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Thomas Nast, “Another Such Victory, and I am Done,” March 24, 1877, engraving.

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THOMAS NAST’S ‘PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS’ ON VIEW AT MACCULLOCH HALL w/1 cut

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MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Macculloch Hall Historical Museum presents more than 20 examples of presidential campaign images from the second half of the Nineteenth Century with the exhibit “The Presidential Politics of Thomas Nast,” on view through the entire election year and concluding with the inauguration in 2009.

Thomas Nast (1840–1902) was America’s leading political cartoonist in the Nineteenth Century. From the studio in his Morristown, N.J., home Nast created the symbols of the Democratic (donkey) and Republican (elephant) parties that continue more than a century later.

Nast, a staunch Republican, illustrated his views of the presidential campaigns for Harper’s Weekly. He supported the candidate he felt would best serve the country. The power of Nast’s pen was felt since each candidate that he supported went on to become the president of the United States.

During the presidential campaigns and elections of 1868 and 1872 Nast stayed true to the Republican Party and supported Ulysses S. Grant. This helped Grant, a personal friend of Nast, win both elections. The exhibit features images of Grant drawn by Nast, as well as a campaign banner for both Grant and one of his rivals, Horace Greeley, and a personal letter written by President Grant to Thomas Nast accepting an invitation to the artist’s Morristown mansion.

Nast continued to support the Republican Party in the election of 1876 and helped to elect Rutherford B. Hayes. This election against Samuel Tilden was a fierce battle with scandals surrounding each man of tampering with the votes. “Another Such Victory, and I am Done” was an image from the March 24, 1877, edition of Harper’s Weekly and depicts a battered elephant to show how tough the election was for Hayes, Nast and the entire Republican Party.

It was not until the election of 1884 that Nast temporarily broke with the Republican Party and supported the Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland. Nast felt Cleveland would best serve the country, so he helped him to win the office.

In conjunction with “The Presidential Politics of Thomas Nast” exhibit, the dining room at Macculloch Hall is set with the china from a variety of presidents. They include Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Franklin Pierce and Rutherford B. Hayes. There is also a crystal centerpiece from Theodore Roosevelt’s White House and a sterling silver wine coaster from James Madison’s presidency.

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum holds America’s larges collection of artwork by Thomas Nast. Museum founder W. Parsons Todd began the collection with purchases directly from the artist’s family. With recent acquisitions, the Nast collection at the museum numbers more than 2,000 images.

Macculloch hall is at 45 Macculloch Avenue. For information, 973-538-2404.