Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Nast-y retreat

This woodcut map appeared in the November 10, 1877 issue of Harper's Weekly.  It was drawn by the famous political cartoonist Thomas Nast. Titled "Map of N. Jersey", it is done after the style of Revolutionary War military maps, but also in the style of patterns for making clothes which were a regular feature in Harper's Bazaar magazines... thus the sub-caption: “ 'Little Mac's' Plans in Case of Defeat. N.R. – Ladies will please not take this for a Bazaar 'Pull-Back' Pattern.” "Little Mac" is General George McClellan, the initial commander of Union forces at the start of the Civil War, who is credited by some, including Nast, as having very badly mis-managed the Union war efforts, who ran against and lost badly to Abe Lincoln in the 1864 elections, and who Thomas nast regularly lambasted for years afterwards.

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