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- Title
- Magna Britannia, her colonies reduc'd
- Description
- Print of Franklin's anti-Stamp Act cartoon, originally issued on card stock and distributed to members of Parliament prior to debate on the repeal, depicting a dismembered Britannia to represent the alienation of the American colonies as a consequence of non-repeal. Shows Britannia, fallen of and resting against the globe of the world, her limbs inscribed with the names of the colonies strewn around her, her shield fallen beside her, and her lance, speared through her "New England" leg, pointed at her chest (allusion to the New England riots). She sits upon a barren land, near a withered English oak, a dropped olive branch, and British ships marked for sale by brooms attached to their masts. A sash inscribed in Latin, "Penny for Bellisario" (Roman military hero of Emperor Justinian accused of treason and reduced to beggary), lies across her chest., Manuscript note by DuSimitiere on recto: North America November the first MDCCLXV. The original print done in England on the back of a message card, the invention and for the use of Benjamin Franklin Esq.; LL.D. agent for the Province of Pennsylvania, in London., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Described in Edwin Wolf and Marie Elena Korey, eds. Quarter of a Millennium... (Philadelphia, The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1981), entry 40., See Edwin Wolf's "Benjamin Franklin's Stamp Act Cartoon" Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 99 (1955), p. 388-396.
- Creator
- Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1766]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - [1766] Mag [395.F.5]
- Title
- Young England O, shameful England! Greedy puffed with pride, a friend in sore distress, thy false heart hath denied
- Description
- Cartoon critical of Great Britain's lack of support of the Union depicting the country as a greedy, pompous, and disingenuous child. Depicts a smiling, well-dressed, plump lad partaking of a lavish table of food in front of an emaciated, begging dog on an outside patio near the ocean. In the background, an American ship sails near the shore and displays a banner labeled, "Coal?" On the shore, near a row of cannons and a pile of coal, soldiers display a British flag labeled "No!", Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., Publisher's imprint stamped below title., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War.
- Date
- [between 1862 and 1864]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1862-30W [6392.F]
- Title
- A downright gabbler, or a goose that deserves to be hissed
- Description
- Caricature of Frances [Fanny] Wright, British-born suffragist and abolitionist, depicted as a goose eulogizing in a liturgical setting during her American lecture tour of 1829. Wright, with a goose head, attired in a black dress and long white scarf stands with a book in her raised hand in front of a table laid out with candles, a pitcher of water, and texts. Beside her a well-dressed, white man attendant holds her bonnet and observes., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Reilly., Accessioned 1979., 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
- [1829]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1829-2R [P.2275.21]
- Title
- Jim Crow, the American mountebank performing at the Grand Theatre
- Description
- Full-length, caricatured portrait depicting Thomas D. Rice, known as the "father of American minstrelsy." Depicts Rice in Blackface as his African American racist shyster character of "Jim Crow" during his first performance in London. He is portrayed with exaggerated features and mannerisms. He dances and sings a version of the minstrel standard, "Jim Crow," in front of an audience of white British men, including the King. The song, which pokes fun at Americans, refers to William Blackstone and William Pitt Chatham, two influential English jurists, who wrote about early American law and politics. Blackface minstrelsy is a popular entertainment form, originating in the United States in the mid-19th century and remaining in American life through the 20th century. The form is based around stereotypical and racist portrayals of African Americans, including mocking dialect, parodic lyrics, and the application of Black face paint; all designed to portray African Americans as othered subjects of humor and disrespect. Blackface was a dominant form for theatrical and musical performances for decades, both on stage and in private homes. Jim Crow (mid to late 19th century) was a Minstrel character representing enslaved/rural Black manhood as foolish, lazy, interested in shirking labor., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Text printed on the recto: I come from America a long time ago, Since which I larn to wheel about & jump Jim Crow, Him used to study Blackstone ebry morn & arter noon, Me charm de House where Chatham died & dance inde saloon. Wheel about & turn about & do jis so. Ebry time I wheel about I jumpt Jim Crow., Description of Blackface minstrelsy and minstrel characters from Dorothy Berry, Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021., Accessioned 1982., 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
- [1836]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1836 Jim [P.8738]
- Title
- The chivalry at the English court
- Description
- Cartoon mocking Southern secessionists who sought foreign aid for the Southern Confederacy by depicting white men emissaries from the "Gentlemen colony of South Carolina" asking Queen Victoria if she can spare a King. The South Carolinians stand before the throne and present bales of “Cotton” to the Queen. Behind them a contingent of enslaved African American children, portrayed as racist caricatures, carry an umbrella, a fan, a serving tray of “julips,” and hold the tail of the emissary’s jacket. In the right, Queen Victoria sits on her throne surrounded by white boys and flanked by a lion and a unicorn. She responds that her family is small but possibly a "Coburg" relation may satisfy their needs., Title from item., Publication date supplied by Weitenkampf., Text printed below image: May it please Your Majesty, We, the Republicans of the Gentlemen Colony of South Carolina are desirous of having a Royal Master; would You graciously please to spare us a King out of your illustrious house? Her Majesty. Thank you Gentlemen, but my Family is small, you know; -- perhaps one of my Coburg Relations may accommodate you, I can recommend them, they give Satisfaction in every Place., Accessioned 1899., 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
- [1860]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1860-6W [5780.F]
- Title
- John Bull and the Nicaragua question John's duplicity and disregard of treaty obligations
- Description
- Cartoon criticizing Great Britain's support of the Costa Rican opposition to American pro-slavery filibuster and self-installed president of Nicaragua William Walker, as a violation of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, which barred American and British development of Central America. Depicts a rotund John Bull, with a patch over one eye and guns strapped to his chest, trampling the "Clayton Bulwer Treaty." He hands a rifle to a Costa Rican man, attired in a straw hat, poncho, and torn and worn pants, who carries a dagger in his right hand and declares, "Death to Los Americanos!" Bull remarks to the Costa Rican that he "agreed not to meddle" and will help settle the "hash" of the filibuster, while under his breath he mutters "after we've settled their hash, I'll settle your hash." In the right is a chained and caged "Russian Bear," and on top of the cage is a "Turkey," symbolizing the nation (allusions to British success in the Crimean War). In the left, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, their several children playing beside and with them, mock the "fuss" that Emperor Napoleon III of France makes over his young son. Napoleon gushes that the child's "foot shall fit se Neck of France" as his son's white woman nanny, holding a bowl of "PAP" (i.e, political patronage), discusses the King's assistance to Costa Rica and her "diapering" of the "blessed baby." In the background, combat ensues., Title from item., Date supplied by Weitenkampf., Political cartoon "The right man in the right place" lithographed on verso. [LCP political cartoon 1856-4 5760.F.10b (copy)]., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., 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., 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
- Magee, John L.
- Date
- [1857]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1857-1w [5760.F.10a]
- Title
- Slave emancipation; or, John Bull gulled out of twenty millions
- Description
- Anti-abolitionist satire of the indemnification expenses to be paid as a result of the abolition of slavery in the British colonies in 1833. Depicts William Wilberforce, a prominent British abolitionist, leading a tour group comprised of a white man enslaver, a white man Whig, and "John Bull" through the dwellings of enslaved people. As the tour passes, a group of happy and celebrating Black men, attired in yellow, blue, or green pants and shoes and portrayed in racist caricature, dance and smoke from pipes. One man sits with his back to the viewer and smokes a pipe beside a jug labeled, "Rum." Wilberforce preaches about the necessary expense of emancipation and the wretched condition of the enslaved to which Bull laments about "our poor innocent factory children, for whom you haven't one small spark of pity." The white men comment about the personal effect of emancipation on them., Title from item., Date and place of publication inferred from content., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1978, p. 55., Purchase 1978., 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
- [ca. 1833?]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1833 - Sla [8392.F]

