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Great Political Excitement in Indiana. The Whole State on the “Stump.”, by Frederick Opper, Puck, [in German], 1880

 Item — Box: 1, Folder: 3

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.

Dates

  • Created: 1880

Creator

Access:

Anyone may access these political cartoons.

Extent

1 items

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Type of Material:

Political cartoon

Condition Note:

Good. The material has some yellowing and browning on edges.

Measurements:

13.75 x 9.75 in

Title:

Große politische Aufregung in Indiana. –Der ganze Staat auf dem “Stumpf”.

Description:

This Frederick Opper cartoon for Puck magazine, features multiple people involved with the presidential election in 1880, between James Garfield and Winfield Hancock, standing and shouting on tree stumps. The frontmost consist of (Left to Right) an unnamed boy, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Hendricks, Daniel Voorhees, and John Logan. Also mentioned is the left-wing Greenback party and their nominee, James Weaver. This election is credited as having one of the largest voter turnout as is reflected in Opper’s cartoon featuring many people on their “stumps” sharing their opinion. The stumps refer to a presidential stump speech, which is a speech written by a candidate that they repeat multiple times to different audiences. It can also be a speech done on behalf of a candidate, as is shown in the cartoon. Douglass is speaking out for Garfield, who was pro abolishing slavery and had fought for the Union Army. Hendricks is calling for voters to remember the election of 1876 when Rutherford B. Hayes won the electoral vote, but not the popular vote. Many democrats claimed the vote had been stolen from their candidate. Voorhees is supporting Hancock by mentioning his support for the greenback, a paper money that was backed by government bonds. They created inflation, which benefited Southerners in debt, since it reduced the value of the debt. Logan shows his support for Garfield by claiming that he is “pure and holy.” Opper is credited as one of the first creators of newspaper comic strips in the United States. He had dropped out of school at a young age to pursue his career as an illustrator. He eventually was hired at Puck magazine where he drew illustrations for 18 years. The back of the cartoon features advertisements such as, “Jules Mumm & Cos Champagnes,” “Decker’s” Pool tables,""S. Lieberann’s Sons Lager Beer,” "Hotel Liszt,” “Peter Dolger’s Lager Beer,” and “Red Star Line.”

Transcription:

The first caption on the cartoon says, “Weaver!!!! The People’s Choice!!!!!” The next titled “DouglasT” says “Vote for Garfield!! The Colored Man’s Friend.” The next titled “Hendricks'' says “Remember 1876!!!” The next is titled “Voorhees'' is captioned “Hancock is The Greenbacker’s Friend!!!” The last is titled “Logan '' with the caption, “Vote For Garfield!! He is Pure and Holy!!!”

Repository Details

Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository

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