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 Blaine’s Scandal Sheet

 


 “Love’s Labor’s Lost”
  Cartoonist:  Bernhard Gillam
  Source:  Puck
  Date:   May 7, 1884, p. 160

Click to see a large version of this cartoon...

Click to see a large version of this cartoon

Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
James Blaine, the leading candidate (and eventual winner) of the Republican presidential nomination, appears tattooed with his record of scandals and controversial policies. His two most vocal advocates, Congressman William Walter Phelps of New Jersey (left) and New York Tribune editor Whitelaw Reid (right), work up a sweat in their attempt to sandpaper and scrub away the evidence before the Republican National Convention begins (behind the American flag/curtain, left). The poster above Reid's head alludes to Phelps's support of another controversial politician, Congressman Joseph Keifer of Ohio, former speaker of the house (1881-1883), who failed to gain renomination in 1884.
 

 

 

 
 

 

     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 

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