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Homer Davenport - Political Cartoon of Mark Hanna in his Dollar Sign Suit - C.1899 - Hamlet!

Owner: Rob Stolzer
Artist: Homer Davenport (All)

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Artwork Details

Title:	Homer Davenport - Political Cartoon of Mark Hanna in his Dollar Sign Suit - C.1899 - Hamlet!
Artist:	Homer Davenport (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Illustration
Views:	700
Likes on CAF:	0 1
Added to Site:	11/19/2021

Description

I�ve long wanted a nice representative political cartoon by Homer Davenport (1867-1912), but his work was pretty hit or miss. When Davenport was off, the artwork was awkward and clunky. When he was on, Davenport hit all the high notes with his pen work. I finally found a piece in which Davenport was on drawing-wise and content-wise.

Davenport was noted for two particular things: 1) he was among the first American breeders of Arabian horses, wrote books about the breed, and was one of the founders of the Arabian Horse Club of America; and 2) his biting political cartoons featuring Mark Hanna, the United States Senator from Ohio. Where Thomas Nast had Boss Tweed, Davenport had Mark Hanna, usually attired in an outfit decorated with a dollar sign pattern. Hanna was often referred to as "Dollar Mark" because of Davenport's cartoons.

Davenport worked for William Randolph Hearst at the San Francisco Examiner in the early 1890s. In 1895 Hearst moved Davenport to New York City, to be a part of the staff of the recently purchased New York Morning Journal, part of an assembly of great newspaper talent soon to include Richard Outcault and his Yellow Kid.

Hearst�s paper was against the Republican Governor of Ohio, William McKinley, who was running for President in 1896, and Hearst sent Davenport to the Republican National Convention in St. Louis to cover McKinley and his political manager, Mark Hanna, a Cleveland industrialist who many thought was the puppet master behind McKinley. Davenport soon began a series of cartoons featuring Hanna, exaggerating his girth and caricaturing his facial features, often depicting him with money bags or skulls, which represented labor. Davenport�s cartoons appeared the New York Journal multiple days a week and were reprinted widely. Hanna certainly was aware of being at the sharp end of Davenport�s pen, noting to friends how much some of the cartoons hurt. But Davenport�s work didn�t stop McKinley from winning the election against William Jennings Bryant. Hanna later won the Senate race in 1898, much to Davenport�s delight. When asked why he was so happy about Hanna�s win, he responded, "That insures me six more years at him, and he's a good subject."

This political cartoon likely dates from from mid-1899. Hanna was never considered a friend to labor, hence the imagery. In fact, a Raleigh, North Caroline newspaper editor said that Hanna was "�an industrial cannibal � a vindictive foe of organized labor. He has crushed union after union among the thousands of his own employees."

There are a couple of captions on the cartoon, none of which have been helpful in tracking down when the piece saw print. At the top the caption reads, �Hannalet, Prince of $Mark, in the Modern Graveyard Scene�. This of course is a direct reference to Shakespeare�s Hamlet. The caption on the bottom reads something like: �Which Should Hamlet Be Thin or Fat?� You can see Hanna in his coat of money signs, sword at his side, holding a skull of labor, with other skulls behind him in the shadows. You can see a picture of Sarah Bernhardt on the wall, which helps narrow down the date. Bernhardt debuted the part of Hamlet on May 20 1899, with her London debut on June 12 of the same year. Given that information, the cartoon has to be from after May 20, 1899, but is likely not far removed from that date, as political cartoonists liked to stay topical.

If anyone has information they can add about this piece, I would love to hear it.

If you'd care to check out a larger scan of the Davenport click here.

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About the Owner

	Rob Stolzer Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	September 2004
Last Login:	September 2025
Ebay Id:	robart
Website:	https://freeassociationfunnies.com/
Country:	UNITED STATES
On CAF:	Rob's Classifieds Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF Read More About RobStolzer

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