[King Cotton], Confederate States of America.

Cartoon shows "a skinny old king with hair and beard of cotton, a huge oversize crown on his head, a whip in his hand, sitting on his throne, while African American slaves bring him cool drinks and female slaves fan him. Britannia and Napoleon III prostrate themselves before him and deposit their crowns at his feet--a reminder that during the Civil War the governments and manufacturing interests in some European states, dependent on Southern cotton, had sided with the Confederacy. The base of the dais is inscribed "Slavery." In the elaborate ornamentation around the throne the repeated "C.S.A." is of course "Confederate States of America." The S's and C's are copperheads. The corcodiles in the proscenium arch refer to the National Union Convention of 1866, an attempt to unite conservatives of both parties, North and South, behind the President's policies. At the opening, Governor Orr of South Carolina and general Couch of Massachusetts ahd entered arm-in-arm ... The throne-room is crowded with militant leaders of the Confederacy, shown as knights in armor, heavily burlesqued. ..."
No known restrictions on publication.
Signed, lower right: Th. Nast.
Bequest and gift; Caroline and Erwin Swann; 1974; (DLC/PP-1974:232.1623)
One of five surviving paintings from Thomas Nast's Grand Caricaturama a humorous account of American history involving real persons and symbolic characters. Nast created 33 paintings, each approximately 8 x 12 feet, for display on a stage as a moving panorama accompanied by an explanatory talk and piano songs. The performances in New York City and Boston received a highly favorable popular response.
Published in: Catalogue of Th. Nast's Grand Caricaturama, 1867, no. 9.
Published in: Nast, Thomas. Five Paintings from Th. Nast's Grand Caricaturama. Introduction and commentary by Lloyd Goodrich. New York: Swann Collection of Caricature and Cartoon, 1970, p. 12.