Lot 788

"THE PROSPECT IN YORK" ANTIQUE 1876 "Harper's Weekly" Nast Cartoon Signed In Image

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Lot 788
"THE PROSPECT IN YORK" ANTIQUE 1876 "Harper's Weekly" Nast Cartoon Signed In Image

"THE PROSPECT IN YORK" ANTIQUE 1876 "Harper's Weekly" Nast Cartoon Signed In Image

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Estimate: $50 - $75

Starting Bid: $10

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by The Book Barn
August 13, 2026 5:00 PM EDT
Timed Auction
353 Indian Village Road
Shapliegh, ME, US 07076

ANTIQUE 1876 "Harper's Weekly" Nast Cartoon Signed In Image Lampooning Presidential Candidate Samuel Tilden. It is suitable for framing. Signed in image. Thomas Nast Full Front Page Woodblock Political Cartoon From the November 11, 1876 Issue of "Harper's Weekly."

Front Page woodblock Cartoon, from that Harper's Weekly issue, Titled: "THE PROSPECT IN YORK./"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?" As shown in scan(s). The image mocks presidential candidate NY governor Samuel Tilden's calls for reform when his own drives to reform NY have had no success.

The image measures approximately 16 inches high X 11 inches wide, including margins. The left side is rough where it was removed from the Harper's volume. There is no damage to the other edges. Paper is lightly age toned but not brittle. Signed in image: "TH. NAST." Overall the piece is Good Plus Condition.

Thomas Nast (1840-1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was the scourge of Democratic Representative "Boss" Tweed and the Tammany Hall Democratic party political machine & of the Democratic Party in general whom he considered pro-South traitors. He was also strongly anti-Irish & anti-Catholic Church, since in the 19th century the Irish strongly supported the Democratic Party & were predominately Catholic. Nast considered the Catholic Church as a threat to American values. According to his biographer, Fiona Deans Halloran, Nast was "intensely opposed to the encroachment of Catholic ideas into public education". Among his notable works were the creation of the modern version of Santa Claus----based on the traditional German figures of Sankt Nikolaus and Weihnachtsmann----and the political symbol of the elephant for the Republican Party. Contrary to popular belief, Nast did not create Uncle Sam----the male personification of the American people----or Columbia----the female personification of American values----or the Democratic donkey, though he did popularize these symbols through his artwork. Nast was associated with the magazine Harper's Weekly from 1859 to 1860 and from 1862 until 1886. It has been argued by eminent historians that as a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast wielded more influence than any other artist of the 19th century. He not only enthralled a vast audience with boldness and wit, but swayed it time and again to his personal position on the strength of his visual imagination. President Lincoln called Nast "our best recruiting sergeant" for one of his most celebrated cartoons "Compromise with the South", which was directed against those in the North who opposed the prosecution of the American Civil War, as well as, for drawing battlefields in border and southern states. President Grant attributed his victory in 1868 to "the sword of Sheridan and the pencil of Thomas Nast." In the 1872 presidential campaign, Nast's ridicule of Horace Greeley's candidacy was especially merciless. After Grant's victory in 1872, Mark Twain wrote the artist a letter saying: "Nast, you more than any other man have won a prodigious victory for Grant----I mean, rather, for Civilization and Progress." As a crusading civil reformer he helped destroy the corrupt "Boss" Tweed Ring that swindled NYC of millions of dollars. His impact on American public life was formidable enough to profoundly affect the outcome of every presidential election during the period 1864 to 1884. ALL ITEMS ARE GUARANTEED TO BE ACCURATELY DESCRIBED, NOT DEFECTIVE, & GENUINE.

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  • Condition: Good Plus Condition

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We do all our own shipping. Shipping will be added to winning bidder's invoice for item(s) won. Media Mail postage from USPS will be used for shipping in the United States for those items allowed. Lowest alternative cost shipping will be billed for items not allowed by USPS to be shipped by Media Mail. Foreign winning bidders will pay postage based on their countries small/medium/large Flat Rate box postage rates & weight of the package. Other types of postage are available at added expense at the bidders request. You also agree to pay any applicable taxes and/or customs/import duties. A Tracking Number will be provided to buyer. Insurance is mandatory on packages over $100 USD and will be added to postage charges when applicable.

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