Tilden, Samuel J. (Samuel Jones), 1814-1886

A man has hooks for hands and has labels over his ears and mouth that state “Deaf” and “Dumb.” Hanging from one hook is a paper that states “Elected.” Drowning in paper in the background are Benjamin Butler with notes that state “Big Talk Butler, Big Promises Butler, I’m Going to Reform Everything, B.F.B., [and] The Government Belongs to its Friends,” Winfield Scott Hancock with notes that state “Foolish Letters” and “What I Know About the Tariff Question, Hancock,” and Samuel J. Tilden, holding a quill pen, with a note labeled “Cipher Dispatches.” Caption: One who can neither make foolish speeches, write foolish letters, nor listen to foolish counsel.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-01-24

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

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-02-20

Grover Cleveland rides the Democratic donkey past the “Republican R. R. R. Hotel” on the way to his inauguration. He is surrounded by a host of characters that includes many political figures and newspaper editors, including Joseph F. Keppler with his diminutive character Puck. Among those depicted are: Roscoe Conkling, George Edmunds, Augustus Garland, “Hampton,” “William H. Barnum,” L. Q. C. Lamar, “Grace,” “Jones,” Joseph Pulitzer, James G. Bennett, Henry B. Ward, Samuel J. Randall, Thomas Hendricks, Abram S. Hewitt, U. S. Grant, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, “McDonas,” Daniel Manning, George W. Curtis, Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel J. Tilden, Thomas F. Bayard (carrying a flag that states “Public Office is a Public Trust. G. Cleveland”), Joseph Medill, William C. Endicott, John Logan, James G. Blaine, Carl Schurz, William F. Vilas, Cox, Winfield Scott Hancock, Benjamin Harrison, Henry Watterson, and Hermann “Raster.” Also shown is Puck’s Independent Party figure and papers labeled “Compliments of C. A. Dana.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-03-04

Samuel J. Tilden sits in a rocking chair, raising a glass of the “Elixir of Youth” over his head and holding a telephone receiver to his ear. Hanging on the wall is a plaque that states “This Certifies that Sam’l. J. Tilden Was Duly Elected President (Dejure) in 1876. [signed] Chas. A. Dana.” Next to the telephone on the wall is a sign that states “Direct Reports of the Inaugural Ceremonies.” Tilden is offering a toast to the news of Grover Cleveland’s inauguration, the first democratic president since before the Civil War.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-03-04

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

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1882-07-05

Print shows a moth or butterfly labeled “N.Y. County Democracy” with bust portraits of Lucius Robinson, Abram S. Hewitt, Samuel J. Tilden, and Clarkson N. Potter on the wings; it has just emerged from a pupa labeled “Tammany” with the face of John Kelly, and is flying toward a flower blossom labeled “1884”.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1881-11-02

Puck holds a portrait of Samuel J. Tilden labeled “Opposed to Kelly 1876 – Carried New York by 32,000 Votes” and a portrait of Winfield Scott Hancock labeled “Supported by Kelly 1880 – Beaten in New York by 21,000 Votes.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-07-09

Print shows Puck sitting on a wooden cut-out Pegasus reviewing a procession of soldiers, among whom are John A. Logan, Roscoe Conkling carrying a flag labeled “Third Term”, Joseph W. Keifer, William M. Evarts, David Davis, James G. Bennett, John Kelly, Cyrus W. Field, William H. Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Samuel J. Tilden, Benjamin F. Butler, Thomas De Witt Talmage, and riding on horseback, Henry Ward Beecher. Following the soldiers, in the background on the right, is a float showing an old soldier labeled “Our Army” and a decrepit ship labeled “Our Navy”. In the background, on the left, is a reviewing stand for the “Foreign Guests”, with a French flag on one side and a German flag on the other. Caption: His army of contributors passing in review before our foreign guests.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1881-10-19

Uncle Sam and Dame Democracy ride in a horse-drawn carriage through a forest where 21 or 22 faces of presidential hopefuls can be seen in the trees, rocks, and grasses, and have spooked the horses at the approach to a bridge. Samuel J. Tilden, not a candidate in 1884, is the only person depicted full-length.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-05-28

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

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

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.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

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.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-04-16

William S. Holman holds up a page from “The Sun” newspaper that shows his portrait above the caption “Our Candidate for President – W. S. Holman.” His hat and coat are on a chair and he is rolling up his shirt sleeves. He is armed with guns and knives, and a large club is leaning against a desk. He is threatening to kill Charles A. Dana. Dana kneels before him, pleading for mercy. On the desk is another page of the newspaper that states “Holman – the Peoples Choice.” A display cabinet behind the desk contains Samuel J. Tilden beneath a sign “The Sun’s Candidate in 1876” and Winfield Scott Hancock labeled “A Good Man 250 lbs” beneath a sign “The Sun’s Candidate in 1880.” Caption: W. S. Holman–“This portrait settles it, Mr. Dana! I am forced to kill you in self-defense!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-10-24

Print shows an Irishman man labeled “Democracy” standing at center, holding a small glass slipper labeled “’84 Presidential Nomination”, with Samuel J. Tilden and Charles A. Dana as courtiers standing behind him. On the left, sitting in a chair is Benjamin F. Butler, as a housemaid, holding up a huge foot, an oversized shoe labeled “Unanimous Renomination” is on the floor next to the chair. Butler claims to be “Cinderella” (and like Dickens’ “Barkis,” he is willing), though the others look with dismay at the size of his foot. Caption: B. Butler “Here’s your Cinderella, gentlemen – you needn’t go any further.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-10-03

Print shows Puck’s figure for the “Independent Party” in a small sailboat of that name, flying a banner labeled “Independents”, sailing through icy waters among large icebergs. In the background two ships labeled “Tariff Reform” and “Civil Service Reform” have wrecked on icebergs. Among the faces in the icebergs are Rutherford B. Hayes, Roscoe Conkling, George M. Robeson, William Mahone, George F. Hoar, James G. Blaine, Jay Gould, Cyrus W. Field, John Sherman, John A. Logan, Whitelaw Reid, Samuel J. Tilden, Hubert O. Thompson, John Kelly, Charles A. Dana, Thomas Hendricks, Thomas F. Bayard, Winfield Scott Hancock, Benjamin F. Butler, Grover Cleveland, Ulysses S. Grant, Allen G. Thurman, Abram S. Hewitt, and Chester A. Arthur.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-11-07

Print shows the Republican Party, led by Chester A. Arthur, laying down their arms, with George M. Robeson, James G. Blaine, Roscoe Conkling, Whitelaw Reid, Carl Schurz, John Sherman, Charles J. Folger, Robert T. Lincoln, John A. Logan, Ulysses S. Grant, James D. Cameron, George F. Hoar, George F. Edmunds, and Henry Ward Beecher, exiting a citadel in the background. They are surrendering the presidency to the Democratic Party, led by newspaper editors Joseph Pulitzer of the N.Y. World, Charles A. Dana, and Henry Watterson. Samuel J. Tilden “Old Ticket,” Benjamin F. Butler, Grover Cleveland, Thomas Hendricks, Winfield Scott Hancock, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Thomas F. Bayard are on horseback, and Tammany Hall, led by John Kelly, marches under the banner “To the Victors Belong the Spoils.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-11-21

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.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-12-12

Print shows Charles A. Dana as an archaeologist who has just excavated a statue labeled “S.J.T.” and “Buried in 1876” from “Greystone,” behind which Henry Watterson, on the left, and John Kelly, on the right, glower and gesture in anger. Dana is using “Newspaper Cement” to attach arms, hands, and feet labeled “Popular Enthusiasm” and “New Political Footing” to the statue. One arm and hand with a flower labeled “Clean Record” have already been pinned in place. There is a basket of tools labeled “Editorials” and a pick labeled “Wire Pulling” at Dana’s side. In the background, a banner atop the White House states “Presidential Museum.” Caption: C. A. Dana (having excavated an Old Fossil) “I guess I can palm him off on the people for their Museum in 1884!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1882-04-05

Print shows Chester A. Arthur riding the Republican elephant tossed high in the air in a “Political Arena.” The elephant is patched with scandals labeled “Credit Mobilier, Collusion with Monopolies, Back Pay Grab, Third Termism, Whiskey Ring, Navy Ring, [and] Dorsey ‘Soap’ 1880.” Below, on the floor of the arena, Samuel J. Tilden is sitting backwards on a donkey labeled “Incurable” and Puck’s Independent Party figure is riding a bucking bull, its horns labeled “Anti-Monopoly” and “Tariff Reform.” Puck applauds from a viewing stand on the right; sitting in the grandstand at left are Ulysses S. Grant, Cyrus W. Field, Rutherford B. Hayes, Thomas F. Bayard, Winfield Scott Hancock, Benjamin F. Butler, Adams, David Davis, Allen G. Thurman, William M. Evarts, Abram S. Hewitt, George F. Edmunds, Wayne MacVeagh, and George B. McClellan. Caption: Puck presents another prophetic cartoon – and the sooner it is realized the better.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1882-04-19

A beauty contest is underway where “First Prize” is the “Presidency.” The presidential candidates, all dressed as women, are sitting on raised platforms around which men have gathered to admire their beauty. Two men in the lower left appear to be voting for number “1. The Empire State Enslaver.” Among those in the running are “2. The same Old Widow from Beanville, 3. The Mulligan Masher from Maine [holding fan labeled] J. Blaine, 4. The Delaware Darling, 5. The Indiana Dumpling [holding fan labeled] J. E. MDonald, 6. The Homespun Houri of Ohio, 7. The Illinois Pet, 10. Utica Immortelle, 11. The Buffalo Girl, 12. The Indiana ‘Sun-Flower’ [with ribbon labeled] W. S. Holman, 13. The Nation’s Ex-Favorite [holding fan labeled] U.S.G., 14. The Pension Ring Pocahontas [with fan labeled] Logan, 15. The Centennial Spinster Ex-Champion de jure, 16. The Free Trade Fairy [with fan labeled] Hewitt, 17. The Ohio Water Lily Ex-Champion de facto, 18. The Pearl of Protection [with fan labeled] Randall, The Sherman Sisters 19. The Tecumseh Twin, 20. The Treasury Twin, 21. The Virtuous Vermonter [with fan labeled] Edmund, [and] 22. The Fat Fairy.” Among those depicted are Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin F. Butler, James G. Blaine, Thomas Bayard, Joseph E. McDonald, Allen G. Thurman, Robert Todd Lincoln, Roscoe Conkling, Grover Cleveland, William Steele Holman, Ulysses S. Grant, John Logan, Samuel J. Tilden, Abram S. Hewitt, Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel J. Randall, William T. Sherman, John Sherman, George F. Edmunds, and David Davis.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-01-23