For The Sharpest Social Satire From The Last 3 Centuries, Head To UCLA For Its New Political Cartoon Collection

A collection of 1 million political cartoons is headed to the UCLA Library, hailing from nearly 60 countries in 30 languages, and spanning more than 330 years.

The oldest cartoon dates back to 1690, the newest as recently as 2022. But no matter the age, each piece holds a lens to the political discourse specific to its time.

Hidden history

Political cartoons hold history in the details, said Christopher Gilman, digital curriculum program coordinator with the UCLA Library.

Chromolithograph of President Ulysses S. Grant sitting in a rocking chair smoking a cigar published in the British magazine Vanity Fair (1868-1928).

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Michael and Susan Kahn Political Cartoon Collection, UCLA Library Special Collections.

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“To understand references – like a bottle lying on the floor at the bottom of a cartoon – you need to dig in a little bit more and sleuth what these things might mean,” Gilman said.

He said cartoons take viewers down fascinating rabbit holes. By decoding the artwork, they learn the historical context around a cartoon.

“They’re very accessible, and on the other hand, they’re very layered and complex,” Gilman said.

Exposing public opinion

The $4.2 million collection was donated by Michael and Susan Kahn, who are no strangers to the university — or to the effects of a sharp piece of political satire.

The story goes like this: when Michael Kahn was a political science student at UCLA in the late 1960s, he became inspired by a 1884 political cartoon called "Phryne Before the Chicago Tribunal" that a professor had shown him.

"Phryne Before the Chicago Tribunal" was published in Puck Magazine on June 4, 1884.

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Courtesy of Michael and Susan Kahn.

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The cartoon was published as a two-page spread in Puck Magazine, and it's a parody of the painting “Phryne Before the Areopagus.”

The image depicts a mostly naked James Blaine, the Republican candidate of the presidential election in 1884, standing in his underwear in front of a large audience. A man to his left had pulled off Blaine’s robe, revealing tattoos of his various scandals.

Kahn’s professor said the cartoon contributed to Blaine losing the race five months later.

“That indelible mark of the tattoo stayed with him, as did the indignity of being exposed,” Gilman said.

As an audience looks on at Blaine, Gilman said these seemingly innocent bystanders reflect our current democracy.

“We as readers, viewers, and contributors to political discourse, we all play a role, even if we’re just looking,” Gilman said.

Cartoons as primary sources

These cartoons aren’t just records of what happened; they actively influenced public opinion and historical events.

Rollin Kirby's Tammany original pen and ink drawing on paper showing white paint to cover mistakes before publication and inscribed to Ralph Pulitzer. Kirby received the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning for this political cartoon satirizing New York’s infamous Tammany Hall long-time political machine.

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Michael and Susan Kahn Political Cartoon Collection, UCLA Library Special Collections.

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“They are players in the political process,” Gilman said. “And because they were meant to be viewed, digested, and then discarded, they take us back to the immediacy of a moment.”

The collection will be available to students, researchers and instructors beginning the 2024–25 academic year at the UCLA library. Gilman said the goal is to digitize them for wider access.