Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation

Collection

Content note: 1884 Puck cartoon against the financier Jay Gould and Blaine, with an antisemitic Shylock caricature. This object is shown as it was published. Why

Shylock's bad bargain

Shylock's bad bargain

Puck centerfold by Bernhard Gillam, 12 November 1884, eight days after the vote: financier Jay Gould as Shakespeare's Shylock, in a stereotyped caricature of a Jewish moneylender, runs from men labelled 'German Vote', 'Merchants', 'Independent', 'Banker', 'Irish Vote' and 'Labor', waving a 'Bond for one pound of Uncle Sam's flesh, signed by J. G. Blaine'. A bust of Cleveland on the Doge's Palace is captioned as elected by the Independents.

Date
November 12, 1884
Period
Pre-1914
Made by
Puck (Keppler & Schwarzmann, New York); artist Bernhard Gillam
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Cartoon
Issuer type
Media
Regime
Arthur Administration
Leader
Chester A. Arthur
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Demonize
Theme
Elections and party politics
Event
1884 US Election
Techniques
TransferName-callingBandwagon
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
Library of Congress, retrieved October 2, 2026
Rights
Public domain by age (published 1884); LOC rights advisory: No known restrictions on publication
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

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