(RECONSTRUCTION) Thomas Nast artist Group of 3 anti Reconstr

Sale 2646 - Lot 252

Price Realized: $ 500

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900

(RECONSTRUCTION.) Thomas Nast, artist. Group of 3 anti-Reconstruction cartes-de-visite caricaturing Greeley, Phillips, and Forney. Albumen photographs of Nast's original illustration art, each about 3 1/4 x 2 inches, on original card mounts with publisher's backmarks; minimal wear. New York: E. & H.T. Anthony, circa April 1866

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Horace Greeley is depicted with an issue of his New York Tribune, anthropomorphized in blackface. This appeared in engraved form in the 14 April 1866 Harper's Weekly. More obscure is John Wein Forney, a Radical Republican newspaper editor and strident opponent of Andrew Johnson's reconstruction policies. When asked why he did not defend himself against Forney's charges, Johnson scoffed "I do not waste my ammunition on dead ducks," hence the caption "Dead Duck: A Study from Nature by A. Johnson." This also appeared in engraved form in the same Harper's issue. A third Nast caricature in the same style is captioned only "Dr." and appears to represent Radical Republican Wendell Phillips in the form of a bellows. It was not published in the same 14 April 1866 spread as the other two. We have located no other examples of these reproduced original Nast illustrations.