Series IV: Harper’s Weekly Magazine Prints, 1868 - 1880
Series
Scope and Content:
From the Collection:
The Helen Farr Sloan’s political cartoon collection (1802-1950) contains a variety of prints of political cartoons, illustrations, and caricatures from several different magazines. The collection contains pages from magazines, pages from books, and other prints that were not a part of a publication. The magazines featured include Puck, Judge, Vanity Fair (British, 1868-1914), Vanity Fair (American, 1913-1936), Harper’s Weekly, Gil Blas, Le Charivari, Truth, The New Yorker, The Illustrated London News, The New York Herald, and The Sun. There are other series included like Treagar’s Black Jokes and Le Gens de Paris. There are works from publishers like S.W. Fores, Currier & Ives, and J.Sidebotham. Also included are works by Rowlandson, which are individually published.
The first series contains cartoons from Puck magazine. Its materials are pages and covers from the magazine including the fronts and backs of the pages. The artists that are included are Frederick Burr Opper, Frederich Graetz, Bernhard Gillam, J.S. Pughe, James Albert Wales, and Samuel Ehrhart.
The second series contains cartoons from Judge magazine. The materials are pages and covers from the magazine and include both the fronts and backs of the pages. The artists that are included are Thomas Worth, Bernhard Gillam, Victor Gillam, and Grant E. Hamilton.
The third series contains cartoons, caricatures, and portraits from Vanity Fair (British, 1868-1914) and Vanity Fair (American, 1913-1936) magazines. The materials for the British magazine include the one-sided caricatures and cartoons featured in the publication. The material for the American magazine contains a portrait on the front and a table of contents on the back of the page. The artists that are included are Carlo Pellegrini (Ape/Singe), James Tissot (Coïdé), Thomas Nast, Leslie Ward (Spy), and William Henry Cotton.
The fourth series contains cartoons from Harper’s Weekly magazine. The materials include the front and back side of pages from the magazine. The artists that are included are William L. Sheppard, Charles G. Bush, Thomas Nast, and A.B. Frost.
The fifth series contains cartoons, caricatures, and illustrations from various magazines and publications. The artists and their publications include Théophile Steinlin, from Gil Blas, Sulpice Guillaume Chevalier (Paul Gavarni), from Le Gens de Paris, Thomas Rowlandson, William Summers, from Tregear’s Black Jokes, Charles Williams, William Elmes, George Cruikshank, Isaac Robert Cruikshank, Jules Joseph Georges Renard (Draner), Charles Robinson, from The Illustrated London News, Thomas Worth, Richard F. Outcault, from the New York Herald, Helen E. Hokinson, from The New Yorker, Charles Amédée de Noé (Cham), from Le Charivari, Sydney B. Griffin, from Truth, Oscar Cesare, from The Sun, and William Bruns.
There are a wide variety of themes and events covered in the cartoons and illustrations throughout the collection. There are numerous presidential elections covered including the elections of 1806, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, and 1900. The 43rd and 54th Congresses are both represented within cartoons in the series. Other events that are shown in cartoons in the collection are the Chicago World’s Fair/World’s Columbian Exposition, the Spanish-American War, Reconstruction, and the Kansas Exodus. There are also many representations of the Democratic, Republican, Greenback, and Citizens parties as well as Tammany Hall. Other themes included are immigration, Jewish communities, social ambition, weather problems, voting rights, the gold standard vs. free silver debate, diseases, family roles, plantations, white supremacy groups, Communism, financial issues, militaries, pic-nic societies, King George IV’s court, political corruption, and social events and issues. A large number of the cartoons included in the collections are products of their times and therefore many include racist language and depictions. The transcriptions and metadata associated with each cartoon is described as is for the purpose of providing the easiest access to the collection and does in no way reflect the views of Wilkes University or its archive department.
The first series contains cartoons from Puck magazine. Its materials are pages and covers from the magazine including the fronts and backs of the pages. The artists that are included are Frederick Burr Opper, Frederich Graetz, Bernhard Gillam, J.S. Pughe, James Albert Wales, and Samuel Ehrhart.
The second series contains cartoons from Judge magazine. The materials are pages and covers from the magazine and include both the fronts and backs of the pages. The artists that are included are Thomas Worth, Bernhard Gillam, Victor Gillam, and Grant E. Hamilton.
The third series contains cartoons, caricatures, and portraits from Vanity Fair (British, 1868-1914) and Vanity Fair (American, 1913-1936) magazines. The materials for the British magazine include the one-sided caricatures and cartoons featured in the publication. The material for the American magazine contains a portrait on the front and a table of contents on the back of the page. The artists that are included are Carlo Pellegrini (Ape/Singe), James Tissot (Coïdé), Thomas Nast, Leslie Ward (Spy), and William Henry Cotton.
The fourth series contains cartoons from Harper’s Weekly magazine. The materials include the front and back side of pages from the magazine. The artists that are included are William L. Sheppard, Charles G. Bush, Thomas Nast, and A.B. Frost.
The fifth series contains cartoons, caricatures, and illustrations from various magazines and publications. The artists and their publications include Théophile Steinlin, from Gil Blas, Sulpice Guillaume Chevalier (Paul Gavarni), from Le Gens de Paris, Thomas Rowlandson, William Summers, from Tregear’s Black Jokes, Charles Williams, William Elmes, George Cruikshank, Isaac Robert Cruikshank, Jules Joseph Georges Renard (Draner), Charles Robinson, from The Illustrated London News, Thomas Worth, Richard F. Outcault, from the New York Herald, Helen E. Hokinson, from The New Yorker, Charles Amédée de Noé (Cham), from Le Charivari, Sydney B. Griffin, from Truth, Oscar Cesare, from The Sun, and William Bruns.
There are a wide variety of themes and events covered in the cartoons and illustrations throughout the collection. There are numerous presidential elections covered including the elections of 1806, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, and 1900. The 43rd and 54th Congresses are both represented within cartoons in the series. Other events that are shown in cartoons in the collection are the Chicago World’s Fair/World’s Columbian Exposition, the Spanish-American War, Reconstruction, and the Kansas Exodus. There are also many representations of the Democratic, Republican, Greenback, and Citizens parties as well as Tammany Hall. Other themes included are immigration, Jewish communities, social ambition, weather problems, voting rights, the gold standard vs. free silver debate, diseases, family roles, plantations, white supremacy groups, Communism, financial issues, militaries, pic-nic societies, King George IV’s court, political corruption, and social events and issues. A large number of the cartoons included in the collections are products of their times and therefore many include racist language and depictions. The transcriptions and metadata associated with each cartoon is described as is for the purpose of providing the easiest access to the collection and does in no way reflect the views of Wilkes University or its archive department.
Dates
- 1868 - 1880
Access:
Anyone may access these political cartoons.
Extent
From the Collection: 1 boxes
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Series IV: Harper’s Weekly Magazine Prints, 1868-1880
Series IV: Harper’s Weekly Magazine Prints, 1868-1880, is arranged chronologically by date and contains political cartoons and prints from Harper’s Weekly Magazine from 1868-1880. Harper’s Weekly was an American magazine that ran from 1857 to 1916. It featured articles on politics, foreign news, fiction, and its famous satirical cartoons. It was created by Fletcher Harper (1806-1877) and published by Harper & Brothers, a company run by himself and his brothers. The magazine became well known for its political cartoons and was known for having a strong influence on public opinion, especially during elections. The magazine had a Republican aligned perspective on politics and social issues. They became the most read magazine during the Civil War and attempted to show the brutality of slavery in ways that hadn’t necessarily been done before by magazines run by white men. The themes that appear in this series are Reconstruction, plantations, social events, white supremacy groups, Communism, voting laws, financial issues, and Democratic politicians. Most of the illustrations in this series are political cartoons, however some are illustrations to go along with a fictional story, or news article. The back sides of the cartoons are included and many contain information relating to the cartoons, but some are unrelated. There is also a cartoon, “The Tell-Tale” that goes along with a story, but does not include an artist or author. There are four artists included in this series who have done political cartoons or illustrations.
The artists featured in this series are:
William L. Sheppard (1833-1912), an American cartoonist who had originally worked designing tobacco labels. He had studied art in New York, Paris, and London before enlisting during the Civil War. Following the war, he did work as a sculptor and was illustrating books. He eventually started illustrating for Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. The themes that appeared in his work in this series are Reconstruction and plantations. His work included in this series is “The First Cotton-Gin.”
Charles G. Bush (1842-1909), an American cartoonist illustrator who has been referred to as one of the original daily newspaper cartoonists. He signed his work as C.G. Bush and appeared in many different magazines and newspapers. He worked for the New York World-Telegram, the New York Herald, the New York World, and Harper’s Weekly. His work in this series is illustrations that refer to an article on a social event. The work that appears in the series is “Grand Ball Given in Honor of President Grant at the Station House.”
Thomas Nast (1840-1902), a German cartoonist and caricature artist who is credited with being the “Father of the American Cartoon.” He had been sent to New York as a young boy and eventually started studying under different artists and attending art school. He worked for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, though his drawings were not published until he started drawing for Harper’s Weekly in 1859. He briefly worked abroad for The Illustrated London News and Vanity Fair. He returned to New York and worked for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper and the New York Illustrated News and in 1862 he became a full time staff member for Harper’s Weekly. He was known for influencing public opinion during elections and popularizing political symbols. The themes and events that appear in his cartoons in this series are Reconstruction, white supremacy groups, Communism, voting laws, and financial issues. His works that are included in this series are “Colored Rule in a Reconstructed (?) State,” “Halt!,” “Always Killing the Goose that Lays the Golden Egg,” “The Rough is Ready,” and “A Fable Which is Not All a Fable.”
A.B. Frost (1851-1928), an American illustrator and writer who studied under Thomas Eakins. His career started with book illustrations until he started illustrating for The Daily Graphic. A year later he started working for Harper & Brothers as a publisher, but also started publishing his own work in Harper’s Weekly, Punch, and Scribner’s Magazine. After his time at these magazines he returned to illustrating for books and published his own anthology on painting movement. The theme that appears in his work in this series is Democratic politicians. The work of his included in this series is “The George Washington Jones Family En Route For Paris.”
Charles G. Bush (1842-1909), an American cartoonist illustrator who has been referred to as one of the original daily newspaper cartoonists. He signed his work as C.G. Bush and appeared in many different magazines and newspapers. He worked for the New York World-Telegram, the New York Herald, the New York World, and Harper’s Weekly. His work in this series is illustrations that refer to an article on a social event. The work that appears in the series is “Grand Ball Given in Honor of President Grant at the Station House.”
Thomas Nast (1840-1902), a German cartoonist and caricature artist who is credited with being the “Father of the American Cartoon.” He had been sent to New York as a young boy and eventually started studying under different artists and attending art school. He worked for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, though his drawings were not published until he started drawing for Harper’s Weekly in 1859. He briefly worked abroad for The Illustrated London News and Vanity Fair. He returned to New York and worked for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper and the New York Illustrated News and in 1862 he became a full time staff member for Harper’s Weekly. He was known for influencing public opinion during elections and popularizing political symbols. The themes and events that appear in his cartoons in this series are Reconstruction, white supremacy groups, Communism, voting laws, and financial issues. His works that are included in this series are “Colored Rule in a Reconstructed (?) State,” “Halt!,” “Always Killing the Goose that Lays the Golden Egg,” “The Rough is Ready,” and “A Fable Which is Not All a Fable.”
A.B. Frost (1851-1928), an American illustrator and writer who studied under Thomas Eakins. His career started with book illustrations until he started illustrating for The Daily Graphic. A year later he started working for Harper & Brothers as a publisher, but also started publishing his own work in Harper’s Weekly, Punch, and Scribner’s Magazine. After his time at these magazines he returned to illustrating for books and published his own anthology on painting movement. The theme that appears in his work in this series is Democratic politicians. The work of his included in this series is “The George Washington Jones Family En Route For Paris.”
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu