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Rare political broadside featuring the first political cartoon in American history to visualize and satirize gerrymandering, one of the most enduring distortions of democratic representation.
Context
This sheet pairs two woodcut maps with satirical letterpress text mocking the 1812 Massachusetts Senate redistricting law signed by Governor Elbridge Gerry. The new voting districts, designed to benefit Gerry’s Democratic-Republican allies, included a notorious rearrangement of Essex County, whose grotesque contours prompted observers to compare the result to a fantastical beast. The term “Gerry-Mander” was born when a wag (possibly artist Gilbert Stuart) saw the original district map and declared it resembled a salamander infused with partisan malice. The cartoon appeared in the Boston Gazette in March 1812, and the visual trope quickly spread.
The left woodcut depicts the now-famous creature with wings, claws, and a serpent-like neck, labeling the towns it distorts (including Andover, Lynn, Salem, Marblehead, and others). To the right is a straightforward district map of Essex County showing the two senatorial districts under the new law. The surrounding text is divided into “Natural History” and “Political History.” The first, reprinted from the Gazette, invents a monstrous genealogy for the gerrymander; the second details the law’s consequences—particularly how the Democratic-Republicans expanded their Senate majority from 21–19 to 29–11 despite losing the popular vote.
Dating
The American Antiquarian Society tentatively dates this separate broadside printing to between 1813 and 1822, the latter date coinciding with renewed controversy around redistricting. The cartoon here is virtually identical to the original Gazette version, suggesting either reuse of the block or a careful recutting of it.
The satirical tone, typographic layout, and dual visual-and-verbal presentation make this a landmark artifact of political commentary and electoral history in the United States.
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![[ The Rarest Smith New England ] Zwantzigste Schifffahrt oder Gründliche und sattsame Beschreibung des Newen Engellands: Wie auch Auszführliche Erzehlung von Beschaffenheit der Landtschafft Virginia, und der Insel Barmuda, deren man diszhero schelchte unnd unvollkommene Wissenschafft gehbt / an ieszo aber durch dero Landt erfahrne Leuht / völliglich an Tag gegeben. [Twentieth Voyage or Thorough and Comprehensive Description of New England: As well as Detailed Account of the Nature of the Virginia Landscape, and the Island of Bermuda, of which there has hitherto been poor and incomplete knowledge / but now fully brought to light by experienced men of those lands.]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/104052.jpg)
