Nast, Thomas (1840-1902), was an American political cartoonist. He popularized the famous political symbols of the Democratic donkey, and originated the Republican elephant and the Tammany Tiger. His caricatures of the Tammany Tiger from 1869 to 1871 helped break up the notorious political organization headed by William “Boss” Tweed in New York City (see Tweed, William Marcy ).
Nast’s cartoons appeared in the popular magazine Harper’s Weekly from 1862 to 1886. He did his best work during the American Civil War (1861–1865), when his political cartoons influenced public opinion in favor of the North. In the presidential campaign of 1872, Nast’s barbed cartoons helped bring about the defeat of Horace Greeley (see Greeley, Horace ). Nast is also credited with creating the present-day image of Santa Claus in sketches that appeared in Harper’s Weekly in the 1860’s.
Nast was only an average draftsman. But he excelled at inventing concepts for cartoons and at arranging the elements of his designs. In most cases, Nast drew sketches that were given to other artists, who used the sketches to make engravings in blocks of wood. The engravings were used to print the cartoons.
Nast was born on Sept. 27, 1840, in Landau, Bavaria, and came with his family to the United States in 1846. He worked as a draftsman on Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper from 1855 to 1858 and sketched warfare during the early 1860’s in Italy for New York City, London, and Paris newspapers. Nast died on Dec. 7, 1902.
