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The George Washington Jones Family En Route For Paris, by A.B. Frost, Harper’s Weekly, 1878 August 24

 Item — Box: 1, Folder: 60

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: 1878 August 24

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:

Poor. The material has yellowing and some tears.

Measurements:

14.5 x 9.5 in

Title:

The George Washington Jones Family En Route For Paris

Description:

The cartoon by A. B. Frost for Harper’s Weekly shows Geroge Washington Jones and his family on a large ship. In a later edition of Harper’s Weekly there is a similar illustration and it is said that it is the companion drawing to this. The article says that the two illustrations together show a story for the reader to interpret. George Washington Jones was a Democratic politician who was a part of the Confederate States’ Congress during the Civil War. Frost is making the point with these two cartoons that Americans are often seen as unsophisticated when traveling abroad to cities like Paris. His second cartoon shows once they return they're not recognizable in their small town because they attempted to change to fit what was considered classier in Paris. Frost could be arguing that Democratic politicians in the South are more provincial and often don't realize it. On the deck is a girl in a dress and sun hat, a man in a hat, jacket, shirt, bowtie, and pants, and a woman in a dress, a hat with flowers. She is holding a small parasol. Beside her is a young girl in a sunhat and dress who is sucking her thumb, and holding the hand of a young boy who is also sucking his thumb in a hat, shirt, overalls, and boots. Jones is in a top hat, shirt, bowtie, and jacket, he is sitting in a chair and holding an umbrella. His wife is sitting in a chair beside him in a dress, shawl, and bonnet. There are other men and women on the deck behind them talking to one another. The creator, A. B. Frost, was born in Pennsylvania and studied art at a young age. He worked for Harper’s Weekly and other magazines before working as an illustrator for books. The back of the cartoon features an unrelated article.

Location:

Paris, Tennessee

Transcription:

The title is printed below the image, “ 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)