Kelly, John, 1821-1886

Squeezed dry

John Kelly, dressed as an old woman street vendor, sits at “Mrs. J. Kelly Political Fruit Stand,” selling “N.Y. Patronage Lemonade.” He has tossed to the gutter a lemon labeled “Edson” that shows the face of former Mayor of New York City, Franklin Edson. Whitelaw Reid leans around a corner at the end of the produce stand, where a notice has been pasted on the wall that states “City Hall Theatre. Passion Play. Judas – Edson.” Caption: A lemon that will never more contribute to the patronage bowl.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-12-17

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

No welcome for the little stranger

At center, Grover Cleveland holds an infant labeled “Civil Service Reform.” They are surrounded by a bunch of angry old men as orphans labeled “Hube Thompson, Eddie Hedden, Davy Hill, Hugh, Joe Blackburn, Charlie Dana, Eustis, Johnnie McLean, Pulitzer, A.P. Gorman, [and] Johnnie K,” and one as an old woman labeled “Hendricks.” On the left is the “Republican Home – No Civil Service Infants Wanted Here” and on the right is the “Democratic Home Restored in 1884.” Caption: Father Cleveland adopts the abandoned infant of the Republican Home, to the great disgust of the Jeffersonian household.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-10-21

Creator(s)

Zimmerman, Eugene, 1862-1935

Columbus Cleveland and his mutinous crew – “This ship shall not turn back!”

Grover Cleveland, as Christopher Columbus, holds a map labeled “Route to Reform,” aboard a ship surrounded by mutinous sailors labeled “Bayard, Whitney, Eustis, Sterling, Hedden, Pulitzer, Blackburn, Hill, McLaughlin, Jones, Thompson, Gorman, Grady.” Unidentified are Thomas A. Hendricks, John Kelly, Lucius Q. C. Lamar, and Charles A. Dana. A bird arrives from the left carrying a piece of paper that states “From Land of Reform.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-11-04

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

Thanksgiving day, 1884 – “let us be thankful!”

A glum Thanksgiving Day feast is occurring with the downtrodden Republican presidential candidate James G. Blaine and his supporters “W.W. Phelps, [Roscoe Conkling at an open door], William Mahone, Cabot Lodge, [John Logan], Robeson, Dorsey, [W. Reid, Benjamin F. Butler], Elkins, Platt, [Cyrus W. Field, and] C.A. Dana” gathered around a table, and with John Kelly as a dog next to a plate with a small bird labeled “Compliments of N.Y. Citizens.” Reid is removing the top of a platter labeled “Campaign” where there is a “Crow” that is “Compliments of the People.” Through a window, where Puck is looking in, can be seen Grover Cleveland carrying a large turkey labeled “Presidency” over his shoulder, and across the street is Jay Gould offering his “Congratulations.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-11-26

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

Crowding the cabinet-making business

Newspaper editors present their candidates for government appointments. James Gordon “Bennett” holds up a bust of Roscoe Conkling labeled “Sect. Interior,” with a tray labeled “Bennett’s Beauties” at his feet. Whitelaw “Reid” holds a tray labeled “Please choose these and suit us, Blaine & Reid,” on which are busts labeled “KKK” for “Sec’y Interior, Sec’y of War, [and] Treasury.” Joseph “Pulitzer” holds up a tray labeled “The World for Pulitzer” on which are busts of himself. Charles A. Dana carries a tray labeled “Dana’s Darlings” with busts of John “Kelly,” Thomas F. “Grady,” George M. “Robeson,” Samuel Sullivan “Cox,” and Benjamin F. Butler. There is also a man carrying a basket labeled “Hens’ Rights Heroines” with busts of “Lockwood, E.C. Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Phoebe Cozzens [sic], [and] Lucy Stone.” President Cleveland is visible through a window on the right, conducting interviews for cabinet positions. Caption: Chorus of Journalistic Candidate-Peddlers – “Here y’are now! – I’ve got the only genuine article! – Don’t mind that other fellow!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-12-17

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

A moment of anxiety – who is going to get left?

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.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-12-24

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

Puck’s review of the past year

Puck stands with lithographic pen and a long banner with scenes from cartoons that appeared in Puck Magazine during 1884, including the British Lion and “El Mahdi” in Egypt and Sudan, James G. Blaine’s presidential hopes, the rise of Chester A. Arthur, a downtrodden Tammany tiger, John Kelly and Benjamin Butler as entertainers, the French and the Chinese in “Tonquin,” the figure for the Independent Vote and Grover Cleveland joining forces, and millionaires Jay Gould and William H. Vanderbilt.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-12-31

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

Blundering again!

A group of Democrats sit on a log raft that is breaking up within sight of land, with two logs labeled “New Jersey [and] New York” coming loose and drifting away. A small sail on the raft is labeled “Democra[…] Record.” Some are fighting amongst themselves. Allen G. Thurman is about to hit George Hoadly who is holding a paper labeled “Dem. Nomination for Gov. Ohio Hoadly”; John Kelly is fighting with Hubert O. Thompson who is holding a knife labeled “County Dem”; and behind them is Alexander V. Davidson labeled “Irving Hall” and holding a knife. Others seem on the brink of despair, including Abram S. Hewitt gnawing on a bone labeled “Tariff,” Charles A. Dana defiant of fate, Thomas F. Bayard sitting with his elbows on his knees, Winfield Scott Hancock who appears to have succumbed, Thomas Hendricks chewing on his fingers, an unidentified man searching the horizon, Henry Watterson, and Samuel J. Tilden. Only Benjamin F. Butler shows any sign of hope as he points toward shore and the U.S. Capitol labeled “1884.” Caption: The Democrats have their regular shindy just as they come in sight of land.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-09-26

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

Puck’s notion of the kind of fancy-dress charity ball that would be a real, solid financial success

At a costume ball, a band of newspaper editors labeled “Herald, Sun, Staats-Zeitung, World, Times, [and] Evening Post” is conducted by Puck. Among those present at the ball are James Gillespie Blaine, Whitelaw Reid, William Maxwell Evarts, Roscoe Conkling, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, and John Kelly.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-01-28

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

A hard job with the hogs

President Cleveland, as a pig farmer, gets tangled in leashes attached to the hind legs of several hogs, each with a distinctive brand, labeled “Hugh McLaughlin, H. O. Thompson, Higgins, Beattie,” and one labeled “Tammany Hall” that looks like John Kelly. One hog labeled “Hedden” has broken free and is headed for the “Spoils Hog Pen” in the background. Standing on the left, observing, are Benjamin F. Butler, an unidentified man, Joseph C. S. Blackburn, and John R. McLean. Road signs state “Road to Spoils,” “National X Roads,” and “Cleveland Civil Service Reform Road.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-09-30

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

Kik – kik – cock-a-doodle doo! Mr. Kelly, how are you?

New York City Mayor William R. Grace is a rooster crowing over a defeated and demoralized John Kelly, Tammany Hall boss. Grace, an anti-Tammany Hall politician, was just re-elected mayor of New York City after being out of office for the previous term.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-11-12

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

The olympus of corruption – “Apollo strikes the lyre and charms the gods”

James Gillespie Blaine is pictured as Apollo playing a lyre labeled “N. Y. Tribune” fashioned from the body of Whitelaw Reid, before a gathering of the gods on Olympus. Among those present are Cyrus W. Field as Mercury, George M. Robeson as Neptune, Charles A. Dana as Minerva, Jay Gould as Zeus, Thomas Collier Platt, Robert Green Ingersoll, and Rutherford B. Hayes as angels, Chauncey Depew, W. H. Vanderbilt as Pluto, Russell Sage, William W. Phelps, John Roach as Vulcan, Stephen B. Elkins as Dionysus, Joseph Warren Keifer as Hercules, John Alexander Logan as Mars, Benjamin F. Butler as Venus, Stephen Wallace Dorsey and Thomas Jefferson Brady as putti, and John Kelly as an owl.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-10-08

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

Our government farm — President Cleveland finds an effectual protection against the twenty-five-year locusts

President Cleveland stands directly behind a wall of flames labeled “Civil Service Reform.” Behind him, working on the “Government Farm,” are members of his cabinet: William C. Endicott with a hoe, Lucius Q. C. Lamar kneeling before a newly planted tree, Thomas F. Bayard working on a tree labeled “State Department,” Daniel Manning holding a pot labeled “Treasury,” Augustus H. Garland with a shovel, William C. Whitney adding supports to a tree labeled “Navy Department,” and William F. Vilas with a watering can. In the foreground, locusts driven back by the smoke and overcome by the fumes lie on the ground and are about to be consumed by the flames. The locusts include “Kelly, Dugro, Voorhees, Blackburn, McLean, Dana, Butler, H. O. Thompson, Chenowith, Higgins, [and] Aquila Jones.” Two that seem unaffected are labeled “Hendricks” carrying a banner that states “To the Victors belong the Spoils” and “McLoughlin” [sic].

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-09-02

Creator(s)

Zimmerman, Eugene, 1862-1935

Tammany throws away its “butt,” and the monopoly bootblack picks it up

Benjamin F. Butler is a shoe shiner with his kit, stooping to pick up a smoldering cigar butt labeled “Grady” that John Kelly, on the left, has discarded. They are on a sidewalk in front of the “Tamma[ny] Ciga[r] Stor[e]” where there is a sign posted on the building that states “Cleveland Cigars – New and Popular Brand” with a cigar store Indian figure at the door.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-09-24

Creator(s)

Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857-1937

The temptation

Print shows John Kelly as the serpent labeled “Tammany” in the Garden of Eden offering an apple labeled “Harmony” from a tree labeled “Bossism” to “H.O. Thompson,” as Adam, labeled “County Democracy” and Alexander V. “Davidson,” as Eve, labeled “Irving Hall” who holds out his hand to take the apple.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-09-19

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

“April fool!”

John Kelly bends to pick up a wallet labeled “New York City Mayoralty” that is lying in the street. Puck, hiding behind a tree, is holding on to a string attached to the wallet, ready to pull it out of Kelly’s reach.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-04-08

Creator(s)

Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857-1937

The true inwardness of the Tilden boom – the democratic tribes clamor for Sammy to strike his rocks

Samuel J. Tilden, pictured as Moses with two rays of light emitting from his forehead, stands with his back to a mountainside where some rocks look like barrels labeled with “$”, and a sign that states “This Stream Stopped Running in November 1876.” He is confronted by a group of parched (for funds) political aspirants labeled “Hewitt, Watterson, Dana, [Hendricks], Cox, Bayard, Randall, N. Y. Democracy, [Kelly], Payne, Lamar, [and] Thurman,” and one man holding a jug labeled “For Campaign Funds.” They implore him to strike the rocks and make the money flow.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-04-02

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

Why they dislike him — he will not prove himself a cat’s-paw in the enterprise

Grover Cleveland is a lion with his paw on a monkey labeled “T. Grady” on top of a rock labeled “Civil Service Reform.” Nearby is a small fire in which are roasting chestnuts labeled “City Spoils, State Spoils, [and] National Spoils Chestnut.” Cleveland is looking over his right shoulder at a group of monkeys in a tree. Among them are John Kelly, Charles A. Dana, Benjamin F. Butler, Henry Ward Beecher, and three monkeys labeled “Dynamiter, Ward Boss, [and] N. Y. Alderman.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-09-03

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

Who killed Hancock?

The ghost of Winfield Scott Hancock sits on a throne in a banquet hall. Samuel J. Tilden pushes a frightened Charles A. Dana, as Macbeth, toward Hancock. Dana makes wild statements while waving around a note for $5000.00. A chalice has fallen to the floor, spilling “Harmony.” Samuel S. Cox, as a court jester, sits on the floor next to the throne with “S.S. Cox’s Joke Book” at his knee. The room is filled with courtiers, among them Thomas A. Hendricks, Grover Cleveland who has fallen backwards onto John Kelly, Thomas F. Bayard, Samuel J. Randall, David Davis, Henry Watterson, Abram S. Hewitt, Hubert O. Thompson, George Hoadly, and Benjamin F. Butler. All seem to be sitting in judgment of Dana. Caption: MacBeth-Dana–“Never shake thy gory locks at me! I’ll bet you Five Thousand Dollars thou canst not say I did it!!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-08-29

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

Blundering in a perilous position

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!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-03-19

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896