Quakers and Benjamin Franklin political cartoon, 1764
Permanent ID:
1478Call number:
Bc 612 Q24Language:
EnglishDate:
1764Image Description:
Political cartoon commenting on Benjamin Franklin's political standing during the election of the Members of Assembly, 1764. At left, Abel James, a prominent Quaker merchant, hands out tomahawks to Native Americans from a barrel labeled "I. P." (for Israel Pemberton). At right, Israel Pemberton, another Quaker prominent in Pennsylvania provincial government, embraces a bare-chested Native American woman, who steals his pocketwatch. In the middle of the scene, a group of four Quakers with sad faces, holding beer mugs and pipes, sit around a tavern table discussing the growth of "the Paxton spirit" in the frontier and the political influence of the Presbyterians. Joseph Fox (depicted as fox), a Quaker Assemblyman, stands to the left and remarks that if the Quakers' plan fails he "must turn Presbyterian again." In the middle-right foreground, a cheerful-looking Benjamin Franklin, holding a sack labeled "Pennsylvania money," remarks that he will be content as long as he wins the election. He is followed by a man holding a staff and wearing a tri-cornered hat who points at Franklin, announcing "This is where our Money goes."Different historians have attributed the artwork in this cartoon to various artists, including David James Dove, James Claypoole, and Henry Dawkins.
Format:
Engravings; Political cartoonsDimensions:
Width: 31.5 cm, Height: 18 cm (image)Publisher:
Collection:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania large graphics collectionRelated People or Organizations:
David James Dove (artist)Unknown Artist (artist)
Moloshok, Rachel (Transcribed by)
Moloshok, Rachel (Encoded by)
Historical Society of Pennsylvania (repository)
Fox, Joseph, 1710-1779 (depicted)
Pemberton, Israel, 1715-1779 (depicted)
James, Abel, -1790 (depicted)
Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790 (depicted)
Pringle, John, Sir, 1707-1782 (mentioned)