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“Sorry there are no reserved rooms here”, by James Albert Wales, Puck, no date

 Item — Box: 1, Folder: 23

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: no date

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. Material has some yellowing.

Measurements:

11.9 x 8.3 in

Title:

Tut mir leid- hier gibt's keine reservierten sibe

Description:

This cartoon is by James Albert Wales for Puck magazine and most likely depicts his view on Jewish people and uses many stereotypes given to them at the time. He calls his pig character “Mr. Shoddy, '' a term used by antisemitics during this era towards the Jewish populations. It displays five scenes, the first shows a pig dressed in a suit and top hat sitting on a bench with his feet up onto the bench across from him as an elderly woman in a blue hat and shawl carrying a bag and cane stands looking at him. The next shows a pig dressed in a black dress with a white lace collar and a black hat with a blue feather sitting with different colored bags around it on seats while a man in a suit on crutches stands onlooking. The center image shows an empty dining table with a crowd of people dressed in suits and dresses standing around it. There is a waiter holding a woman back and a man dusting the table. On the table there is a sign that reads “Reserved For Mr. Shoddy.” The next shows a pig dressed in a black suit and top hat eating at the end of a table, with people crowded around angrily looking at it. The fifth and final shows a pig in a white robe and angel wings floating towards a door and a man, Saint Peter, dressed in a brown robe with a halo holding a key looking at the pig. Wales had moved to New York in 1873 after working in different cities for newspapers and magazines. Shortly after his move, he gained a position at Puck magazine. After a few years he founded Judge magazine where his illustrations mostly featured antisemitic remarks. The back of the cartoon features advertisements such as, “La.S.L,” “Keppich & Co Royal Havana Agents,” “Koster & Bial,” “Naegeli’s Hotel,” “Paul Bauer West Brighton Beach Hotel,” “Manhattan Beach,” “Gentlemen’s Hats,” “Rockaway Beach,” and “Dental Office.”

Transcription:

The first caption translates to, “On the railway.” The next, “On the steamboat.” The center, “In the clubhouse.” The bottom left, “In Coney Island.” The bottom right,” In heaven. St. Peter: Sorry–there are no reserved rooms here.”

Repository Details

Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository

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Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
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