Class Year
2016
Document Type
Blog Post
Publication Date
2-28-2014
Department 1
Civil War Institute
Abstract
Currier and Ives’ prints were a large part of the media during the Civil War era. Not only were Romantic prints sold and hung in people’s parlors, but cartoons were also very popular. It is important to remember that Currier and Ives’ goal was not to produce fine art, but to make a product that was attractive to middle-class consumers. Thus, political and social cartoons became a way to attract customers. They tried to stay away from controversial topics; however, their Darktown series was one of their best-selling series of the day. Today, the Darktown series is rarely displayed and relatively unknown because of its controversial depictions of slavery and African-Americans. The press also rarely took sides, but when pushed upon took up the side with the more popular argument. Special Collections is fortunate to have two Currier and Ives cartoons. [excerpt]
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Sutter, Megan A., "Satirizing Strife: Currier and Ives Political Cartoons" (2014). The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History. 33.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/compiler/33
Comments
This blog post originally appeared in The Gettysburg Compiler and was created by students at Gettysburg College.