Published in 20 issues by the Cleveland Plain Dealer from June 30 through November 17, 1860, the Campaign Plain Dealer supported the presidential candidacy of Democrat Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and his vice-presidential running mate, Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia.  The newspaper also referred to itself as the Pictorial Plain Dealer, to emphasis its use of graphic material, although Campaign Plain Dealer remained its masthead title.  The editor-owner and associate editor of both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Campaign Plain Dealer were, respectively, Joseph William Gray and Charles Farrar Brown (who wrote as a humorist under the pen name Artemus Ward; he added an “e” at the end of his family name—Browne—around 1861).

Each issue had eight pages, slightly larger than those of the illustrated weeklies, Leslie’s and Harper’s, and was filled with a variety of news, cartoons, verse, electoral vote projections, and editorials.  The anti-Lincoln material is milder than the invective against Douglas’s rival claimant as the true representative of the “National Democracy,” John C. Breckinridge, and his prominent supporters, such as President James Buchanan (a longtime political foe of Douglas’s) and Jefferson Davis.

For an interesting glimpse at how the Campaign Plain Dealer handled Lincoln, see the cartoon “Five Era’s in ‘Old Abe’s’ Life Illustrated”; a letter from Charles Hanks, purportedly Lincoln’s cousin, concerning “The early Life of Abe Lincoln”; and a poem entitled “Lincoln’s Picture.”  The letter is allegedly a reply to one from Charles Hank’s brother, John, which originally appeared in the Decatur Chronicle, and is a front-page story in Lincoln’s campaign newspaper, The Rail Splitter, of July 28, 1860, the same date as this issue of Douglas’s campaign newspaper.

HarpWeek appreciates the courtesy of Lincoln College (Illinois) in making this rare and possibly unique set of Douglas campaign newspapers available.

 

 

 

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