Why do most old political cartoons have a dog in them?
I’ve found that most old (early 1800’s back) political cartoons have a small dog somewhere in them, often with no relavence to the actual cartoon. Why is that?
I’ve found that most old (early 1800’s back) political cartoons have a small dog somewhere in them, often with no relavence to the actual cartoon. Why is that?
Dogs were often used in political cartoons to represent politicians or parties. Although dogs are very smart in nature back in the day we didn’t know this. Calling someone or representing someone as a dog was often an insult, it was the same as saying a person is not intelligent.
Historically dogs represent loyalty and fidelity. However some artists used them as a contrast to show that the subject was not loyal or trustworthy. Also dogs can symbolize a guardian (think watch dog), something watching over to make sure everything is going right and to keep evil at bay. Perhaps if you think about the symbolism of the dog in the context of the cartoon it might make more sense.