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Grand Opening of Cleveland, Gorman, and Bayards Minstrels at Washington, by Bernhard Gillam, Judge, 1887 December 10

 Item — Box: 1, Folder: 29

Grand Opening of Cleveland, Gorman, and Bayards Minstrels at Washington, by Bernhard Gillam, Judge, 1887 December 10

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: 1887 December 10

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:

Good.

Measurements:

19.6 x 13.3 in

Title:

Grand Opening of Cleveland, Gorman, and Bayards Minstrels at Washington

Description:

This cartoon by Bernhard Gillam for Judge magazine shows a scene of politicians in blackface playing instruments and dancing. The cartoon comments on Bayard, the Secretary of State, Cleveland, President, and Gorman, Democratic National Committee's Chairman, and their racial ideals and policies. Gilliam uses them together performing as minstrels, entertainers who perform in blackface, due to their racist policies, alongside their fellow democratic politicians with similar views. The song in the caption mentions Mugwumps, Republicans who switched to the Democratic party during the election of 1884 due to their opposition to James G. Blaine. They are beckoning Mugwumps to follow them and are enticing them with their policies. In the center is Grover Cleveland dressed in yellow plaid pants, red striped top, a brown jacket, and a red bow. He is holding an umbrella and dancing. To the left is Arthur P. Gorman in blue pants, a red jacket, a red bow, and a white collar labeled “Gorman.” He is sitting and playing a banjo. Behind him is Samuel J. Randall, who is dressed in tan pants, a red jacket, a blue bow, and a blue and white striped shirt labeled “Randall.” He is sitting and holding his arm up with a tambourine balancing at the tip of his finger. Next is Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar who is wearing gray pants, a red and white striped shirt labeled “Lamar,” and a blue jacket. He is sitting and holding an instrument. Behind him is John C. Black in a green jacket who is standing. Beside him is William Ralls Morrison, who is wearing a brown jacket, white and red striped shirt labeled “Morrison,” and a blue bow. He is standing and holding his hands up in the air. Next to him is Samuel S. Cox who is wearing a yellow jacket labeled “S.S. Cox.” He is standing with one hand up in the air. In front of him is Charles Curtis, who is wearing gray pants, a red and white striped shirt labeled “Curtis,” a red jacket, and a blue bow. He is sitting with his hands out in front of him. Abram S. Hewitt is sitting beside him in blue pants, a white and red striped shirt labeled “Hewitt,” and a blue bow. Behind them is most likely Mark Twain in a red jacket and a white and red striped shirt. Across from them on the right is Joseph C. S. Blackburn in a red jacket, a white and red striped shirt labeled “Blackburn,” and a red bow. Beside him is Hugh McLaughlin, who is sitting and wearing a white shirt with a white and red striped collar labeled “McLaughlin,” gray pants, a red bow, and a red jacket. Behind them is William Crownsheild Endicott who is wearing a blue jacket, a red and white striped shirt that says “Endicott,” and a red bow. He is standing with his hands up in the air. Next to him is Daniel S. Lamont, wearing a brown jacket and a white and red striped shirt that says, “Dan.” In front of him is Henry Watterson, who is wearing a brown jacket, a red and white striped shirt labeled “Watterson,” a red bow, and gray pants. He is sitting with his hands on his legs. Behind him is John R. McLean, wearing a brown jacket, a white shirt that says “McLean.” and a gray bow. He is standing with his arm up in the air. In front of him is Augustus Hill Garland, who is wearing a blue jacket, a white collared shirt, a red bow, and tan pants. He is sitting with his hands in the air, and in one is a tambourine that says, “Garland.” Next to him is John G. Carlisle, who is wearing a red jacket, tan pants, a blue and white striped shirt that says “Carlisle,” and a blue bow. He is sitting and holding an instrument. In front is Thomas F. Bayard who is wearing a red jacket, blue pants, a white shirt that says “Bayard,” and a red bow. He is sitting and playing the banjo. The cartoon’s creator, Victor Gillam, is an English cartoonist who worked on cartoons for numerous publications. He was born in England, but moved to New York as a child. He had worked as a copywriter until he began making cartoons for New York Graphic. He became a cartoonist and did work for Harper’s Weekly, Puck magazine, and Judge magazine, where he later became the director. He is also the brother of Victor Gillam. On the back side of the cartoon are various unrelated cartoons with their own captions.

Transcription:

The title is printed below the image, “Grand Opening of Cleveland, Gorman, and Bayards Minstrels at Washington.” There are lyrics printed below as well, “Cleveland–Back to de White House pretty soon, Want all de Mugwumps for to follow me; Bring Democrats on by de light ob de moon, Halle, halle, halle, hallelujah! You tell Dave Hill when you happen to meet, Want all de children for to follow me; I’m a-going in for to win dat heat, Halle, halle, halle, hallelujah! Chorus–In de morning, morning by de bright light, Hear Carlisle’s trumpet in de morning! Go get a match and light dat lamp, Want all de boys for to follow me, And show me de way to de free-trade camp, Halle, halle, halle, hallelujah! We’ll have pension steak and veto stew, Want de soldier boys for to follow me, And protection onions dipped in dew, Halle, halle, halle, hallelujah! Chorus–In de morning, morning by de bright light, Hear Randall’s trumpet in de morning!”

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Repository Details

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Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository

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