The Evolution of a Democrat -- A Darwinian Tale

In 1888, Paquet & Co. published this single-issue political cartoon, a satirical "Darwinian" allegory tracking the supposed evolution of a Democratic voter. Written by Henry Liddell with art by G. Roberty, the comic uses the visual language of natural selection to lampoon a specific political archetype of the Gilded Age. It stands as a curious artifact of late-19th-century American partisan humor, blending pseudoscience and caricature in a format that predates the modern comic strip.