The cephalopod - terrestrial devil fish - a monster of centralization (?) (1873)

This is the earliest cartoon (1873) in my collection of the octopus as a metaphor for an industry. The presence of the cave, and the timing¹ would suggest an Victor Hugo influence. It also precedes the ‘burst’ of octopus cartoons in the1880s and is slightly earlier the “Serio-Comic War Map” of Europe (1877).

I think the caption reads: “The cephalopod, -or terrestrial devil fish-, a monster of centralization”. It was published on the 4th March 1873 by the New York Daily Graphic.

Between its humanoid teeth the octopus holds a piece of paper: “Congressional Honor”. The human mouth appears below a normal octopus orifice. Most of its limbs are trains, except for the lowest one which is very serpentine. The motive (Victor Hugo) of the cave makes an appearance. As does USA (Lady Liberty?). An unusually creepy image.

Other little details is the train (at least I think it is a train) is approaching in the background, following the power lines. Also, the birds are flying an orderly and serpentine line.

Image source: “Railroad Cartoons: The Image and the Locomotive”,http://sophia.smith.edu/~maldrich/introduction.html (Accessed: 21st May 2009) – Some interesting late 19th C & early 20th C railroad cartoons.

Footnotes

1. Six years after publication of “Toilers of the Sea” in English in New York

Corporate Greed (1882)

Cartoon published 27th June 1882 shows a large bulbous octopus sitting on top of a pile of crates and bales. The caption apparently reads: “Corporate greed octopus gobbles up freight for Great Railroad while unemployed handlers look on”¹. Octopus head reads: “Corporate Greed. All for ourselves, nothing for the public”. The tentacles have the names of railway companies on them.

Unfortunately image quality is too low to make out the artists signature or the name on the building behind the octopus.

Footnotes

1. Corbis http://tinyurl.com/cl8voh (Accessed 4th April 2009)

Well, Brother, will you let the beast have your vote, too? (Bowles, 1894)

Agricultural monopoly. Relates to the Alabama gubernatorial election in 1894. According to the image source (Alabama Department of Archives and History) this was run for Reuben Kolb who ran for the Populist Party. Kolb was defeated due to electoral fraud by the Democrats (Encyclopedia of Alabama, 2008).

Alabama Department of Archives and History. Image source:http://216.226.178.196/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/photo&CISOPTR=5285&CISOBOX=1&REC=8

More info: – Encyclopedia of Alabama (2008) Populism in Alabama (Accessed: 29th Mar 2009)

Octopus of ‘Monopoly’ by John Tenniel published in Punch, or the London Charivai, November 3rd,1888. The octopus of “Monopoly” attempts to upset the boat of oar-wielding ‘Commerce’ (wearing the winged hat of Hermes or Mercury?). The octopus’s limbs are: ’salt’, ‘iron’, ‘copper’, and ‘cotton’. The boat is called: “Free Competition” (A case of ‘bad’ versus ‘good’ capitalism?).

Image source: Fotosearch, http://www.fotosearch.com (Accessed: 16th March 2009)