Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
Thomas Nast
GA-33
Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Inventory
Introduction
The Rutherford B. Hayes
Presidential Center acquired the Thomas Nast Collection in 1959. Additional
information on Nast may be found in the Center’s Biographical File. A microfilm of the Nast scrapbook of clipping
was produced by the Hayes
Center.
Biographical Sketch
Thomas Nast was born Sept. 26,
1840 in Landau, Bavaria the son of Thomas and Apellonia
Nast. The family immigrated to the United States
in 1846, settling in New York City
where young Thomas studied art. His artistic skill developed such that in 1855
he was hired as a staff artist for Frank Leslie’=s Illustrated Newspaper and by 1859
he was also working as a freelance artist for Harper=s Weekly
and the New York Illustrated News. Nast traveled to Europe in 1860
gaining great renown for his coverage of boxing in England
and Garibaldi=s
campaigns in Italy.
After returning to New York
in 1861, Nast married Sarah Edwards. The couple had five children.
Nast joined the staff of Harper’s
Weekly in 1862. But rather than drawing battle
scenes, Nast
proved more adept at showing the experiences of the common soldier and
illustrating the political issues of the day. His drawing of Santa Claus in a
Union camp wearing stars and stripes was a notable example. During
Reconstruction, Nast advocated just treatment for blacks and former slaves and
the necessity of Northern intervention to stop white tyranny in the South. His
ability to draw poignant caricatures evolved through his work at Harper’s
at this time and is evident in some of his cartoons supporting U.S. Grant’s
candidacy in 1868 and 1872.
Nast is probably most remembered
for his campaign against corruption and abuse of power by the Tweed Ring in New York City led by
William Magear Tweed. (Nast=s
influence on popular thought can be seen through his identification of Tweed as William Marcy Tweed after U.S. Senator
William L. Marcy who, in 1832, said, AThey see nothing wrong in the rule that
to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy.@
While this was a clear reference to Tweed’s spoilsmanship,
many people still think of Tweed’s middle name as Marcy.) Nast=s use of cartoons brought this
situation to the attention of the voters, many of whom could not read, and led
to Tweed’s downfall.
With the end of Reconstruction
and the Grant presidency, Nast=s
influence began to wane. The economic and social issues of the 1870s and 1880s
lacked the emotion Nast had so effectively used in previous years. As disputes
with management increased Nast left Harper’s Weekly
in 1886 and tried to start his own weekly journal. When that effort failed he
turned to oil painting.
In 1902, Thomas Nast was
appointed to a consulship in Ecuador.
Shortly after his arrival he contracted yellow fever, died, and was buried
there.
Among Nast=s
most memorable contributions to popular culture was the evolution of Santa
Claus from the thin, spiritual character of European tales to the rotund image
of today. He also was the first to use the donkey and elephant as symbols of
the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.
Scope and Content
The collection, dating from 1860
to 1902, relates to Thomas Nast’s career as an artist. There are many of Nast=s published works from various
magazines as well as a number of original sketches These original sketches cover a wide variety
of topics, locations, and prominent people of his time.
Another major portion of this
collection includes letters to and from Nast dated 1860 to 1901. Included in
this correspondence are transcriptions of letters from Thomas to Sally from the
originals in the possession of the Huntington Library, San Marino, California. There is also additional correspondence, some
with sketches, from Nast=s
time in the consular service in Ecuador
during 1902.
Other items of interest are a
family photo album, photos of Nast, and a volume of autographed letters and
newspaper coverage relating to a testimonial given Nast in April 1869. There
are also several manuscripts and articles by Nast regarding his trip to Europe, the art of caricature, Boss Tweed, and other
topics. A scrapbook of newspaper clippings dated 1904 to 1988, concerning Nast,
his career, and his drawings is also found in this collection.
Inventory
Ac. 1216
One linear ft. (approx. 600
items)
Correspondence: undated
Julia Nast to ("Papa")
Th. Nast n.p., n.d. 2pp w/envelope a.l.s.
Th. Nast to "Friend
Sheer" [?] n.p., n.d., lp a.l.s.
Albert Bigelow
Paine to Th. Nast dtd "The Players, 16 Cramercy Park Friday" 2pp a.l.s.
Envelope addressed to Charles
Marseilles, Esq. Exeter,
NH
Thomas Nast, Jr. to
("Papa") Th. Nast dtd March 14, n.y.
n.p. 4pp a.l.s. w/envelope
George W.
Childs to Th. Nast dtd March 18, n.y.
The Public Ledger
Building, Philadelphia 2pp
a.l.s.
Th. Nast to Sallie (Mrs. Nast)
and Julia dtd Willard's Hotel, Washington, D.C.
December 13,
n.y. 4pp a.l.
Copies of parts of letters of Th.
Nast & Sallie n.p., n.d. 2pp
Correspondence: 1860-1901
Thomas Nast
To Sallie
(Sarah Edwards) dtd Naples, 29 September 1860 4pp a.l.s.
Th. & Sallie Nast to Mr./Mrs. Edwards (her parents) dtd Niagara Falls 29
September 1861
lp copy, incomplete
To [Sallie]
"my dearest darIing wife" dtd Harrisburg,
3 July 1863 4pp a.l.s.
To "My dearest darling, loving
Sallie" dtd "Boat to Fortress Monroe"
14 December [1864]
4pp copy a.l.s.
To Mr. Halcott
dtd Catskill Mountain House 14 September 1866 lp written and signed by
Sallie Nast
To Mr. Webb dtd
New York, 15
January 1867 lp l.s.
To Mr. E. M. Bacon dtd New York,
17 April 1868 lp l.s.
To [George
William] Mr. Curtis dtd New York 3 August 1868 3pp l.s.
To New England News Co. dtd Franklin
Square 21 November 1868 1 p Signed "Harpers
Brothers - Nast"
To "Friend
Richardson" dtd New York 10 April 1869 1p l.s.
Roscoe Conkling to Rush C.
Hawkins dtd 21 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p24
H. [Henry?] Wilson to Rush C. Hawkins dtd 21 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p20
George H. Boker
to Rush C. Hawkins dtd 21 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p32
Marshall Jewell to Rush C.
Hawkins dtd 22 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p28
Charles Patrick Daly to
Rush C. Hawkins dtd 22 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p30
Samuel P. Avery to Rush C.
Hawkins dtd 23 April [1869]
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p38
Wm. T. Sherman to Rush C.
Hawkins dtd 23 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast pl2
George S. Boutwell to Rush
C. Hawkins dtd 23 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and documents
relating to testimonials to Th. Nast pl4
N. P. Chipman
to Rush C. Hawkins dtd 24 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p26
J. Holt to Rush C. Hawkins
dtd 26 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast pl8
Schuyler Colfax to Th.
Nast dtd 27 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast pl0
John A. Griswold to Th.
Nast dtd 27 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p40
J. F. Kensett to Rush C.
Hawkins dtd 27 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p36
George Wilkes to Rush C.
Hawkins dtd 27 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p22
Salem H. Wales to Rush C.
Hawkins dtd 28 April 1869
SEE: Autograph letters and
documents relating to testimonials to Th. Nast p34
Thomas Nast
To J. R. Osgood, Esq. dtd New York,
22 November 1869 lp a.l.s.
To "Dear Sir" dtd n.p.
15 May 1871 lp a.n.s.
To James D. Reid, Esq. dtd New York
8 June 1871 lp l.s.
To Sallie dtd Washington [D.C.] 29 June 1872 4pp a.l.s.
To "Mr dear General" [C. C. Sniffen]
dtd Morristown
[NJ] 17 March 1873 2pp l.s.
To [James] Redpath
dtd Morristown
[NJ] 30 June 1873 lp l.s.
To Messrs. Goodsell
dtd Morristown
[NJ] 7 Aug. 1873 lp l.s.
To [George
William] Mr. Curtis dtd Morristown [NJ] 17 September 1873 2pp l.s.
To "Friend [James] Redpath" dtd Morristown [NJ] 24
November 1873 lp l.s.
To [George
William] Mr. Curtis dtd Morristown [NJ] 9 July 1874 2pp l.s.
To Mr. Gade
dtd Morristown,
NJ 8 April 1878 3pp written and
signed by Sallie Nast
Union League Club of New York to Th. Nast dtd
23 October 1880 lp
invitation to reception
for General Grant w/envelope and admittance
card made out to Mr. Thomas Nast
To Mr. Allan Bourne dtd Morristown,
NJ 26 December 1882 lp l.s.
To Redpath
Lyceum Bureau dtd Morristown, NJ 27 January 1885 lp l.s.
To Mr. George
H. Hathaway dtd Morristown,
NJ 23 February 1885 3pp l.s.
To Mr. E. C. Bacon dtd n.p.,
20 Aug. 1888 2pp [card written by Sallie Nast, signed by Th.
Nast]
To Graphic Co. dtd Morristown,
NJ 24 Aug. 1888 2pp l.s.
To The Graphic Co. dtd n.p.,
10 September 1888 2pp l.s.
To Mr. M. M.
Minton dtd Morristown,
NJ 1 July 1891 4pp w/envelope l.s.
Charles Marseilles to Th.
Nast, Jr. dtd Exeter,
NH 2 December 1893 lp a.l.s. w/response on same
letter dtd New York 4 December 1893
a.n.s. Th. Nast, Jr.
To Rev. E. C. Arnold dtd Morristown,
NJ 3 February 1896 lp l.s.
To [George Edward
?] Pond dtd Morristown, NJ
12 May 1896 lp l.s.
Garret A. Hobart to Th.
Nast dtd Paterson,
NJ 25 June 1896 lp a.l.s.
To Frank E. Partington dtd Morristown, NJ 30 January 1897 3pp l.s.
To Frank E. Partington
dtd Morristown,
NJ 25 February 1897 lp l.s.
Jerome Uhl
to Th. Nast dtd 304 W. 56th St., NY 8 April 1898 2pp a.l.s. copy; original in
folder of Th. Nast Original sketches-misc
To [Rev. I.M. Hubbert?]
dtd n.p.,
29 November 1898 2pp incomplete; no signature
Alex. S. Twombly
to Th. Nast dtd 17 January 1901 3pp a.l.s. w/enclosure letter from
A. S. Twombly to Th. Nast n.d.
3pp
Correspondence/Mss.: May -
Dec 1902
For Consular
period - approx. 120 pcs. (in one folder)
Th. Nast Diaries:
Dtd
January 1 - June 1, 1860
Dtd
November 27, 1860 - January 20, 1861
Th. Nast Manuscripts:
"My journey to Europe" February 15, 1860 - March 19, 1860
"Caricature" by Th.
Nast l9pp [2pp] 2pp [1p] 3pp
"My life 'per day" l0pp
"A better class of
people" 6pp
Th. Nast - Misc: (1
folder)
Th. Nast - Miscellaneous:
Photographs (1 folder)
Mrs. Th. Nast: (1 folder)
Correspondence
to Mr. A. M. Moore dtd Morristown, NJ 17 January 1908 4pp a.l.s.
Articles in
hand of Sallie Nast. probably dictated
by Th. Nast:
"The Critic" 12
February 1887 2pp
"Living readers of to-day
may not be as familiar with the history of Boss Tweed and his theft
as I am. ..." 5pp
"The rise
and fall of the people's government. A government of the people, by the
people and for
the people did perish from the earth. ..."
15pp
Phrenological
analysis of Nast age 19:
Dtd 31
January 1860 llpp [Copy of phrenological
chart by Fowler & Wells, New York]
Th. Nast Letters - from the
Nast Collection at the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA:
[Transcriptions of letters to Sallie Nast]
Dtd
London March 9, 1860
Dtd
London March 18, 1860
Dtd
London April 20, 1860
Dtd
Genoa? [still in London?]
2 June 1860
Dtd
Palermo 22 June 1860
Dtd
Palermo 20 July 1860
Dtd
Naples 28 September 1860
Dtd
Naples 8 October 1860
Dtd
Naples 12 November 1860
Dtd n.p. 13 November 1860
Dtd n.p. 1863 pencil? "On board
the cars few minutes after 10 am"
Dtd
Philadelphia 1 July 1863
Dtd
Harrisburg 4 July 1863
Dtd
Harrisburg 5 July 1863
Dtd
Shippensburg 7 July 1863
Dtd "On the road to Washington "(not Richmond)" January 1864?
Dtd [Washington] House of
Representatives n.d.
Dtd [Washington] Willard=s
Hotel n.d.
Dtd [Washington] Willard=s
Hotel n.d.
Dtd "The Front" n.d.
Dtd Washington 29 January
1872
Dtd Washington 2 February
1872
Dtd Washington 5 February
1872
Dtd Washington 6 February 1872
Dtd Washington 8 February
1872
Dtd New York 9 February 1872
(telegram from J. W. Harper, Jr. to Th. Nast)
Dtd Washington 10 February
1872
Dtd Washington 13 February
1872
Dtd Dover, NH
8 October [1873]
"Tommy on Top" by
Draper Hill:
17pp copy courtesy of author,
1976
Thomas Nast Original Sketches:
(Folders listed below by subject)
James G. Blaine
Foreign travel
Germany
Honeymoon at Niagara Falls
Indian, American
Individuals
Louis Napoleon
Misc.
Mrs. Gray/Bakers Union
Nast, of himself
Places
Politics
Religion
"Sketches by Th: Nast" xii pp
Boss Tweed
Watercolors
Copies of Th. Nast sketches:
(one folder)
Prints of Th. Nast sketches:
Undated (one folder)
Prints of Th. Nast sketches:
1872
"Well roared, Lion,"
and "Well shone, moon!"
"What I know about Horace
Greeley"
"What the Senatorial cabal
can not 'blow over"
"The Guardian angel of the
poor people's money"
"The 'liberal' conspirators
(who, you all know, are honorable men)"
"Here!" (New Hampshire heard
from)
"New fields of
operation"
"The clown in the judicial
ring"
"The sudden appearance of
the demon Garvey"
"When this cruel war is
over"
"The Presidential fever on
the Supreme bench"
"The Republic is not
ungrateful"
"The Cincinnati convention, in a Pickwickian sense"
"As usual, he put his foot
in it"
"We are on the home
stretch"
"Rise and explain"
"Who are the haters?"
"H.G. - 'Let us clasp hands
over the bloody chasm."
"None but the brave deserves
the fair"
"Save me from my tobacco
partner!"
"Home-stretched"
"Out,
damned spot! Out, I say"--Shakespeare
Prints of Th. Nast sketches:
1875
"Policy" A kick in the right direction
"Calling in frauds"
"Tammany down again--the
'Reform' trap smashed"
Prints of Th. Nast sketches:
1876
"News!"
"Let no whisky escape"
"Economical mania"
"In for it"
"A creature of circumstances"
"A threat in store for
European despots"
"An experiment worth
trying"
"The political
situation"
"The corruption period--the
latest foreign contribution laid at the door of the
White House"
"The investigating
grave-diggers"
"The foremost champion of
this spirit of reform"--H. Seymour
"The Democratic tiger gone
mad"
"Bottom facts"
"Ex-Atlas"
"Continue that I broached in
jest"--Shakespeare
"Tweed-le-dee and Tilden-dum"
"Awake from 'A midsummer
night's dream"
"Why we laugh"
"Reform is necessary' in
prison suits"
"Box and Cox"
"A box stew; or, an enviable
position"
"The ring breaker"
"Reform is necessary' in
voting the 'reform ticket"
"Any thing for a
change"
"Still hunt'-ing"
"The barrel campaign is a
failure"
"An 'aggressive' 'still
hunt"
"Between two fires"
"Willie, we have missed
you"
"The elephant walks
around" and "The 'still hunt' is nearly over"
"Adam's fall"
"The lion" and
"The lamb"
"The prospect in New York"
"Go South,
young man"
"Uncle Sam put in his
'bier"
"News to Tweed"
"A national game that is
played out"
"Virtue has its own--"
"No rest for the
wicked--sentenced to more hard labor"
Prints of Th. Nast sketches:
1877
"Cronin 'organized
himself"
"The Honorable David Dudley
Field"
"The statute of
limitation"
"The best of friends must
part"
"The way the thing looks
now" (xerox copy)
"A jewel among swine"
"Another such victory, and I
am undone"--Pyrrhus
"Civil service reform"
"H' all that's left"
"Extra session of Congress
soon"
"Our Army and Navy--as it
will be"
"The Marshall trying it on"
"Ergo" and "Hon.
B.F. Butler has the floor"
"Les deux
Presidents--Elysees" U.S. Grant to M. Mahon...
"Generalissimo"
"The fallen star"
Prints of Th. Nast sketches:
1878
"Waking up--1878"
"The street"
"About the size of it"
"The blessings we have we do
not make use of"
"A game of bluff"
"Always killing the goose
that lays the golden egg"
"Better late than never' and
'It is never too late to mend"
"America always puts her oar
in"
"Hurrah for the shoes"
Prints of Th. Nast sketches:
1879
"Hard times for John"
Prints of Th. Nast sketches:
1880
"Boom!!!
so near, and yet so far"
"The widow's wants"
"He will be Gulliver in the
hands of the Brobdingnagians"
"A financial mistake"
"Resumption--of what?--Con-
fusion
"
"A change is necessary'--'Who should withdraw?"
"A local question"
"What a pity"
"The republican pachyderm
alive and kicking"
Prints of Th. Nast sketches:
Photographs
"Willie, we have missed
you!"
"Of course he wants to vote
the democratic ticket!"
"The ignorant vote--honors
are easy"
"The national game that is
all played out"
Materials which are boxed
separately:
Nast family photograph album
Scrapbook (134pp)
Portraits and Designs by Thomas
Nast (19pp)
Autograph letters and documents
relating to testimonials to Thomas Nast April 1869 (Bound, 62pp)
Oversize Folder 1:
"The Daily Boar"
original pencil sketch
"The last spike of our
commercial union" June 1, 1886 (copy)
"Truth" original
watercolor
"The rioter Seymour"
Broadside
"That 'tidal wave' --'we are
on the home stretch" (copy)
"Is this a republican
form of government?" from Harpers Weekly September 2, 1876 (photograph)
"The off year" Cover of
Harpers Weekly, November 17, 1877
"Les deux
Presidents--Elysee" November 17, 1877
"After all" Harpers
Weekly, October 1, 1881
"A terrible blow
north" Harpers Weekly, November 11, 1876
"The army of the Potomac--Little Mac making his rounds" Harpers
Weekly, November 15, 1862
"The halt" Harpers
Weekly, October 1, 1864
"Chamberlain--'Will you come
down and fight, so that I can call in the troops to suppress
you?' Hampton--'No!' ... Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (copy)
"The hero
of our age--dead!" [U.S.
Grant] Harpers Weekly, Aug. 1, 1885
"The rebel guerrilla raid in
a western town" Harpers Weekly, September 27, 1862
"The pirates, under false
colors.--Can they capture the ship of state? [Harpers Weekly]
"Don't!" [Harpers
Weekly]
"Capitalist and mechanic;
or, Bonds and greenbacks" dtd December 21, 1874
"Hold the fort!" Dtd New York, September
18, 1876 For the Reunion
of Veterans at
Indianapolis
Oversize Folder 2:
"The white quadruped on
Uncle Sam's hands" Time, October 19, 1889
"Trickery in a high
position" Time, October 19, 1889
"Fixing things '--a proper
steering apparatus found" Harpers Weekly, March 25, 1876
"Antiques" Harpers
Weekly, May 19, 1877
"Graphic statue No.
51--Stock" Daily Graphic, October 8, 1875
"No more outbreaks"
Harpers Weekly, January 25, 1879
"Christmas
morning--the crusty old bachelor who is bound to have something in his
stocking."
Harpers Weekly Original ink sketch
Christmas drawings by Thomas Nast
The Toledo Blade Sunday Magazine, December 9, 1971
"British interests"
Harpers Weekly, July 14, 1877
"Withdrawal of the federal
bayonets from Alaska"
Harpers Weekly, April 21, 1877
"Young American roast beef for old England" Harpers Weekly, April
21, 1877
"Fire and water make
vapor" Harpers Weekly, February 3, 1877
"The 83
cents gentleman from Indiana--or,
the U.S. Senate's infliction." Harpers Weekly,
February 8, 1879
"Interest in the United States
debt" Harpers Weekly, February 8, 1879
"Our modern Ulysses on his
travels" Harpers Weekly, February 1, 1879
"Very social" Harpers
Weekly, February 1, 1879
"America for the red man"
Harpers Weekly, February 1, 1879
"The ass and the
charger" Harpers Weekly, January 25, 1879
"The lone
fisherman (from Mass.);
or, the bulldozed old man." Dtd January
18, 1879
"It struck (in blowing
over.)--Picking even the poor soldiers' bones to feather their nest.
Harpers Weekly, March 25, 1876
"The color line still
exists--in this case" Harpers Weekly, January 8, 1879
"As harmless as lager"
Harpers Weekly, January 18, 1879
"In for it" Harpers
Weekly, March 25, 1876
"The Secretary of the
Interior investigating the Indian Bureau" Harpers Weekly,
January 26, 1878
"The advanced age"
Harpers Weekly, May 19, 1877
"Thanksgiving
on the other side.--No. 1" Harpers Weekly, December 8, 1877
"Thanksgiving
on the other side.--No. 2" Harpers Weekly, December 8, 1877
"Life, liberty, and property
must be protected." Harpers Weekly, December 1, 1877
"Exhumed" Harpers
Weekly, December 1, 1877
"The newest arrival"
Harpers Weekly, January 12, 1878
"The establishment needs
constant advertising" Harpers Weekly, January 12, 1878
"Patience on a
monument" Supplement to the Cincinnati Gazette
"Functus
officio" Harpers Weekly, March 17, 1877
"The political lottery"
Harpers Weekly, November 11,1876
"Stand from under!"
Harpers Weekly, January 26, 1878