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Chicago Nominee: "I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest...Where be your gibes now?–Hamlet, Act IV [sic], Scene 1"

1864
Not on view
A contemporary of American cartoonist Thomas Nast, Justin H. Howard created this caricature of Union general George McClellan, the Democratic nominee in the 1864 presidential campaign, as Hamlet in the famous graveyard scene in act 5 of Shakespeare’s play. Instead of the skull of court jester Yorick, McClellan addresses the head of President Abraham Lincoln, his Republican opponent. Governor Horatio Seymour of New York is cast as Hamlet’s friend Horatio, and the grave digger is a famished Irish immigrant. In 1862 Lincoln removed General McClellan, who had been in command of the Union army, from active duty after he failed to achieve a decisive victory at Antietam—the bloodiest battle in American military history. The caption at the bottom of the image alludes to false newspaper reports that Lincoln had acted with inappropriate levity while touring the Civil War battlefield at Antietam.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Chicago Nominee: "I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest...Where be your gibes now?–Hamlet, Act IV [sic], Scene 1"
  • Artist: Justin H. Howard (American, active 1856–80)
  • Publisher: Probably published by Thomas W. Strong (New York)
  • Subject: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • Subject: Abraham Lincoln (American, Hardin County, Kentucky 1809–1865 Washington, D.C.)
  • Subject: General George B. McClellan (American, Phildadelphia, Pennsylvania 1826-1885 Orange, New Jersey)
  • Date: 1864
  • Medium: Wood engraving
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 12 x 16 5/8 in. (30.5 x 42.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Georgiana W. Sargent, in memory of John Osborne Sargent, 1924
  • Object Number: 24.63.201
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Little Mac, in His Great Two Horse Act, in the Presendential Canvass of 1864, Justin H. Howard American, Lithograph
Little Mac, in His Great Two Horse Act, in the Presendential Canvass of 1864
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Thomas W. Strong
1864
Weymouth Bay, David Lucas British, Mezzotint on chine collé; proof before published state
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Basle, part I, plate 5 from "Liber Studiorum", Joseph Mallord William Turner British, Etching and mezzotint; first state of six (Finberg)
Basle, part I, plate 5 from "Liber Studiorum"
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Lake of Thun, Swiss, part III, plate 15 from "Liber Studiorum", Joseph Mallord William Turner British, Etching, drypoint and mezzotint; first state of three
Lake of Thun, Swiss, part III, plate 15 from "Liber Studiorum"
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Charles Turner
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The Waterworks at Marli, and St. German en Laye seen in the distance (La Machine de Marli, avec une vue eloignée de St. German en Laye), Thomas Girtin British, Soft-ground etching and aquatint
The Waterworks at Marli, and St. German en Laye seen in the distance (La Machine de Marli, avec une vue eloignée de St. German en Laye)
Multiple artists/makers
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