We Have Come To Stay

Lithograph, April 19, 1870.
Single page political illustration of Harper’s Weekly, Vol.XXlll – No. 1164.
Image: 16 x 10 3/4
Paper: 16 x 10 3/4
Excellent condition.

Inventory Number: 10405
Man searching bag with words “Solid South.”

Thomas Nast was born in Landau, Germany, on September 27, 1840. His family moved to New York City around the time he was 6. Nast did poorly in school, preferring drawing to schoolwork, and eventually dropped out. In 1855 he landed his first illustration job, and several years later joined the staff of Harper’s Weekly. While there, Nast quickly made a name for himself as a political cartoonist, focusing on such topics as the Civil War, slavery and corruption. Nast would also become known for the modern representation of Santa Claus as a jolly, rotund man living at the North Pole. In 1886, Nast left Harper’s Weekly and fell on hard times. In 1902, he was appointed general counsel to Ecuador. While in that country, he contracted yellow fever and died on December 7, 1902. Thomas Nast is known as the “Father of the American Cartoon.”