Democratic reformers in search of a head
Summary
A mild parody on the strife and corruption within the New York Democratic party. In 1876 Tammany leader "Honest John" Kelly used his power over rank-and-file Democrats to oppose New York governor Samuel Tilden's bid for the party's presidential nomination at its national convention in St. Louis. Here an impenetrable cloud of smoke has been raised by a melee between the factions. Working-class Tammany Democrats (left) and Tildenites (right) are identified by their shoes below and weapons above. The former wear heavy work shoes and firemen's boots and wield clubs, bottles, and broken furniture. The Tildenites, in contrast, wear finer shoes and are armed with umbrellas, canes, and pistols. The "Law" is trampled by Tammany feet, an allusion to the corruption associated with the society's control of New York government. One of the gentlemen's feet treads on the "Rules of Order." Also on the ground are dice, cards, a liquor bottle, and a spilled bottle of ink.
Currier & Ives : a catalogue raisonné / compiled by Gale Research. Detroit, MI : Gale Research, c1983, no. 1685
Weitenkampf, p. 167
Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1876-6.
New York City from 1835 to 1907 headed first by Nathaniel Currier, and later jointly with his partner James Merritt Ives. The prolific firm produced prints from paintings by fine artists as black and white lithographs that were hand-colored. The firm called itself "the Grand Central Depot for Cheap and Popular Prints" and advertised its lithographs as "colored engravings for the people". The firm adopted the name "Currier and Ives" in 1857.
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