Accession No. RARE.2023.0066: Purchased, 2023 October
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[identification of item], “Uncle Sam is Ready to Bury the Chief of the Barbarians” / “Uncle Sam E’ Pronto a Seppellire il Capo dei Barbari” Silk Cartoon, SPEC.RARE.MMS.0374, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Sabrina Gorse, 2024 January; Finding aid written by: Sabrina Gorse, 2024 January
Maturing as an artform during the eighteenth century, political cartoons are cartoons that are used to critique society; praise, criticize, or caricature public figures; and illustrate the artists’ opinions on contemporary social and political issues. During World War I, cartoonists cooperated with their ruling governments and censorship codes to produce political cartoons supporting propaganda efforts. Such political cartoons generally promoted nationalism, utilized such techniques as “hate” propaganda to ridicule or demonize “enemy” nations, and depicted symbolic figures and political and military leaders to personify their respective countries.
The Societa Libraria Italiana (later known as the Italian Book Company) was a publishing company that printed publications primarily in Italian in the United States of America. Its American offices were located in New York City during the early to mid-twentieth century.
“Uncle Sam is Ready to Bury the Chief of the Barbarians” / “Uncle Sam E’ Pronto a Seppellire il Capo dei Barbari” Silk Cartoon contains a political cartoon printed by the Societa Libraria Italiana on a silk square in circa 1918 representing the Allies’ victory over the Central Powers in World War I. Specifically, the political cartoon depicts state leaders carrying the body of Kaiser Wilhelm II on a stretcher towards an open, flaming grave in which a devil and Franz Joseph I of Austira stand. Uncle Sam (left) stands to the far side, wearing a hat labeled “Lusitania” and holding a shovel, while soldiers and female flag-bearers representing the Allies cheer in the background. Representatives of the Central Powers (right) follow the funeral procession and a woman representing German Democracy (bottom right) lies in the foreground, stabbed. Profiles of Napoleon, Lord Kitchener, George Washington, Woodrow Wilson, Abraham Lincoln, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and Vittorio Emanuele Orlando are drawn above the scene in the sky. Much of the text is in English, with the alternate title printed in Italian on the bottom.