James Akin

James Akin (c. 1773–1846) was an American political cartoonist and engraver from South Carolina. He worked in Philadelphia and Newburyport, Massachusetts. Associates included President William Henry Harrison and Jacob Perkins.[1] His works are held at the American Antiquarian Society, Library of Congress, U.S. National Portrait Gallery, and Winterthur Museum.[2][3]

1835 cartoon shows President Jackson challenging French King Louis Philippe, whose crown is falling off; Jackson is advised by king Neptune, and backed up by an American warship. On the left are French politicians, depicted as little frogs, complaining about the Americans.
For the state politician from Tennessee, see James H. Akin.
James Akin
Bornc.1773
South Carolina, U.S.
Died1846
OccupationCartoonist

Skillet incident

In the early 1800s, Akin worked as an engraver for Edmund March Blunt in Newburyport. "In late October 1804 the two men argued publicly, and in the course of the disagreement Blunt threw an iron skillet at Akin, hitting an unfortunate passerby. Akin, uninjured, retaliated with a deragotory print of Blunt entitled 'Infuriated Despondency' and a verse he called 'A Skillet Song.'"[4] The caricature was later featured in the Newburyport Herald in 1805 and in pottery throughout London and Liverpool in 2006, heaping scorn upon Blunt and his descendants. A few examples still exist.[5]

Images

Examples of Akin's work:

  • Illustration by Akin published in John Drayton's A View of South Carolina, 1802 (Winterthur Museum)
    Illustration by Akin published in John Drayton's A View of South Carolina, 1802 (Winterthur Museum)
  • Caricature of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, ca.1804, attributed to Akin (American Antiquarian Society)
    Caricature of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, ca.1804, attributed to Akin (American Antiquarian Society)
  • "Infuriated Despondency," 1805; satirical portrait of Edmund M. Blunt wielding footed skillet (Worcester Art Museum)
    "Infuriated Despondency," 1805; satirical portrait of Edmund M. Blunt wielding footed skillet (Worcester Art Museum)
  • "Caucus curs in full yell," 1824; critique of "the press's treatment of Andrew Jackson, and on the practice of nominating candidates by caucus during the presidential race of 1824" (Library of Congress)
    "Caucus curs in full yell," 1824; critique of "the press's treatment of Andrew Jackson, and on the practice of nominating candidates by caucus during the presidential race of 1824" (Library of Congress)[6]
  • 1830 caricature of American Christian Sabbatarians, whose "goal was to prevent the federal government from desecrating the Sabbath by requiring that the mails be transported and the post offices open to the public seven days a week" (American Antiquarian Society)
    1830 caricature of American Christian Sabbatarians, whose "goal was to prevent the federal government from desecrating the Sabbath by requiring that the mails be transported and the post offices open to the public seven days a week" (American Antiquarian Society)[7]

Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Akin.
  • Nina Fletcher Little. "The Cartoons of James Akin upon Liverpool Ware." Old-Time New England, (January 1938)
  • Lewis C. Rubenstein. "James Akin in Newburyport." Essex Institute Historical Collections (1966)
  • Allison Stagg (January 2010). "Object Lessons: "All in my eye!" James Akin and his Newburyport social caricatures". Common-Place.

References
  1. F.B. Sanborn (1898). "Thomas Leavitt and his Artist Friend James Akin". The Granite Monthly: A New Hampshire Magazine. Concord, N.H. 25.
  2. Maureen O'Brien Quimby. The Political Art of James Akin. Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 7 (1972), pp. 59–112 JSTOR 1180534
  3. Quimby, Maureen O'Brien (1972). "The Political Art of James Akin". Winterthur Portfolio. 7: 59–112. doi:10.1086/495805. ISSN 0084-0416. JSTOR 1180534. S2CID 154277762.
  4. Christina H. Nelson. Transfer-Printed Creamware and Pearlware for the American Market. Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Summer, 1980), pp. 93–115 JSTOR 1180534
  5. Stagg, Allison (January 2010). "All in my eye!". Common-place. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  6. Akin (1824). "Caucus curs in full yell, or a war whoop, to saddle on the people, a pappoose president / J[ames] Akin, Aquafortis". Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  7. Richard R. John. Taking Sabbatarianism Seriously: The Postal System, the Sabbath, and the Transformation of American Political Culture. Journal of the Early Republic, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Winter, 1990) JSTOR 3123626
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