Skip to main content

A Few Pleasant Recollections of the Fifty-Fourth Congress, J.S. Pughe, Puck, 1896 May 27

 Item — Box: 1, Folder: 18

A Few Pleasant Recollections of the Fifty-Fourth Congress, J.S. Pughe, Puck, 1896 May 27

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: 1896 May 27

Creator

Access:

Anyone may access these political cartoons.

Extent

1 items

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Type of Material:

Political cartoon

Condition Note:

Fair. The material is torn in half and has other tears on the edges.

Measurement:

20.5 x 14 in

Title:

A Few Pleasant Recollections of the Fifty-Fourth Congress

Description:

The cartoon depicts members of the fifty-fourth Congress drawn in Native American stereotypical clothing including grass skirts and feathers. On the right is Thomas Brackett Reed wearing a crown that says “Reed” and feathers sticking up from it, a black vest, a red bow tie, white cuffs, a grass skirt, red pants, and black shoes. He is standing on a platform that has a sign saying “This Is The 54th Congress” and is holding a gavel out. Below him is Charles Frederick Crisp with a black top hat that says “Crisp” and is standing away from everyone else. He is holding onto a shield and spear. Nelson Dingley Jr. is sitting against the platform and is wearing a green vest and blue pants. “Dingley” is written across his stomach. In front of him are George F. Hoar, William B. Allison, Arthur P. Gorman, and Matthew Quay huddled together reading a book titled, “Reminiscences of John Sherman.” Hoar is wearing a white t-shirt, red pants with suspenders, and a feather on his head that says “Hoar.” Allison is wearing green pants and a black top hat that says “Allison.” Gorman is wearing blue pants and a brown hat with a feather that says “Gorman.” Quay is wearing blue shorts and a feather that says “Quay.” To the right of the platform is Robert R. Hitt wearing a blue vest and white cuffs on his ankles. He is holding an orange and blue shield and a spear with a red flag that says “Hitt.” Behind him is John P. Jones who is wearing a pink grass skirt and holding a spear with a red flag that says “Jones.” Beside them is a large platform with a large statue on it. There are people bowing down at the foot of the statue. The statue has a blue and red general’s outfit and a black hat with white feathers. The word “Jingo” is written on its stomach. In front of the statue’s platform is Henry C. Miner who is wearing gray pants and a feathered headdress. “Miner” is on his pants and there is an ax tucked into his belt. In front of him is a spit with John Bull in a red jacket, black hat, brown pants, and a union jack shirt being roasted and turned by William E. Chandler and Henry Cabot Lodge. Chandler is wearing a white shirt that says “Chandler,” blue pants, red socks, and feathers on his head. Lodge is wearing a pink grass skirt and a feather that says “Lodge” on his head. There is a sign that says “This is John Bull” on the side of Bull. In front of the spit is Charles A. Boutelle who is wearing blue pants with a patch on the back, a green and red vest, and feathers on his head. He is kneeling and facing the fire with a spear in his hand that says “Boutelle.” Next to him is John T. Morgan who is wearing a black top hat that has a feather that says “Morgan,” pink arm bands, and a blue and yellow skirt. He is holding two clubs and is fighting William Emerson Barrett. Barrett is wearing a black jacket, a red vest, a white shirt, gray pants, black socks, and a red feather that says “Barrett.” He is holding a shield and a spear that is pointed towards Morgan. Behind him is Samuel W. McCall who is wearing white, blue, and red striped pants, red socks, and tan shoes. There are red suspenders holding the pants up; he also has a red feather on his head that says “McCall” and a spear in his hand. Joseph Gurney Cannon is sitting behind him in green pants with red suspenders and a red feather that says “Cannon.” Behind him is a large dummy of Grover Cleveland with a sign reading “This Is Cleveland Hit Him Again!” He is wearing a blue jacket and pants with a black top hat and there are numerous spears and arrows sticking out from him. To the left of it is Amos J. Cummings in a blue vest and tan grass skirt. He is holding a spear with a red flag that says “Cummings.” To the right of the dummy is Stephen Elkins and Henry Moore Teller. Elkins has a green vest, blue grass skirt, and red feather on his head that says “Elkins.” Teller has a red shirt that says “Teller” and a blue grass skirt. He is facing the dummy and is holding a knife in one hand and a spear in the other, which is pointed up at the dummy. Behind all of them is a large mob also holding spears. The cartoon is by J. S. Pughe for Puck magazine. Pughe feels that the Republicans in the 54th Congress were a mess and barbaric. He’s using the statue in the center to argue that the Republicans “worship” Jingoism, or aggressive foreign policy. They are also roasting John Bull who is the personification of England. There is a group reading a book and reminiscing on John Sherman and his policies. They are also throwing spears at Grover Cleveland, the president at the time of the 54th Congress who was a Democrat. Pughe is commenting overall on their opinion of him as well as their views on foreign policies. The back of the cartoon features an unrelated cartoon and article, and a memoir written about Henry Culyer Bunner including a photograph of him.

Location:

Congress

Transcription:

The title is printed below the image, “A Few Pleasant Recollections Of The Fifty-Fourth Congress.”

Subjects

Related Names

Digital Material

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository

https://archivepublic.wilkes.edu
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)

Staff Interface | Visit ArchivesSpace.org | v2.8.1 | Send Feedback or Report a Problem