SETTIN' ON A RAIL.
New York: H.R. Robinson, 1837. Folio lithograph broadside cartoon. 13-1/2" x 20." Chip at blank lower margin; lightly toned; blank left edge with shallow chipping. Very Good copy of a rare illustrated broadside.
"A satire, probably issued during August or September 1837, on the tug-of-war for influence on the President between Jacksonian Democrats and the 'soft money' or conservative elements of the party. Here the artist portrays Van Buren as indecisive and secretive about his treasury policy.
"Sitting on a rail fence, Van Buren is pulled to the left by former President Andrew Jackson, Senator Thomas Hart Benton, and other representatives of the hard money faction. One man holds up the June 1836 'Letter to Sherrod Williams' published during the presidential campaign as a statement of Van Buren's views on monetary matters, internal improvements, and other cogent issues. On the opposite side Van Buren is pulled by a man (possibly editor Thomas Allen) holding a copy of the Madisonian, a conservative Democratic newspaper initiated in August 1837, and four others. Jack Downing stands to the far right, watching and commenting, 'Well I swan, if the Old Gineral aint pullin' tu! Look out Matty or you'll commit yourself this time!. . ." [Reilly].
"Van Buren on fence, tugged at by men who make remarks about taxes, 'the base treachery of the Deposite Banks,' etc" [Weitenkampf].
Reilly 1837-12. Weitenkampf 146. OCLC 1136531160 [1- AAS] as of December 2024. Item #40553
Price: $1,750.00