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Guide to the New-York Historical Society Collection of Caricatures and Cartoons
1643, 1756-1943, 1977
PR 10
Descriptive Summary
| Creator:
|
New-York Historical Society |
| Title: |
New-York Historical Society collection of caricatures and cartoons |
| Dates [inclusive]: |
1643, 1756-1943, 1977 |
| Abstract: |
The collection holds about 1600 prints (mostly engravings and lithographs) and pen
and ink drawings of humorous and caustic pictorial commentary on political events
and social customs. The caricatures range from the late colonial period in British
North America to the mid-twentieth century, with just a few outliers from before and
after that range. The bulk of the collection, with about 1300 items, dates from the
Jacksonian era beginning in 1828 to the close of the 19th century. Political matters
are especially well-represented in the collection, especially in connection with the
electoral politics of Presidential campaigns. Economic policies (e.g., banking, currency,
financial speculation, tariff reform, growth of industrial power, etc.) is a major
theme. African-Americans appear frequently in the images, either as principal subjects
or in the background as a subtext to the often layered caricatures of the 19th century.
Slavery, abolition and the perceived ability (or inability) of emancipated African-Americans
to participate as equals in American society are common subjects in this regard. Other
subjects that run through the collection are political corruption (especially in relation
to Tammany), America's relation with the rest of the world, social issues, and America
at war.
|
| Quantity: |
56 Linear feet in 155 flat file folders and 2 flat boxes (approximately 1600 items) |
| Location: |
For more information on making arrangements to consult the collection, please visit
www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
|
| Language: |
The bulk of the documents are in English, with several instances of French, Dutch,
and German.
|
| Call Phrase: |
PR 10 |
