Old Jack in the Last Agony and the Fox Caught in a Rat Trap.
date: label: Date made
content: 1837
name: label: depicted
content: Van Buren, Martin
label: depicted
content: Jackson, Andrew
label: maker
content: Clay, Edward Williams
label: maker
content: Robinson, Henry R.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This 1837 print is a commentary on the end of Andrew Jackson’s presidency, and depicts him as a dying donkey lying on the ground, stretched out under a copy of the pro-Jackson, Democratic paper, “The Globe.” Above him a priest is holding a crucifix and a candle and performing the Last Rites. Rather than God, the priest is speaking to Satan (seen in the top right corner), asking him to allow Jackson “to pass easily through purgatory,” and for “the continuance of thy favor for this poor fox.” The “poor fox” is Jackson’s successor, President Martin Van Buren, often referred to as the sly fox of Kinderhook. He is chained to Jackson’s foot as a symbol of Jacksonian-Democratic influence, and he is howling that he has been trapped because his tail is caught in a large animal trap (not a rat trap as suggested by the title). In the trap is a parcel labeled “Whig Bait,” suggesting that while the Whigs lost the election they were not going to let Van Buren get away with his politics. In the background the American flag is being flown upside down, symbolizing the Whig’s disapproval with Jackson and his leadership.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The lithographer of this print is Edward Williams Clay (1799-1857). Clay was a caricaturist, engraver, lithographer, and etcher, as well as a portrait painter. Before his career as an artist, Clay was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, but quickly left to pursue art in New York City. After losing his eyesight he retired from art and held minor office in Delaware before his death in December of 1857.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The publisher of this print is Henry R. Robinson (1827-1877). Robinson worked in New York, and had a store to sell his prints. In 1842, he was arrested for selling obscene pictures and books leading to the September 28, 1842 court case, People vs H. R. Robinson found in the District Attorney Indictment Papers, Municipal Archives. He was politically affiliated with the anti-Jackson Whig party which was made obvious by the wig silhouette used in 1838 as an advertising logo for his shop.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Communication, newspapers
label: Subject
content: Wild Animals
label: Subject
content: Lighting
label: Subject
content: Patriotism and Patriotic Symbols
label: Subject
content: Livestock
label: Subject
content: Political Caricatures
label: Subject
content: Chronology: 1830-1839
label: Subject
content: Donkeys
label: Subject
content: Hunting
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: Peters Political Prints
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content: Art
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content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.3405
label: catalog number
content: 60.3405
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: image: 10 5/8 in x 16 5/8 in; 26.9875 cm x 42.2275 cm