Vanity Fair, Vol. 6, No. 136

Wood engraving cover from the American Vanity Fair, a New York weekly devoted to satirical commentary on Civil War politics and personalities. The image depicts Henry J. Raymond, editor of the New York Times, in caricatured flight, clutching newspapers while his coat tails stream behind him. The caption reads "Trying to go ahead with the Times." Published during the Union's military struggles in the war's second summer, this cover exemplifies the publication's sharp graphic humor targeting prominent newspapermen and public figures. Vanity Fair (1859–1863) pioneered the American tradition of illustrated political satire through wood-block prints and comic verse, establishing conventions later adopted by Puck and Judge.