Above, Newt Gingrich’s nineteenth century soulmate, James Blaine, a former Republican Speaker of the House, whose long record of corruption was parodied during the Election of 1884, in a series of twenty-two cartoons, depicting him as “The Tattooed-Man” — a man tattooed from head-to-toe with the multitude of his sins.

The Political Courtney, by artist Bernhard Gillam, appeared as the centerspread cartoon in the September 10th, 1884 issue of Puck magazine. Shown is an exhausted Blaine, losing the political boat race, while supporters gather around him. Included N.Y. Tribune editor Reid (think, Republican-controlled slanted “news”, ala Fox News), attempting to soothe Blaine with a sponge of propaganda, and, robber baron/monopolist Jay Gould, wearing a beanie hat and fanning him with a hand-fan decorated with geese and $-signs. “Tattoo Eradicator” soap is amongst thos items to the bottom left.

Click on the above cartoon, to both view it in detail, and read the captions and tattooes.

The title, “Political Courtney”, refers to a champion sculler of the day, suspected of underhanded tricks and lying. To get the full details, click here to read the article, One Misdeed Evokes Another: How Political Cartoonists Used “Scandal Intertextuality” Against Presidential Candidate James G. Blaine, by Harlen Makemson of Elon University. It goes into much detail about this, and other key cartoons, within “The Tattooed Man” series.

Doug Wheeler

ElectionComics TattooedMan NYPuck sports