THE OLD BULL DOG ON THE RIGHT TRACK

New York: Currier & Ives, 1864.. Lithograph, 12 1/2 x 17 3/4 inches. Light foxing and edge wear. Very good. An uncommon Currier & Ives lithograph about Grant's siege of Richmond at the end of the Civil War, satirizing the presidential ambitions and courage of George McClellan and highlighting the growing reputation and national standing of Ulysses S. Grant. Published in October 1864, just a few weeks before Lincoln and McClellan would face off in the 1864 election, it depicts Ulysses S. Grant in the form of a bulldog (one of the first of many caricatures of the future president) staring down the Weldon Rail Road tracks - the main supply route for the Confederates at Richmond. The tracks run into a doghouse with the word "Richmond" on it, where General Robert E. Lee, President Jefferson Davis, and General P.G.T. Beauregard cower with their tails tucked between their legs. Grant says, "I'm bound to take it," while Davis responds, "You ain't got this kennel yet old fellow!" A miniature McClellan is appealing to "Uncle Abraham" Lincoln to call "the old dog off now." Lincoln's reply signifies his support for Grant: "Why little Mac that's the same pack of curs, that chased you aboard of the Gunboat two years ago, they are pretty nearly used up now & I think its best to give the old bull dog full swing to go in and finish them!"

Currier & Ives' prints could sometimes be savagely critical of Lincoln, but they skewed more in his favor as the Civil War raged on (though they continued to play both sides now and again). A very nice copy of this scarce print from the tail end of the Civil War, reflecting and reinforcing the popular views of McClellan and Grant. PETERS, CURRIER & IVES 1665. CURRIER & IVES: CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ 4939. WILSON, LINCOLN IN CARICATURE, pp.294-95. Neely & Holzer, THE UNION IMAGE, pp.169, 175. REILLY, AMERICAN POLITICAL PRINTS, 1864-18.