The Lionized Asinus Vulgaris, from "Harper's Weekly"

Skip to main content
The Lionized Asinus Vulgaris, from "Harper's Weekly"
The Lionized Asinus Vulgaris, from "Harper's Weekly"
Artist/Maker (American, born Germany, 1840 - 1902)
Datepublished December 16, 1876
MediumWood engraving on newsprint
DimensionsComposition: 13 3/8 in. × 9 in. (34 × 22.9 cm) Sheet: 15 5/8 × 10 15/16 in. (39.7 × 27.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Professor Emeritus Jay Williams, Class of 1954
Object number2019.13.354
Not on view
DescriptionFigure standing on top of barrel labeled "US U Fruct" with dollar sign in middle and poster lower right reading "The artist / in / hair / splitting / Mr. / Potter". Figure has donkey head and lion mask and is holding a speech which he is reading from. Figure with bird head pulls at his tail as if he is talking to him. Signs above bird's head have messages about war, jail, and other political topics. Captioned "U.S. 'Don't bray--I mean roar--so loud, you will frighten those foreigners about to leave us. They can't appreciate your style of fun!'" typeset beneath title in black ink.

Additional Details

Provenance 2019: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art), by gift of Jay G. Williams.
Signature Signed "Th Nast" in block at lower left composition.
Inscribed Title typeset beneath image in black ink. Page number "1016," publisher, and publication date "December 16, 1876" typeset above image in black ink.
The ‘Funny’ Little Boy in Trouble, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published November 28, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.262
'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
Upon What Meat Doth this Our Caesar Feed that He Hath Grown so Great?, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published December 5, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.264
The Hobby in the Kinder-Garten, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published October 24, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.257
The Mysterious Influence of the New York ‘Herald!’, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published February 13, 1875
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.270
Photo by John Bentham.
Walter Williams
Date: 1966
Medium: Color woodcut
Object number: 1984.393
© Estate of Thornton Dial, Sr. / ZuZu Entertainment Capital. Photo by John Bentham.
Thornton Dial
Date: c. 1991
Medium: Watercolor
Object number: 2020.10.2
The Biggest Scare and Hoax Yet!--The Wild Animals Let Loose Again by the  Zoomorphism Press, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published February 6, 1875
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: S2019.2.103
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Date: c. 883-859 BCE
Medium: Gypsum with remnants of red pigment
Object number: 1868.5
© Jamea Richmond-Edwards. Image Courtesy of Art+Culture Projects, Brooklyn, NY. For educational…
Jamea Richmond-Edwards
Date: 2018
Medium: Pigment print with silkscreen diamond dust and gold foil
Object number: 2020.1
Any Thing but a ‘Pacific Mail’, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published March 6, 1875
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.274
To This We Should Return With the Least Practicable Delay, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published January 9, 1875
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.267