New York Excelsior by NAST, Thomas; HARPER'S WEEKLY - 1870

New York: Harper's Weekly, 1870. unbound. Woodcut. 11 1/4" x 16". In very good condition. A full page political cartoon showing a man holding a flag that reads "Excelsior in fraudulent voting, corrupt legislature, corrupt city government, corrupt coroners, corrupt judiciary, corrupt politicians, crimes, horrible murders, assassinations, burglaries, highway robberies, suicides, drunkenness, rowdyism, thieves." The man is standing on a cliff and is labeled Tammany. On the ground below hang bodies labeled "Dick Turpin," "Jack Shepard," "Vigilance Committee San Francisco," and "KKK in the South." Page 356 from the June 4th, 1870 edition of Harper's Magazine. Thomas Nast was a political cartoonist and illustrator; credited with devising elephant and donkey symbols of Republican and Democratic parties, and with creating American image of Santa Claus. He largely featured Catholicism and the papacy in Rome, Irish-Americans, and corrupt Democratic politicians (namely Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall institution). This is a great example of his work.