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Thomas Taggart points to a poster of John Griffin Carlisle and Grover Cleveland with the words, “Greatest Show on Earth.” Caption: Taggart (the new barker of the Democratic combination, pointing to the Carlyle-Cleveland poster): “Come one, come all! We still stand pat on the panic of ’93! We haven’t changed a particle, and our old friends are still with us! Don’t miss the exhibition!!”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-22
A flock of politicians, each carrying a bill of their creation, flies over the head of a female symbolic representation of the U.S. Capitol dome.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1880-1900
A cherub labeled “1894” smashes a bottle of champagne as he launches a large, modern ship, the Ship of State, under the banner “Tariff Reform,” with Grover Cleveland and members of his cabinet standing on the bow waving their hats. In the background, the specter of “1893” hovers over a sailing ship labeled “McKinley Tariff.” Among those with Cleveland are Walter Q. Gresham, John G. Carlisle, Richard Olney, and either Daniel S. Lamont or Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1893-12-27
President Cleveland appears as an explorer, with cabinet members John G. Carlisle and Walter Q. Gresham, in a jungle, where they have come across a band of monkeys labeled “D. Hill, C. Dana, W. Reid, Blackburn, Vest, Jones, Pugh, Foraker, Wolcott, Teller, Morgan, Peffer, [and] Stewart.” Caption: Pioneer Cleveland is bound to carry political enlightenment forward, even if the simian statesmen don’t like it.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1893-11-22
President Cleveland and five men use “Sound Policy Cement” to repair a statue labeled “Nat. Prosperity.” Shown with Cleveland are John G. Carlisle, William L. Wilson, Daniel W. Voorhees, Charles Tracey, and Michael D. Harter. Caption: The Republican vandals damaged it badly; but it will soon be as sound as ever, again.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1893-09-20
The combined forces of the gold standard supporters, including some newspaper editors, and a reluctant William McKinley, march under the standard “The Nation’s Credit Must Be Upheld,” toward a fort labeled “Fort 16 to 1” flying the banner “Repudiation,” and manned by soldiers armed with pitchforks and scythes. The newspaper editors are staffing the big guns labeled “Sound Money Press.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1896-07-22
A drunken man sits in a chair with jugs and bottles labeled “Repudiation Gin, Free Silver Rum, Tillman’s Firewater, Populist Whiskey, [and] Altgeld’s Fizz” on the floor next to him. His rumpled hat labeled “Democratic Party” hangs off the back of the chair. “Dr. Puck” has approached from the left and recommends that he take the “Gold Cure.” Standing on the left is a group of “eminent physicians” labeled “Harrity, Carlisle, Vilas, Whitney, [and] Russell,” and one unidentified man. Caption: Dr. Puck–My unfortunate friend, we eminent physicians have held a consultation, and have decided that nothing will save you but an immediate and thorough application of the Gold Cure.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1896-07-01
The statue of George Washington, full-length, stands with right arm raised and with fasces behind him, at Federal Hall on Wall Street, New York City. A large crowd of men is standing on steps, among them William “McKinley,” holding a flag that states “The National Honor Must Be Upheld,” and from left, “Phelps, Carlisle, Sherman, Buckner, Palmer, Harrison, Hobart, Cleveland, [and] Flower.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1896-10-21
Republican revelers in the foreground make music as they pass a reform ark being constructed in the background. Depicted are John Sherman playing pipes labeled “Southern Outrages,” John Logan playing cymbals labeled “Pensions,” Whitelaw Reid playing pan pipes labeled “Monopoly,” James Blaine playing a lyre, George Robeson riding on a donkey labeled “Surplus,” with George Hoar, John Roach, Joseph Keifer, and Roscoe Conkling among them. Among the crowd that follows are Ulysses S. Grant, Jay Gould, and possibly Rutherford B. Hayes, also a man playing a tambourine labeled “Bossism” and another carrying a standard labeled “Spoils,” and one with a sign labeled “River & Harbor Frauds.” In the background, John Carlisle stands at the head of those building the ark. Also shown are Henry Watterson with hammer and chisel, William Morrison holding up “Morrison’s Tariff Reform Plan,” and Abram Hewitt holding “Hewitt’s Free Trade Plank.” The ribs of the ship are labeled “Tariff Reform, Raw Materials Free, Lower Iron Tax, Lower Tax on Woolens, [and] Works of Art Free.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-03-05
Puck’s stereotypical Irishman labeled “Democracy” appears in the role of “Bottom” from Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with Puck holding the head of an ass above him. He is holding a paper that states “Free Protection for Revenue Only. Free Revenue Reform for Protection Only. To the Civil Service Reformers belong the Spoils!!!” A host of fairies, insects, and minions of the night are gathered around him, including Theodore Roosevelt as a fairy standing on a snail labeled “N. Y. City Reform,” John Logan as a mushroom, John Kelly as a spider on a web labeled “N. Y.,” William Evarts as a bird with a long beak, unidentified man as a frog, James Blaine and George Robeson as owls, David Davis, Samuel J. Tilden as a grasshopper, Roscoe Conkling as a bird, Whitelaw Reid labeled “3 cts” and another man labeled “2 cts” as moths, and a diminutive Chester A. Arthur peering from behind Bottom’s feet. Jay Gould appears as a snake in the bushes. Among the fairies are “Randall, Carlisle, Dana, Cleveland, Cox,” and Henry Watterson. Uncle Sam and Columbia observe from behind a tree. Includes Bottom’s lines “I have had a dream – past the wit of men to say what dream it was. … But man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had” from the play.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-02-20
Schuyler Colfax stands at a lectern labeled “Speaker Colfax – Pious Hypocrite and Credit Mobilier Bribe-Taker.” James G. Blaine stands at a lectern labeled “Speaker Blaine – ‘Magnetic’ Blusterer and Railroad Stock-Jobber.” Joseph W. Keifer stands at a lectern labeled “Speaker Keifer – The Corrupt Tool of Robeson et al.” Blaine gestures toward three portraits hanging on the wall in the background, of former Democratic Speakers of the House, labeled “Kerr, Randall, [and] Carlisle.” Caption: The three last speakers of the “Untrustworthy and Disreputable Democratic Party,” and the three last speakers of the “Grand Old Republican Party of Moral Ideas.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-07-16
In the interior of a recruiting office for the presidency, Uncle Sam and Puck examine potential recruits against a height chart labeled, from low to high, “Notoriety, Popularity, Capability, Honesty, [and at the top] Statesmanship.” A number of men, in various states of undress, have been rejected for a variety of reasons: “Evarts Too Long-Winded, [U.S. Grant] Retired, [Conkling] Too Pigeon-Breasted, [Thomas Collier Platt] Me Too Little, Mahone Must be Readjusted, J. B. Rejected Too Crooked, Dana Rejected – Too Shortsighted, [Logan] Grammar Feeble, [Arthur] Rejected No Backbone, [Davis] Short Winded, Sherman Bloody Shirt Mania, [Kelly] Pig-Headed, Payne Oil on the Brain, Randall Protection Madness, Bayard Unstable, [Tilden] Rejected Cipher Catarrh, [and] B[utler] Can’t See Straight.” Five tall men, “Admitted to the Competition,” stand on the right: “Hewitt, Carlisle, Morrison, Lincoln [and] Edmunds O. K.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-04-30
A gallery of presidential candidates includes, clockwise, from bottom left: John Kelly as a card-playing pig, Chester A. Arthur as “The Snake Charmer” charming a snake labeled “Stalwart Vote” with a horn labeled “Patronage,” Benjamin F. Butler as “What is it?,” “Siamese Twins Keifer [and] Robeson,” John A. Logan as the “Wild Zulu on the Warpath,” “Carlisle, Morrison, [and] Hewitt” as a “Wax Group of Three Heroes Who Perished in an Attempt to Reach the Pole of Tariff Reform,” “‘Richelieu’ Robinson” as a “Fire Eater,” Charles A. “Dana” as a “Screech Parrot,” a cage containing an “Un-Happy Family – N.Y. Board of Aldermen,” an “Ancient Mummy Exhumed Lately” labeled “1876 Fraud Issue – S. J. T.,” John “Sherman” as “The Man in the Bloody Shirt,” Henry Watterson as a buffalo, Whitelaw Reid as a giraffe, and Samuel J. Randall(?) as “The Democratic White Elephant,” William “Evarts” as the thin man, Roscoe Conkling as the bearded lady, David “Davis” as the Fat Lady, Robert Todd “Lincoln” and George F. “Edmunds” as “The Two Giants,” James G. Blaine as the tattooed man, T. C. “Platt” and William “Mahone” as Tom Thumb and his bride, and Samuel S. “Cox” as a dancing poodle. In the center is a stuffed tiger labeled “Tammany” on a pedestal labeled “Killed by Roosevelt.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-04-16
A woman labeled “Democracy,” wearing a blindfold labeled “Stupidity,” is being pushed by Samuel J. Randall toward a “Presidenti[al] Chair.” Several eggs lie in the way on the ground, labeled “Honest Naval Appropriation, Civil Service Reform, Honest River-Harbor Appropriation, Economy, Anti-Silver Coinage, National Banking System, Tariff Reform, [and] Prompt Legislation.” Two of the eggs are broken. Among a group of men laughing, in the background on the right, are John Logan, John Sherman, and William D. Kelley.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-04-09
In a winter scene, a soldier labeled “Democracy” stands in front of a road sign that points in four directions “Free Trade, To Tariff Reform, To Protection, [and] No Policy.” Between his feet is a small dog that looks like John Kelly. “Speaker Carlisle” as a drum major for “Reform” is standing in the left foreground. Behind and to the left are Benjamin Butler “Butlerism,” Abram S. “Hewitt” with “Free Trade” banner, and Samuel S. “Cox” pointing toward “Free Trade.” Samuel J. “Randall” is standing in the right foreground, wearing a helmet labeled “Protection.” Behind and to the right are Sereno “Payne” with banner labeled “Straddle Every Issue!”, Thomas “Bayard” holding papers that state “Dodge the Question,” and Samuel J. Tilden labeled “Ancient Issues.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-01-30
A blind man labeled “Democracy,” with the features of an Irishman, walks toward an abyss labeled “Defeat,” carrying a cane labeled “Vacillation,” and holding on to a leash tied to a dog with the face of, and labeled, “Carlisle.” The man has a large bass fiddle strapped to his back and, in a bag, lyrics to the “Standard Oil Co. Melody.” On the ground at his feet is sheet music for the song “Turn the Rascals Out.” Behind him, pointing in the opposite direction, is a sign for the “Road to Tariff Reform,” which leads to the United States Capitol.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-01-16
Print shows a small, rustic room crowded with members of the Democratic Party, some dressed as old women, others drinking and smoking clay pipes. One man, the “Shaughraun” labeled “Democratic Party,” is lying on a board that is resting on wooden supports. He is stirred to life by snuff sprinkled on his nose from a bowl labeled “Tariff Reform Snuff” by John G. Carlisle who is dressed in a formal uniform with sword. Among the crowd are Charles A. Dana, Benjamin F. Butler, and Samuel J. Tilden (all dressed as old women), Grover Cleveland, Samuel J. Randall, John Kelly, Henry Watterson, Abram S. Hewitt (dressed as an old woman), Samuel S. Cox, and Thomas F. Bayard (also dressed as an old woman), with arms raised in alarm and a broken pipe at his feet. On the far right are Thomas A. Hendricks drinking from a bottle labeled “Old Ticket Rye,” Winfield Scott Hancock, and Allen G. Thurman. Caption: “Captain” Carlisle shows that he is up to snuff.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-12-12
President Cleveland, as Santa Claus, stands in front of a fireplace where stockings are hung from the mantle. He has a large sack of toys labeled “Navy, Treasury, Interior, Justice, State, [and] War Dept.” on his back, and a cat that looks like John Kelly lies at his feet. Watching from around the room are “Bayard, Randall, Cox, Barnum, McDonald, Slocum, Lamar, Morrison, [Garland], Tilden, Carlisle, Hewitt, Watterson, [and] Thurman,” and asleep in a cradle labeled “Independence” is either Carl Schurz or Joseph Pulitzer.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-12-24
Near a wetland labeled “Campaign Swamp” are William M. Evarts and John G. Carlisle as two cranes on the left. Several frogs identified as “Lincoln, Arthur, Robeson, Edmunds, Cameron, Sherman, Logan, Grant, Davis, [and] Blaine” perch on the right. Another small frog, labeled “Me Too,” who may be Jay Gould, rides piggy-back on a larger frog that may be William H. Vanderbilt. “Lincoln” is making a leap over “Arthur” across a bit of water toward a board labeled “Presidential Nomination 1884” that is part of a dock or wharf. Caption: It would not surprise us to see the above acrobatic feat performed by this rising young frog.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-03-26
A camel has collasped under the weight of its burden labeled “Amendments,” with Samuel J. Randall riding on top. Concerned travelers include John Kelly, Samuel J. Tilden, Henry Watterson, Sereno Payne, Morrison, Abram S. Hewitt, Grover Cleveland, Carlisle, Charles A. Dana, Thomas Bayard, Benjamin F. Butler, and Samuel S. Cox. Bones labeled “1880 Local Issue, 1876 Fraud, [and] 1872” lie in the sand nearby. A “November Simoom” is approaching in the right background. On the left, an elephant labeled “Republicans” carrying among others James G. Blaine, John A. Logan, and Roscoe Conkling, races toward an oasis. Caption: “If its back is broken, we are lost!”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-03-19