Gillam, Bernhard "President Harrison and his Cabinet."

Bernhard Gillam. "President Harrison and his Cabinet." From Judge.

New York: Judge, ca. 1891. 11 x 17 7/8. Double folio. Chromolithograph. Very good condition.

Judge magazine was founded in 1881 by a group of artists, headed by James Albert Wales, who seceded from the staff of the popular comic weekly Puck.  The magazine cultivated bold satire and good drawing, in a sixteen-page quarto format with a chromolithographic cover and center spread.

After a strong start, the magazine found itself struggling to compete with its very similar rival Puck, but revived in the wake of the 1884 Blaine-Cleveland contest when the Republican party leadership recognized the power of comic journalism in a political campaign. With GOP aid, Judge boomed during the ‘80s and ‘90s, surpassing its rival publication in content and circulation. Puck finally expired in 1918, while Judge continued to thrive into the 1930’s and beyond. 

Members of the Cabinet from left to right: W.H.H. Miller, Attorney General; John W. Noble, Secretary Interior; William Windom, Secretary of Treasury; President Benjamin Harrison; John Wanamaker, Postmaster General; Jeremiah M. Rusk, Secretary Agriculture; James G. Blaine, Secretary of State; Redfield Proctor, Secretary War and Benjamin F. Tracy, Secretary Navy.