Political cartoons relating to reform in Great Britain and the United States

description below

A series of crude (and in some cases explicitly racist) lithographed cards numbered 1-16, with scenes relating to political reform on both sides of the Atlantic. On British side, they cover the reforms to the franchise made by the 1832 Reform Act, poking fun at ‘poor distress’d turn’d out Boroughmongers’ (No. 1), the rural squirearchy (No. 7), Taxes (No. 9), the established Church (No. 10) and Irishmen (no. 12), among others. United States political issues are shown in the second card which reuses – with added racist slurs – the design of Edward Williams Clay (1799-1857) entitled ‘Hurrah! hurrah for Genl. Jackson!!’ under the caption ‘Life in Philadelphia’. Cards nos. 4 and 7, with yet more overt racism, use references to American segregationism to caricature British political positions.

  • Title: [Political cartoons relating to reform in Great Britain and the United States] [graphic].
  • Publication: [York, England] : W.F. Wodson, lith., Pavement, York, [approximately 1832]

Catalog Record

724 832 P769

Acquired July 2023

A devil rolled in snow

description below

A grotesque racist caricature of a buxom black woman in a white dress decorated with flowers and a bonnet with ribbons, grinning at the viewer and saying ‘Don’t you think you Fancy me now Massa’. Probably inspired by the “High Life in Philadelphia” series by Edward Williams Clay between 1828 and 1830 mocking supposed racial differences and modeled after George and Robert Cruikshank’s Life in London.

  • Title: devil rolled in snow [graphic] / [image of a hand] fecit.
  • Publication: [London?] : [publisher not identified], [ca. 1830?]

Catalog Record

830.00.00.163

Acquired February 2022