An Heir to the Throne, Or the Next Republican Candidate
This cruel political cartoon relies on racial stereotypes commonplace in the northern United States as well as the south at this date. Horace Greeley and Abraham Lincoln flank an undersized Black man who wears short pants and supports himself on a staff. The text makes it clear that he is being introduced as the Republican party's successor to Lincoln while faint lettering on the wall reads "Barnum's / What is it / Now / Exhibiting," comparing the man to strange creatures exhibited at P. T. Barnum's American Museum in New York.
Artwork Details
- Title: An Heir to the Throne, Or the Next Republican Candidate
- Artist: Probably after Louis Maurer (American (born Germany), Biebrich 1832–1932 New York)
- Publisher: Currier & Ives (American, active New York, 1857–1907)
- Sitter: Abraham Lincoln (American, Hardin County, Kentucky 1809–1865 Washington, D.C.)
- Sitter: Horace Greeley (American, 1811–1872)
- Subject: Phineas Taylor Barnum (American, Bethel, Connecticut 1810–1891 Bridgeport, Connecticut)
- Date: 1860
- Medium: Lithograph
- Dimensions: Image: 9 7/16 × 11 1/4 in. (24 × 28.5 cm)
Sheet: 13 7/16 × 17 15/16 in. (34.1 × 45.5 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of A. S. Colgate, 1952
- Object Number: 52.632.180
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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