Collage of historical images and cartoons of the American Civil War

Visual Culture of the American Civil WarA Special Feature of Picturing US History

"Master Abraham Lincoln gets a new toy."

Only a relative handful of cartoons were produced in the South during the Civil War. In September 1862, a Richmond publishing firm established the <em>Southern Illustrated News</em>, a weekly that aimed to create a pictorial record of the South at war. The Confederacy did not possess the necessary resources for publishing any pictorial paper comparable to the North's <em>Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper</em> or <em>Harper's Weekly</em>. That limitation extended to the cartoons published in the southern newsweekly&mdash;as well as to those appearing in the short-lived humor monthly <em>Southern Punch</em>, published in Richmond from 1863 to 1865. This February 1863 <em>Southern Illustrated News</em> cartoon commented on Lincoln&rsquo;s continual replacement of commanding generals. But most interesting was its caricature of a beardless Lincoln, suggesting that recent photographs and illustrations of the president, who grew a beard in late 1860, had not been widely circulated in the Confederacy.Only a relative handful of cartoons were produced in the South during the Civil War. In September 1862, a Richmond publishing firm established the Southern Illustrated News, a weekly that aimed to create a pictorial record of the South at war. The Confederacy did not possess the necessary resources for publishing any pictorial paper comparable to the North's Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper or Harper's Weekly. That limitation extended to the cartoons published in the southern newsweekly—as well as to those appearing in the short-lived humor monthly Southern Punch, published in Richmond from 1863 to 1865. This February 1863 Southern Illustrated News cartoon commented on Lincoln’s continual replacement of commanding generals. But most interesting was its caricature of a beardless Lincoln, suggesting that recent photographs and illustrations of the president, who grew a beard in late 1860, had not been widely circulated in the Confederacy.

URL: http://www.abrahamlincolncartoons.info/SubPages/CartoonLarge.php?UniqueID=300

Source: HarpWeek

Publisher: Southern Illustrated News

Date: February 28, 1863