Cartoons

This class includes editorial, political, comic strips, gag cartoons and others.

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A Literary Debate in the Darktown Club

Currier and Ives

The print is a reproduction of an 1865 political cartoon depicting caricatures of two African-American men. The cartoon shows the aftermath of a heated political debate between the two men. Both men are seated on the floor. The man to the left has a poster of George Washington crushed over his head and sits beneath a poster of Abraham Lincoln. The man at the right holds his head and is seated beneath a poster of Ulysses S. Grant. A third man, a police constable, peeks through a door at the center of the room. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
Dear Little Mac!

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of a nineteenth century political cartoon. In the cartoon, a photograph of George B. McClellan's face appears with a sketched drawing of his body riding a hobby horse that stands on a cart with wheels. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
The New President [of the United States from a Fugitive Sketch]

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of a cartoon that comments on Abraham Lincoln traveling in disguise from Harrisburg to Washington on 23 February 1861 for the Presidential Inauguration. The disguised trip was in response to an assassination threat. In the cartoon, Lincoln is shown wearing a long overcoat. His entire face and body are covered, save for a Scottish hat, his nose, and his feet. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
No Communion with Slaveholders

Lincoln National Life Foundation and Harper's Weekly

The print is a reproduction of a cartoon depicting several American historical figures communing in a church. Henry Ward Beecher stands at a pulpit with a Communion chalice and refuses to serve George Washington, who is kneeling. John Brown points to a sign indicating that Communion is not to be held with slave holders. Congregation members depicted include William H. Seward, Abraham Lincoln, and Horace Greeley. The cartoon, published on 2 March 1861, two days before Abraham Lincoln's inauguration day, suggests the incoming administration would reject even the most revered of historical figures, George Washington. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
The MacLincoln Harrisburg Highland Fling

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of a cartoon that comments on Abraham Lincoln traveling in disguise from Harrisburg to Washington on 23 February 1861 for the Presidential Inauguration. The disguised trip was in response to an assassination threat. In the cartoon, Lincoln is shown dancing and dressed in a Scottish kilt and tam.
The Situation

Lincoln National Life Foundation and Harper's Weekly

The print is a reproduction of a political cartoon (originally published in the 7 March 1868 edition of Harper's Weekly) that references the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. In the cartoon, Ulysses S. Grant and Edwin Stanton stand near a cannon labeled "Congress." The cannon takes aim at Lorenzo Thomas and President Johnson. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
Harmony at the Convention

Vanity Fair

The print is a reproduction of a political cartoon originally published in the June 30, 1860 edition of Vanity Fair. The cartoon depicts delegates acting as their own Plug Uglies during the 1860 Baltimore Convention, which was a nod to the ongoing dispute between the Northern and Southern Democrats during the 1860 Presidential Election. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
The Commander-in-Chief Conciliating the Soldier's Votes on the Battle Field

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of an 1864 political cartoon. In the cartoon, Abraham Lincoln is shown holding a plaid Scotch cap on a battlefield surrounded by dead and wounded soldiers. He asks one to sing "Picayune Butler" or something funny. The cartoon is anti-Lincoln and echoes contemporaneous news reports that reported Lincoln allegedly joking while visiting the Antietam Battlefield and his supposed disregard for the well-being of soldiers. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints. bitterly anti-Lincoln cartoon, based on slanderous newspaper reports of the President's callous disregard of the misery of Union troops at the front. The story that Lincoln had joked on the field at Antietam appeared in the "New York World." Holding a plaid Scotch cap (see "Abraham's Dream--"Coming Events Cast Their Shadows Before,"" no. 1864-42), Lincoln stands on the battlefield at Antietam, which is littered with Union dead and wounded. He instructs his friend Marshal Lamon, who stands with his back toward the viewer and his hand over his face, to "sing us P̀icayune Butler,' or something else that's funny."
The Situation

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of a nineteenth century political cartoon published sometime at the end of the Civil War. In the cartoon, Abraham Lincoln is depicted as an officer who has hunted down Jefferson Davis. Lincoln holds a short baton in his proper right hand and grips Davis's shirt with his proper left. In Davis's proper left hand, he holds a folder labeled 'US Treasury.' The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
A Campaign Caricature: A "Rail" Old Western Gentleman

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of a portion of a cartoon series originally appearing in the August 1860 edition of Comic Monthly. The series was entitled "The Humors of the Political Canvass," which featured all of the 1860 presidential candidates. In this particular manifestation, the cartoon only shows Abraham Lincoln drawn as a stick figure or "the 'Rail' old Western gentleman." The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
Effect of the Vote on the Eleventh Article of Impeachment

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of a two-panel cartoon that originally was published in 30 May 1868 edition of Harper's Weekly. The cartoon is commentary on the failure of the Senate to remove President Andrew Johnson from office and shows the differing reactions in the White House and the New York Tribune. In the first panel, Johnson is shown dressed as a king, while the second panel shows a fainting Horace Greeley. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
The National Game. Three "Outs" and One "Run".

Lincoln National Life Foundation and Currier and Ives

The print is a reproduction of a pro-Lincoln satirical cartoon that was published just before the 1860 Presidential Election. In the cartoon, Abraham Lincoln has just defeated John Bell, Stephen A. Douglas, and John C. Breckinridge in a baseball game. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
The Great Exhibition of 1860

Lincoln National Life Foundation and Currier and Ives

The print is a reproduction of an political cartoon the satirizes the antislavery platform of the Republican party during the 1860 Presidential Election. Horace Greeley is pictured as an organ grinder while Abraham Lincoln is shown prancing on a wooden rail. William H. Seward is depicted in the cartoon's background holding an African-American infant. Henry J. Raymond (New York Times editor) and James Watson Webb (Courier and Enquirer editor) are also featured. The print is organized and enclosed in a black album with other reproductive prints.
Got the Right Weapon at Last

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of a political cartoon that was published in Harper's Weekly on 19 October 1861. The cartoon references the first of the national loans that enabled the funding of the Civil War. In the cartoon, Abraham Lincoln is shown swinging a bundle labeled 'National Loan' and taking aim at a house of cards built by the Confederate States of America. Each of the cards are labeled with the names of CSA leaders such as Jefferson Davis, John B. Floyd, Howell Cobb, Robert Toombs, and John Slidell. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
The nigger"" in the Woodpile

Lincoln National Life Foundation, Louis Maurer, and Currier and Ives

The print is a reproduction of a 1860 political cartoon. In the racist cartoon, the Republican party's attempts to play down their antislavery platform is satirized. Horace Greeely, the editor of the New York Tribune, speaks to a young man (representative of progressive Democrats) in an attempt to convince him that the Republican party had no connection with the abolitionist movement, but instead had a platform built entirely of rails. To the right, Abraham Lincoln sits on a rail-constructed platform labeled "Republican Platform." A young African-American man sits grinning from underneath the platform. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
"Not up to Time;" Or, Interference Would Be Very Welcome.

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of a political cartoon that originally appeared in Punch on 13 September 1862. In the cartoon, a boxing match between Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln is depicted. The two are exhausted and are supported by two African-American men. In the background the French Eagle and British Lion are shown speaking to one another in regard to what they should do to help end the war. The cartoon references both Lincoln's and Davis's depleted resources during the American Civil War. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
Jonathan's Programme, or a Bit of Brag

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of an 1861 political cartoon that originally appeared in Punch. In the cartoon, Brother Jonathan, a symbolic character often used to personify America, is shown speaking to a Frenchman named Louis about French intervention in the American Civil War. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
The Great Match at Baltimore, Between the "Illinois Bantam", and the "Old Cock" of the White House.

Lincoln National Life Foundation and Louis Maurer

The print is a reproduction of a political cartoon satirizing the 1860 United States Presidential Election. In the cartoon, a cockfight is shown between Stephen A. Douglas and James C. Buchanan, both drawn with the bodies of roosters. Douglas stands victorious on Buchananï¿½s body. To the right, an unidentified man places another cock, John C. Breckinridge, into the ring. To the left, an Irishman watches the fight (possibly a nod to the Tammany Democrats of New York). The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
Paper Money

Lincoln National Life Foundation

The print is a reproduction of a cartoon that was originally published in January 1862. The cartoon depicts Abraham Lincoln coaching a game of tug of war where a group of men pull on rope labeled Paper Money. The cartoon was a response to the United States turning to paper currency during the Civil War to help pay expenses and avoid bankruptcy. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
Writing the Emancipation Proclamation (from Confederate War Etchings)

Lincoln National Life Foundation and Adalbert John Volck

The print is a reproduction of a nineteenth century etching. The satirical piece depicts Abraham Lincoln,who appears to be in cohorts with the devil, drafting the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation, which was signed on January 1, 1863, freed all slaves in Confederate states. Also depicted is a portrait of John Brown, a radical abolitionist, hanging on Lincoln's wall. The print is organized and stored in a black album with other reproductive prints.
Abraham Lincoln's first car

Gary Larson

Color cartoon by Gary Larson, "Abraham Lincoln's first car." Depicts car made of logs.
"Okay, Mr. Lincoln! I Think It's Safe to Come Back Now!"

Henry Payne

Original ink and color pencil cartoon by Henry Payne. The cartoon depicts two security guards at Lincoln Memorial. The figure of Lincoln is missing from the sculpture. It was originally published in the Detroit News.
Better take a look!

Allen Johnson

An original cartoon depicting Chief Justice Berger on the shoulder of Lady Justice. He lifts her blindfold, encouraging her to look at her scales. On one side of her scales rest the Federal Judicial System. On the other is a C-5A airplane. Originally dated 13 August 1970.
From These Honored Dead

Lloyd Ostendorf

A reproduction of a cartoon featuring a bust portrait of Abraham Lincoln. To the right of the portrait are five smaller portraits of men dressed in military uniforms from the American Revolution, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. Beneath Lincoln's portrait is a quote that reads: 'Men will pass away , but the principle of democracy will live, forever...' The cartoon was originally published in the Dayton Journal Herald on 12 February 1954.
The Family Circus

Bil Keane

Reproduction of an Abraham Lincoln-themed cartoon originally published on 19 February 1996. It is inscribed by the cartoonist in ink at bottom.