I Had a Magnificant Chance and Threw it Away

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I Had a Magnificant Chance and Threw it Away
I Had a Magnificant Chance and Threw it Away
Artist/Maker (American, born Germany, 1840 - 1902)
Dateunknown
MediumWood engraving on paper
DimensionsComposition: 8 1/4 × 6 in. (21 × 15.2 cm) Sheet (Irregular): 12 × 9 1/2 in. (30.5 × 24.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of the artist's son
Object number1944.1.59
Not on view
DescriptionThis cartoon depicts Uncle Sam with his back turned to the viewer, carrying a long plank that reads "Republican Tariff Platform of 1884. The Republican party pledges itself to correct the inequalities of the tariff and to reduce the surplus." He stands before a "Stage Door" labeled "Republican Convention, Chicago - 1888." A jug hangs nearby that reads "Free in the arts. G.O.P." At the lower right is a hobo's bag tied to a stick that reads "Unnecessary taxation for the benefit of monoplists only." The caption below reads "It had a magnificent chance and threw it away. Uncle Sam: 'I thought I should find relief here, but I can at least rescue this from the wreck.'"
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Additional Details

Provenance 1943: Hamilton College, by gift of Mabel Nast Crawford and Cyril Nast;
? - 1943: Thomas Nast family (Mrs. Thomas Nast, Thomas Nast Jr., Mabel Nast Crawford, and Cyril Nast), presumably by gift or inheritance from the artist.
Signature Etched Recto Lower Right: "Th: Nast"
Inscribed None
Free Whiskey to Boot
Thomas Nast
Date: unknown
Medium: Wood engraving on paper
Object number: 1944.1.58
'The Indifference' of Uncle Sam, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published December 9, 1876
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.353
A Burden He Has to Shoulder, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published October 24, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.256
Photo by John Bentham.
Thomas Nast
Date: 1889
Medium: Lithograph
Object number: 1944.1.74
Peevish School-Boys, Worthless of Such Honor, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published June 6, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.242
Uncle Sam’s Thanksgiving Dinner, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published November 20, 1869
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.111
Thomas Nast
Date: published August 27, 1883
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 1944.1.15
Continue that I Broached in Jest, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published June 24, 1876
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.329
The ‘Readjusting’ Performances, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published April 16, 1881
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.554
Let Us Be Thankful, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published July 4, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.246
Saved (?) by the Skin of his---, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published November 24, 1877
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.391
Photo by John Bentham.
Thomas Nast
Date: published June 4, 1892
Medium: Lithograph
Object number: 1944.1.49