with a whip, knives, and a pistol, who declares, “I don’t care anything about the Supporters of the platform as long as the platform supports me and my Nigger.” Underneath Buchanan, Benton replies to Pierce's question of how he can be against his administration yet for "this platform" by stating that he supports Buchanan because his motto is "Men - not principles." (This is a reversal of the Democratic motto: "Principles, not men.") Simultaneously, Van Buren talks with his father "Martin the first," depicted as a fox in his "Kinderhook" burrow, about the changing policies of the great Democratic Party and the plunder to be had. Standing in the left, "Brother Jonathan" (predecessor of Uncle Sam) notes the unreliability of the "platform supporters.", Title from item., Date supplied by Weitenkampf., Purchase 1971., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[1856]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1856-16W [7996.F]
Scrapbook containing scraps, cutouts, periodical illustrations, and trade cards. Contents depict sentimental, genre, and religious scenes; images of children, animals, mothers and mothering; fancy heads; patriotic, historical, and allegorical figures, including George and Martha Washington; advertisements for Philadelphia, Hartford (Conn.), and New York businesses, including promotions for druggists, patent medicines, and soap; imagery documenting the Centennial Exhibition 1876, including portraits of prominent figures; figures in European costumes; scenes of rural life and European scenery; and landscape views. Also includes a small number of views of factories and industrial buildings; a patent medicine advertisement including an African American man servant character opening a door (p. 76); a print depicting a stanza from Robert Burn’s “The Cotter’s Saturday Night” (p. 22); illustrations of Little Red Riding Hood; the periodical cartoon “A Parent’s Vengeance” (p. 53); "La Belle Chocolatiere from the original painting by Leotard now in the Dresden Gallery" (p. 57); a cutout from a women’s fashion plate (p. 77); H.M.S. Pinafore theatrical character illustrations printed by Ledger Job Printing Office (p. 64); and a calling card for Mary S. Bassett (back inside cover)., Businesses represented include B. T. Babbit (soap); Clark’s O.N.T. (thread); C. F. Rump (leather goods); Corning & Tappan (perfumes); Marburg Bros. (tobacco); Devlin & Co. (clothiers); Dundas, Dirk & Co. (pharmacists); [Hiram] Duryea’s Starch Works; Fairbanks scales (E. & T. Fairbanks & Co.); J. Milton Brewer (druggist); C. L. Hauthaway & Sons (shoe polish); Charles S. Higgins (German laundry soap); The New York Bazar (fancy goods, Phillip Isaacs, proprietor); Demorest’s Monthly Magazine (W. J. Demorest, publisher); Edwin C. Burt (shoes); E. P. & Wm. Kellogg; Samuel Gerry & Cos. (patent medicine); Alex. Boost (analytical chemist); Chas. F. Hurd & Co. (chinaware); E. P. & Wm. Kellogg (photographers & art dealers); and Willcox & Gibbs (sewing machines)., Title supplied by cataloger., Front cover stamped: Scrap Book, Various artists, engravers, and printers including F. Beard; Illman Bros.; Ledger Job Print; L. Prang & Co.; Major & Knapp; Thomas Moran; and Shober & Carqueville., Cutouts and calling card pasted to inside front and back covers., Edges of scrapbook leaves contains stitching in different colors, including yellow, green, blue, red, lilac, and purple., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., Housed in phase box., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date
[ca. 1876-ca. 1879]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums - Linen [P.2013.69.1]
Graphic cartoon steeped in Confederate bitterness toward the "Republican" North depicting a scene of Northern idolatry of the African American. Worshippers near a mound of skulls surround a blood-stained altar upon which lies the shackled sacrificed body of American youth. The altar, with a bust of Lincoln dressed as a clown overhead, is constructed from Northern principles such as "Puritanism," "Free Love," and "Negro Worship." Behind the altar an African American man idol, barefoot and bare-chested and portrayed in racist caricature, sits upon the "Chicago Platform." Near the idol stands the statue of "St. Ossawattomi" (i.e., John Brown). The worshippers include General Scott, General Halleck and a loot-laden General Butler, as well as Secretary Edwin Stanton, John Fremont, a knife wielding Henry Ward Beecher, a torch carrying Charles Sumner, Horace Greeley with a censer, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, praying and kneeling atop a volume of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Printed in the top corners is "Ego.", Published in: Sketches from the Civil War in North America (London [i.e., Baltimore]: [the author], 1863-1864), pl. 1., Issued as plate 1 in Sketches from the Civil War in North America (London [i.e., Baltimore]: [the author], 1863-1864), a series of pro-Confederacy cartoons drawn and published by Baltimore cartoonist Adalbert John Volck under the pseudonym V. Blada. The "first issue" of 10 prints (numbered 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 15, 16, 21, 24), with imprint "London, 1863" were printed as etchings. The remaining 20 prints (numbered 4, 8, 9-11, 14, 17-20, 23, 25-27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 40, 45) headed "Second and third issues of V. Blada's war sketches" and dated "London, July 30, 1864" were printed as lithographs., Title and publication information from series at Brown University Library., Accessioned 1979., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Aldabert Volck (1828-1912), i.e., V. Blada, was a prominent Southern cartoonist from Baltimore who is best known for his 1863 work "Sketches from the Civil War," later republished circa 1886 by Porter & Coates in Philadelphia under the title "Confederate War Etchings."
Creator
Volck, Adalbert John, 1828-1912, artist
Date
[1863]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1863 - Wor [P.2275.6]
Collection of primarily racist social caricatures lampooning the etiquette and conventions of early 19th-century, middle-class New Yorkers, particularly the growing community of free African American persons. Eliciting the heightened racism in the antebellum North, the African American men, women, and children characters are depicted with exaggerated features, wearing boldly-patterned and colored clothes, and speaking in a vernacular to be portrayed and denigrated as illegitimate elite society. Caricatures also address “rules” of courtship, fashion, classism, and a dance lesson. Some caricatures also represent the sexism and ethnic divisions of the era., Influenced by the "Life in Philadelphia" series of 1828-1830, the series consists of at least eight prints published around 1830 by eminent New York lithographer Anthony Imbert. Although often attributed to Edward W. Clay, the different styles of the caricatures imply that the prints were executed by various artists employed by Imbert. The African American caricature, "A Five Points Exclusive," a lithograph published in the early 1830s by John Pendleton, an associate of Imbert, has been included as a part of the series., Serie title from items., Dates inferred from content and names of publishers., Original series contained at least eight prints., LCP holds four of the series. Three are first editions., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of Jacksonian America (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 93-95. (LCP Print Room Yz, A423.O), Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date
1830-ca. 1834, bulk 1830
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set)
Racist and sexist caricature exploiting a documented assault case reported as a lampoon in the September 30, 1829 edition of the "Morning Courier and New York Enquirer" about two African American men in an altercation over the intentions and handkerchief of "Miss Minta." In front of the left side of a police station counter attended by seven white men, "Antonio Cesea de Wilson" is being held back by his coat lapel by a white older man. The older man, attired in a waist coat and pantaloons, has a slight frown. Wilson, portrayed with wide, round eyes and a plain expression, and attired in a cravat, shirt, waistcoat, vest, and pants, stands with his feet apart and his left arm outstretched and his hand in a fist as his other arm is pulled back. He explains to the police how he came to the tussle with "Massa Sambo." On the right side of the counter, "Massa Sambo," portrayed with a plain expression, and attired in a ruffled shirt, cravat, waistcoat, and stirrup pants, stands and gestures behind him to Miss Minta." She holds a closed fan up in one hand and a parasol to the ground with the other. She is portrayed with a plain expression and wears her hair in a top knot and is attired in a long-sleeved, double-skirted dress with a check pattern and lace details, stockings, and slip on shoes. She looks in the direction of “Massa Sambo.” He explains that he is the receiver of the handkerchief and her rightful suitor. He has not only received her "witching glance" but has given her several gifts, including a lock of hair. The men, congregated behind the station's counter, include the magistrate recording the testimonies. The men are attired in waistcoats, shirts, and cravats. Many of the men laugh and, in the right, one reads a paper near shelves of ledgers. The African American figures are portrayed with oversize features., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: My name is Antonio Ceasa de Wilson, I have been paying a visit to Miss Araminta Arabella Tomson in de oyster cellar where she live, Where Massa Sambo come in and say “You have no business here” so I look at Miss Minta and she say I have, and this gentleman and me have a tussle. The handkerchief is not his, but one Miss Minta made a present of to me.”/I can assure you “that Miss Araminta did give me the witching glance, which told me as plain as eye could speak that I was the more welcome visiter, and as to the handkerchief, it is Miss Minta’s, and I have better right to it than this other gentleman, as I have presented to her, a scissor, a timble, and a lock of my hair.”, Anthony Imbert, a New York artist, was a pioneer of American lithography who was also known for his ability as a marine painter., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator
Canova, Dominico, artist
Date
[ca. 1830]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [P.9704.1]
Racist and sexist caricature exploiting a documented assault case reported as a lampoon in the September 30, 1829 edition of the "Morning Courier and New York Enquirer" about two African American men in an altercation over the intentions and handkerchief of "Miss Minta." In front of the left side of a police station counter attended by seven white men, "Antonio Cesea de Wilson" is being held back by his coat lapel by a white older man. The older man, attired in a waist coat and pantaloons, has a slight frown. Wilson, portrayed with wide, round eyes and a plain expression, and attired in a cravat, shirt, waistcoat, vest, and pants, stands with his feet apart and his left arm outstretched and his hand in a fist as his other arm is pulled back. He explains to the police how he came to the tussle with "Massa Sambo." On the right side of the counter, "Massa Sambo," portrayed with a plain expression, and attired in a ruffled shirt, cravat, waistcoat, and stirrup pants, stands and gestures behind him to Miss Minta." She holds a closed fan up in one hand and a parasol to the ground with the other. She is portrayed with a plain expression and wears her hair in a top knot and is attired in a long-sleeved, double-skirted dress with a check pattern and lace details, stockings, and slip on shoes. She looks in the direction of “Massa Sambo.” He explains that he is the receiver of the handkerchief and her rightful suitor. He has not only received her "witching glance" but has given her several gifts, including a lock of hair. The men, congregated behind the station's counter, include the magistrate recording the testimonies. The men are attired in waistcoats, shirts, and cravats. Many of the men laugh and, in the right, one reads a paper near shelves of ledgers. The African American figures are portrayed with oversize features., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: My name is Antonio Ceasa de Wilson, I have been paying a visit to Miss Araminta Arabella Tomson in de oyster cellar where she live, Where Massa Sambo come in and say “You have no business here” so I look at Miss Minta and she say I have, and this gentleman and me have a tussle. The handkerchief is not his, but one Miss Minta made a present of to me.”/I can assure you “that Miss Araminta did give me the witching glance, which told me as plain as eye could speak that I was the more welcome visiter, and as to the handkerchief, it is Miss Minta’s, and I have better right to it than this other gentleman, as I have presented to her, a scissor, a timble, and a lock of my hair.”, Anthony Imbert, a New York artist, was a pioneer of American lithography who was also known for his ability as a marine painter., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator
Canova, Dominico, artist
Date
[ca. 1830]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [P.9704.1]
Racist caricature depicting a conversation between a middle-class African American merchant and a working-class Irish man. Depicts the well-dressed man "merchant" of a "Patent Steam" laundry and his well-dressed woman companion being approached by a white Irish man outside the doorway to his “Patent Steam Scouring Establishment. Clothes of all kinds, etc.” He wears a top hat, green waistcoat, a white ruffled shirt and stiff collar, white pants, and black shoes. He holds a walking stick. His companion wears a yellow, wide-brimmed hat adorned with feathers and ribbons, a blue and yellow, long-sleeved dress with lace details, white stockings and slipper shoes. She holds up a monocle toward the Irish man who is in bare feet and attired in worn and torn clothing. He holds a stained and patched waistcoat. The Irish man asks the merchant to "shift" his coat for a new one, as by the appearance of the merchant's coat, he is just the man for whom he has been looking since leaving "Kilarney." The merchant and his companion are "salted" by the notion that they are of the same nature as the "ruffian" and will "larn" him better by telling him to "ply to the office." The African American figures are portrayed with oversized features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: What you mean sir! I’m a merchant, I larn you better! cant you rid dat dere Sign, ply to the Office./Aint it too gusting for a lady of quality to be salted so in Street by Ruffians./Blakey I say! Can’t you by the powers of your Stame Engine Shift me this coat for a new one! I trust by the looks of yours youre the very man I have been looking for since I left Kilarney., Inscribed: Pl. 2., Charles Ingrey was a premier London lithographic printer of the 1830s., LCP AR [Annual Report] 1972 p. 60., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1972.
Date
[ca. 1831]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (London Set) [8025.F.2]
Racist caricature depicting a conversation between a middle-class African American merchant and a working-class Irish man. Depicts the well-dressed man "merchant" of a "Patent Steam" laundry and his well-dressed woman companion being approached by a white Irish man outside the doorway to his “Patent Steam Scouring Establishment. Clothes of all kinds, etc.” He wears a top hat, green waistcoat, a white ruffled shirt and stiff collar, white pants, and black shoes. He holds a walking stick. His companion wears a yellow, wide-brimmed hat adorned with feathers and ribbons, a blue and yellow, long-sleeved dress with lace details, white stockings and slipper shoes. She holds up a monocle toward the Irish man who is in bare feet and attired in worn and torn clothing. He holds a stained and patched waistcoat. The Irish man asks the merchant to "shift" his coat for a new one, as by the appearance of the merchant's coat, he is just the man for whom he has been looking since leaving "Kilarney." The merchant and his companion are "salted" by the notion that they are of the same nature as the "ruffian" and will "larn" him better by telling him to "ply to the office." The African American figures are portrayed with oversized features and their skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: What you mean sir! I’m a merchant, I larn you better! cant you rid dat dere Sign, ply to the Office./Aint it too gusting for a lady of quality to be salted so in Street by Ruffians./Blakey I say! Can’t you by the powers of your Stame Engine Shift me this coat for a new one! I trust by the looks of yours youre the very man I have been looking for since I left Kilarney., Inscribed: Pl. 2., Charles Ingrey was a premier London lithographic printer of the 1830s., LCP AR [Annual Report] 1972 p. 60., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchase 1972.
Date
[ca. 1831]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (London Set) [8025.F.2]
Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1864 by Bromley & Co. New York in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York., Text printed on recto: Single Copies sent pr. mail post paid 25 cts; 5 Copies $1.00; 50 express $9.00; 100 $16.00. Express charges paid by purchaser. Address: Bromley & Co., Box 4265 New York City. Write your address: Post Office, County and State plainly., Third in a series of four., McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Cartoon criticizing the Republican's self-destructive support of abolitionism during the presidential election of 1864 depicting the "Union" train of Democrats steaming toward the White House passing the wrecked Republican train. Candidate George McClellan engineers the smooth running Democratic train powered by "Democracy" and adorned with the flag "Constitution." Several of the passengers including Horatio Seymour praise McClellan as others mock the Republican Party's demise. The Republican train has crashed into several rocks symbolic of the war including "Abolitionism," "Confiscation," and "Emancipation." The crash ejects Abraham Lincoln. Several African Americans, who are depicted in racist caricature and speak in the vernacular, are crushed and maimed. Tossed and injured prominent Republican passengers include Edwin Stanton; Horace Greeley; Henry Ward Beecher who holds an African American baby; Charles Sumner; William Seward; John McKeon; Benjamin Butler and Thurlow Weed; many of whom pray for help. "John Bull," Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, and France's Napoleon III observe and comment on the crash's effect on the puppet empire of Mexico. Another observer, recently resigned Secretary Salmon P. Chase, expresses relief that he left the Republican train in the "nick of time."
Date
1864
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1864-39R [5793.F.2]