Swingin Round the Cirkle"; His Ideas of Men, Politics, and Things, as Set Forth in His Letters to the Public Press, During the Year 1866

Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1867. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. Nast, Thomas. Duodecimo size, 299 pp. The popular work of ironic fiction written by journalist and political commentator David Ross Locke (1833-1888). Locke's greatest influence was through his satirical writings as "Petroleum Vesuvius Nasby". The Nasby letters harshly ridiculed the plight of peoples in the Confederate states and the complicity of Northern politicians. Both Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant recognized Nasby as a significant source of support for their presidencies.

Thomas Nast (1840-1902) eventually heightened the work with his illustrations, and was also credited by Lincoln for inspiring people to support the war effort. His work marked an important shift in shift in political cartoons, which had before relied mainly on text rather than imagery. "Swinging Round the Cirkle" is made up of some of the most weighted of Nasby's moral statements, especially concerning the plight of African Americans. The letters were composed in response to a comment by Andrew Johnson on an "uninspired" tour of the country.

___DESCRIPTION: Original pebbled green cloth with blind-stamped panels to both boards and gilt decorations on backstrip, frontis and seven additional plates with captions; duodecimo size (7 5/8" by 5 1/8"), [1-4] 5-299 pp., first edition.

___CONDITION: A very good copy; covers clean other than a few minor spots on the back board, a strong text block with solid hinges, complete with all plates, the only prior owner marking being a very small plate to the front free endpaper; minor rubbing to edges and corners, foxing throughout though plates are still bright; overall a very good copy.

___CITATION: BAL 11820.

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