Robeson, George M. (George Maxwell), 1829-1897

Creation Date

1883-05-30

Creator(s)

The grand opening march over the Brooklyn Bridge

A large procession crosses the newly-completed Brooklyn Bridge. At the front, dressed as policemen with nightsticks, are several newspaper editors. Among them are James Gordon Bennett, Oswald Ottendorfer, Whitelaw Reid, Murat Halstead, Joseph Pulitzer, Charles A. Dana, and Carl Schurz. Puck follows at center on a white horse, with a group of dandies on the right, one labeled “Freddie,” and a group of “Political Tramps” on the left, including George M. Robeson, Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas Collier Platt, James G. Blaine, and Roscoe Conkling. John Kelly is at the lead of the “Tammany Heelers,” followed by Hubert O. Thompson with the “New York Street Cleaning Department.” Behind them comes “Puck’s Monopoly Target Company” with Russell Sage, William H. Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, and Cyrus W. Field. On the left is a masonic group labeled “F. & A.M.” carrying a goat on a pedestal. Beneath the bridge is a boat labeled “The Dynamiter” filled with angry anarchists. Caption: Puck follows the example of the illustrated newspapers, and gives an accurate picture of the event one day before it takes place – and don’t you forget it!

Collection

Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857-1937

Creation Date

1883-05-23

Creator(s)

Our national dog-show

At a dog show, a variety of breeds are competing. In the upper left corner, labeled the “Judges’ Stand,” are several newspaper editors, including James Gordon Bennett, Whitelaw Reid, Murat Halstead, Charles A. Dana, Henry Watterson, and George W. Curtis. They are judging two dogs, Winfield Scott Hancock and Samuel J. Tilden. Other dogs depicted are “Sesquipedalian Sleuth Hound Evarts, Mulligan Mongrel, Rossa Runt – take care dangerous, Lap Dogs Monopoly Breed”, also Chester A. Arthur, William Mahone, Thomas Collier Platt, Roscoe Conkling, James D. Cameron, John Logan, “Pointer Bayard, Tammany Tarrier, House Dog Edson, Dachshund, Toby Dog, Poodle, Water-dog,” David Davis, U.S. Grant, “Tewksbury Ratter, Hoar-Hound, Hybrid Hayes” and at center, “Puck’s entry Cleveland [and] S. Low.”

Collection

Creation Date

1883-05-09

Creator(s)

The true meaning of Republican harmony

Several Republicans stand in a temple, with a sacrificial lamb labeled “Civil Service Reform” at the base of a statue labeled “Patronage” with a trident labeled “Spoils.” Among them are Chester Alan Arthur, James Gillespie Blaine, Whitelaw Reid, Ulysses S. Grant, John Logan, William Henry Robertson, J. D. Cameron, George William Curtis, Carl Schurz, George Frisbie Hoar, John Sherman, Roscoe Conkling, and William Mahone. At the far end of the temple gallery is a statue of George M. Robeson as “Neptune.” Caption: The members of the Roman House of Tarquin, having been driven from power by the people, called together their adherents, and swore an oath of harmony over the body of a victim sacrificed for the purpose. They then undertook to get back to Rome, and History records that they Got Left.

Collection

Creation Date

1883-04-11

Creator(s)

Rip Van Winkle’s return

Outside a building labeled “Washington Inn” with an image of the U.S. Capitol on the sign, a large group of Republican legislators, politicians, and others are laughing at an old man wearing tattered clothing labeled “Democracy.” He looks dazed, as though he has just wandered in from the past; his walking stick is dated “1861.” Two dogs labeled “N.Y. Tribune” and “N.Y. Times” sniff at his heels. Among those present are George M. Robeson, Ulysses S. Grant, John Logan, James Gillespie Blaine, Chester Alan Arthur (dressed as a woman, serving food and drinks), Charles J. Folger, George Frisbie Hoar, Joseph Warren Keifer, Horace F. Page, William Mahone (doing a hand-stand), J. D. Cameron, Roscoe Conkling, John Sherman, George F. Edmunds, John P. Jones, and Thomas Collier Platt.

Collection

Creation Date

1883-03-14

Creator(s)

The end of a bad show

In the “Grand National Congressional Theatre” the performance of “Fair Promise Combination No. 47 – Great Reform Bill – Act I Tariff Reform – Act II Civil Service Reform – Act III Internal Revenue Reform” is concluding. The audience is pelting the cast with cats, eggs, onions, turnips, and other vegetables and fruits. Among those on stage are David Davis, Thomas W. Ferry, George M. Robeson, Jay A. Hubbell, Frank Hiscock, Horace F. Page, and William Mahone.

Collection

Creation Date

1883-02-28

Creator(s)

A dreadful attack of “presidential fever” in the U.S. Senate

Puck stands in the Senate chamber, among many senators sick with “Presidential Fever.” Puck is offering a spoonful of “Anti-Presidential Quinine” to John Sherman. Among the senators present are Wade Hampton, George Frisbie Hoar, J. D. Cameron, William Mahone, Warner Miller, Daniel W. Voorhees, John Alexander Logan, George F. Edmunds, John Sherman, George Graham Vest, Thomas F. Bayard, John P. Jones, and David Davis. Peering over the chamber walls are George M. Robeson, Jay Gould, and Roscoe Conkling.

Collection

Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857-1937

Creation Date

1883-02-21

Creator(s)

The magnetic bunco-steerer and his confederate

At left, on the sidewalk outside a gambling room labeled “Monopoly Club Shades,” James G. Blaine and Benjamin F. Butler corner a “Workingman” and try to steer him into the gaming room. On the right, sitting around a table with playing cards, are Russell Sage, William Walter Phelps, George M. Robeson, Jay Gould, and John Roach, and standing is Cyrus W. Field. On a shelf is a bust of William H. Vanderbilt beneath a sign that states “The Public Be D–” and notices that state “No Straight Flushes in this House” and “This is a Bluff Game – No Limit.” On either side of the bust are boxes of “Brag Chips” and “Bluster Cards.” Caption: Hungry Ben – “How are you, Mr. Workingman? What! – don’t you remember me? Why, I’m your old friend! Say – just you let me put you onto a nice little scheme-” Workingman “No, sirree! I’ve been there before.”

Collection

Creation Date

1884-08-20

Creator(s)

Building the ark

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.”

Collection

Creation Date

1884-03-05

Creator(s)

He can’t beat his own record

James Gillespie Blaine stands on the “Republican Race Track” in an arena, apparently frozen in position as his tattooed ghost races past him. A sign in the center of the track states “Presidential Race Against Time – Blaine to Beat His Own Record.” In the background is a tent with banner labeled “J. Blaine” and decked with floral wreaths that state “With Compliments J. Gould” and “With Compliments from C. Field,” and one shaped like a horseshoe from “R. Sage.” Whitelaw Reid stands outside the tent, holding a bucket and a sponge labeled “Tribune” and William Walter Phelps peaks through the flaps with a concerned look on his face. Among those in the grandstand on the left are A. M. Clapp, George M. Robeson, Alonzo B. Cornell, John Roach, and Thomas Jefferson Brady. Caption: Chorus of Friends “Go in, Jim! – brace up! Can’t you do any better than that?”

Collection

Creation Date

1884-07-30

Creator(s)

“Stop thief!”

Illustration, reminiscent of Thomas Nast’s cartoon of the same title published in Harper’s Weekly, October 7, 1871, hence “That trick is very stale”, shows a group of monopolists and Blaine supporters scattering on the street in response to the cry “Stop thief!” Joseph Keifer carries a sign that states “Beware of Cleveland the Monopolist” and Cyrus Field waves a sheet that states “Down with Cleveland the Monopolist.” Among the pursuers and those being pursued are William W. Phelps, Benjamin F. Butler carrying a bag of “Monopolist Fees”, Robert Ingersoll, Keifer, George M. Robeson, Whitelaw Reid throwing “Dust” in the eyes of workingmen, Alonzo Cornell, Field, James G. Blaine carrying a bag of “$ from Monopolists” and “R.R. Stocks,” Russell Sage, John Roach, and Jay Gould, as well as a dog with the face of John Kelly(?), and with a teapot labeled “Alliance with Monopolists” tied to its tail; all are determined to look like pursuers, instead of the object of the pursuit. Carl Schurz, dressed as a policeman, is standing on the sidewalk at far right. Two laborers are standing on the left, next to a sign that announces “Friend of the Workingman Meeting at Monopoly Hall To Night – J. Gould, C. Field, R. Sage, Robeson.” Caption: Level-Headed Workingman – “Too thin! That trick is very stale. I guess we know a monopolist when we see him!”

Collection

Creation Date

1884-08-06

Creator(s)

Bottom’s dream

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.

Collection

Creation Date

1884-02-20

Creator(s)

Unknown

A way out of President Arthur’s dilemma

Ulysses S. Grant recommends to President Chester A. Arthur some “friends” of his as political appointees. All the men shown were involved in scandals during Grant’s administration. Caption: General Grant “Don’t be troubled if a few fellows do decline. Here are some friends of mine who never refuse office.”

Collection

Creation Date

1881-11-02

Creator(s)

The national dime-museum – will be run during the presidential campaign

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.”

Collection

Creation Date

1884-04-16

Creator(s)

Speaker Keifer’s kaleidoscopic speech, at the NewYork Chamber of Commerce banquet, held at Delmonico’s, May 9, 1882

Print shows a vignette cartoon with a carriage at center in which Jay Gould, Russell Sage, Cyrus W. Field, and William H. Vanderbilt are riding with large money bags; the wheels are labeled “Corporations” and “Monopoly.” The carriage is driven by an eagle dressed like Uncle Sam wearing a top hat labeled “1882” and carrying a whip labeled “Revenue Tariff.” The carriage is pulled by an “Underpaid Workman,” a “Starving Laborer,” a “War Widow,” a “Sewing Girl,” an “Old Merchant,” a “Poor Clerk,” and a “Cripple,”among others, with ropes labeled “Tax.” The surrounding vignettes show scenes of corruption, misfortune, presidential office seekers, Valley Forge, and “Charitable Institutions for the poor and unfortunate” from “Maine” to “California” showing buildings labeled “Poor House” and “Jail.” Featured in these vignettes are such figures as Chester Alan Arthur, George M. Robeson, Samuel J. Tilden, Roscoe Conkling, John Kelly, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin F. Butler, and Joseph W. Keifer, as well as “Honest Labor, Patriotism, [and] Integrity.”

Collection

Creation Date

1882-05-24

Creator(s)

Our robber barons

Several rogues, including Jay Gould labeled “R. Road Monopolist,” William H. Vanderbilt labeled “Corporations,” Cyrus W. Field labeled “Telegraph Monopoly,” Russell Sage(?) labeled “Stock Jobbing,” and George M. Robeson labeled “Congress,” rob a “Tax Payer” of his “Income” (Robeson/Congress strangling him with “Unjust Tax”). In the right foreground the tools and “Cloth” the “Tax Payer” needs are “Taxed” as others help themselves to his “Products of Honest Labor.” Vanderbilt directs some carrying bags labeled “Plunder” and “Gains” up steps labeled “Tax Steals, Land Grants, Friendly Judges, Lobbyism, [and] Public Apathy” that lead to a large building labeled “Castle Monopoly” atop a mountain. In the background, on the right, are buildings labeled “Manufactory Closed [and] Foundry Closed” and other industrial buildings “Closed.” A chain labeled “Protection” blocks the harbor, preventing ships with products for export from departing.

Collection

Creation Date

1882-06-14

Creator(s)

More than she can carry

Whitelaw Reid places a bundled-up package labeled “Blaine” and “Rotten Record” on top of a large pile in a basket being carried by a woman labeled “Republican Party” who is stooped under the burden and leaning on a staff labeled “War Record.” Others already in the basket are “Kellogg” labeled “Returning Board & Star Ro,” “Keifer” labeled “Speakership Corruption,” “Dorsey” labeled “Star Route Swindle,” “Brady” labeled “Star Route Swindle,” “Robeson” labeled “Navy Ring,” “Grant’s IId Term Washington Ring,” and “Belknap” who resigned as Grant’s Secretary of War in 1876. A man labeled “Phelps Whitewasher” is holding the ladder for Reid.

Collection

Creation Date

1884-05-14

Creator(s)

Puck’s pyrotechnics – Fourth-of-July fireworks free to all

Print shows a fireworks display with Puck bowing on a stage in front of a “Fan Light” featuring the likenesses of William H. Vanderbilt, Russell Sage, Cyrus W. Field, and Jay Gould; on stage with Puck is a hand holding a smoldering torch which may represent Bartholdi’s hand and torch from the Statue of Liberty. On the left is a pagoda labeled “Puck Office” and on the right is a building labeled “Tammany Hall.” Among the fireworks are many faces of politicians and other prominent figures of the day, some labeled by type of firework, such as “Chicago Shower” – Arthur, Grant, Conkling, Logan and Cameron; “Tumbler” – Tilden; “Twister” – Schurz; “The Falling Tammany Star” – Kelly; “Bomb” – Davis; “Junk Whizzler” – Robeson; “Polar Rocket” – Bennett; “Buster” – Butler; and “Star Route Staggerer” – Dorsey. Others shown are James G. Blaine, Henry Ward Beecher, Elizabeth Tilton(?), Thomas De Witt Talmage, and Theodore Tilton.

Collection

Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857-1937

Creation Date

1882-07-05

Creator(s)

The great congressional tramp bullying the old women of the national household

George M. Robeson, shabbily dressed as a tramp, stands in a doorway. Joseph Warren Keifer, as a small dog with a cap labeled “Speaker” tied to its tail, stands behind Robeson, and on the floor at his feet is a broken plate labeled, “Appropriations $182,496,018 Administration 1868-76.” He carries a club labeled “Repn. Leadership” and branded on the palm of his left hand is the word “More.” His appearance in the doorway frightens the “Old Women” of Congress who were gathered around a table, drinking tea. Depicted wearing women’s dress are William Windom standing behind the door labeled “Congress,” John P. Jones spilling a pot of tea, John Sherman fainting, John Alexander Logan labeled “306” and supporting Sherman, J. D. Cameron also labeled “306,” Frank Hiscock, George F. Edmunds, David Davis eating an “Independent Plum,” B. W. Harris and Abram S. Hewitt locking the “Appropriations Pantry,” and William P. Frye hiding behind a chair. Uncle Sam and Puck appear at far left, running toward the building.

Collection

Creation Date

1882-07-12

Creator(s)

“With thee to support me, I defy the whole world!”

Print shows George M. Robeson dressed as a sailor and labeled “Leader of the Republican Party” and “Republican Champion,” leaning on a large duffel bag labeled “Surplus $150,000,000.” A group of men standing on the left appear to be denouncing him.

Collection

Creation Date

1882-07-26

Creator(s)