‘Tis the Season to resume the series of cartoons on William H. Vanderbilt that we ran this past Summer, and put on hiatus during the Fall. (Specifically why “‘Tis the Season“, will become apparent the middle of next week.)

Today’s entry comes from the September 25th, 1878 issue of Puck magazine. The subject involves the legal battle between William Vanderbilt and one of his brothers, over their father Cornelius’ estate. (Cornelius had left the majority to W.H., whom he regarded as the only surviving son capable of running his empire.) The below Puck centerspread cartoon, by Puck‘s founder, Joseph Keppler, Sr., plus its accompanying article (provided still further below), both imply that William H. used his money & influence to determine the court’s decision:

If the “old man,” when he wanted, used to “buy a Legislature,” as he was accustomed to brag, why should not the son, if he wants a decision, “buy a Court”?

You may click on the below cartoon and text article, to open larger versions.

Below, from the same issue of Puck, is the aforementioned prose piece explaining/poking fun at the court battle between the brothers Vanderbilt.

A second Vanderbilt cartoon will appear this Wednesday, followed by a resumption of the Taylor/Vanderbilt comic strips, one week later. You can find the previous episodes, and catch back up on the Vanderbilt series, by clicking here.

Doug Wheeler

financial reform NYPuck KepplerSr