"A phenomenon of portraiture, showing how the chances of success affect the features of a presidential candidate in the eyes of his friends."

Commenting on the benefits of electoral victory, this December 1860 cartoon in the humor magazine <em>Frank Leslie’s Budget of Fun</em> by William Newman offered three different portraits of President-elect Abraham Lincoln, supposedly rendered before and after the election, that suggested how much popular perception of candidates was shaped by their success. The joke here was enhanced by general public awareness of Lincoln’s gangly frame and asymmetrical features.

Commenting on the benefits of electoral victory, this December 1860 cartoon in the humor magazine Frank Leslie’s Budget of Fun by William Newman offered three different portraits of President-elect Abraham Lincoln, supposedly rendered before and after the election, that suggested how much popular perception of candidates was shaped by their success. The joke here was enhanced by general public awareness of Lincoln’s gangly frame and asymmetrical features.

URL: http://maghis.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/1/37/F2.expansion.html

Creator: William Newman

Source: HarpWeek

Publisher: Frank Leslie's Budget of Fun

Date: December 18, 1860