The Great Race Up Salt River

$4,000 · Offered by Biblio

New York: Published & Lith. by Willis & Probst, [1844]. Lithograph, 10.75" x 17.25" plus title and margins. A captivating and very rare satire of the presidential campaign of 1844, employing the popular metaphor of "Up Salt River" to denote political peril or defeat. Whig nominee Henry Clay and his running mate Theodore Frelinghuysen, in their boat Tariff, lead the other candidates in the race up Salt River. Lying just ahead on the left bank is a cabin with a sign reading "North Bend" and on the right bank the White House, representing victory. Clay cheerfully exclaims "How beautifully the Tariff goes I knew she'd go like an Arrow as soon as she got in smooth water!" A supporter sitting on the riverbank cries out "Go it Harry You're No. 1!" Behind Clay and Frelinghuysen are the ultimate winners of the election, Democratic nominees James K. Polk and George M. Dallas in their boat Forlorn Hope (Polk was a dark horse candidate). Also on the river are John Tyler-the incumbent during the election-and his son Robert in their boat Annexation. Trailing in the boat Anti-Tariff are former Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, the latter a candidate earlier in 1844, who is shown falling in the bow of the boat and driving it under water, signifying his departure from the race. A farmer with a pitchfork standing on the shore remarks "That little Dutchman is in such a devilish hurry, that he's run Anti Tariff under." Clay and the Whigs ran on a platform emphasizing tariffs and in

• Publisher: New York: Published & Lith. by Willis & Probst, [1844]
• Binding: unknown

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