Michael Kahn remembers the moment he fell in love with political cartoons.
The UCLA alumnus, who graduated in 1970, was studying in Washington D.C. and while visiting his professor’s apartment with his class, he saw something that struck a chord.
“He had on his wall a number of political cartoons,” Kahn said, who now owns one of the world’s largest collections of political cartoons. “There was one that drove my attention … (and my professor) said, “˜This cartoon won the election of 1884.’ I thought this was such a neat idea,” he said.
The cartoon, called “Tattooed Man,” was created in 1884 and displayed one of the presidential candidates in that year’s election, Republican James G. Blaine, covered in tattoos that depicted various scandals he had been embroiled in.
“It branded that politician, Blaine, in the minds of readers,” said Jenny Robb, the associate curator of the Cartoon Research Library at Ohio State University.
“When they thought of him, they thought of all these scandals that he was accused of being involved in.”
Kahn said that the power this cartoon possessed inspired him to start collecting similar images.
While still at UCLA, he became an avid reader of political cartoons especially because of the perspective they added to the often turbulent events of the late 1960s.
“My college years were rough, you spent time worrying about the draft,” Kahn said. “The news was grim and here the political cartoons were fun. It was a nice relief of stress.”
Before long, the alumnus, who now works as an attorney, had amassed a collection of more than 75,000 cartoons in books, volumes of magazines, and freestanding prints, most of which were created between 1860 and 1900.
He said that these images were created at the pinnacle of cartooning. “The reason I love (this period) is because I love the color, I love the art, and of course, I love the politics,” Kahn said. “This was the golden age of worldwide political cartoons.”
These cartoons were often controversial and vulgar because the level of free press was higher than it is today, he said, adding that they worked to shape public thought rather than voting habits.
“It wasn’t designed to influence voting per se, it was designed to influence political opinion,” Kahn said.
Political cartoons, especially during their heyday in the late 19th century, are designed as an extension of journalism, said Lucy Shelton Caswell, the curator of Ohio State University’s Cartoon Research Library.
“Political cartoons are a part of the democratic process to inform voters about issues,” Caswell said. “It is really one more way that the fourth estate engages in a dialogue about the political process.”
Robb said that the visual appeal of cartoons helps readers digest the material being depicted.
“When you see a page of text and then you see a beautiful picture, your eye will go to that first. It captures the reader’s imagination,” she said.
She added that cartoonists have more tools at their disposal than do writers, including humor, artwork and the ability to use of metaphors and references to pop culture.
Though current political cartoons are not his primary focus, Kahn said that he does hold numerous recent images and believes that the form still has the potential of influencing politics.
For example, Kahn pinpointed the controversial July 21 New Yorker cover depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as influential, adding that more popular references such as Saturday Night Live political spoofs serve a similar purpose.
“Tina Fey is a cartoon. She’s manifesting the truth,” he said.
As politicians continue to take actions in ways cartoonists can caricature, Kahn said that they will proceed to influence public opinion and that he will continue to collect the works that they create.