The foremost political cartoonist of his time, the late 19th century, Thomas Nast was the creator of three lasting symbols: the Republican elephant, the Democrat donkey, and Santa Claus, having done the illustrations for Clement Moore's, The Night Before Christmas. President Abraham Lincoln regarded Nast's recruitment posters and newspaper promos as one of the most effective recruitment devices of the Civil War.

Nast was born in Landau, Bavaria and emigrated with his family to America in 1846. At age 15, he began his illustration career as a draftsman at Leslie's Illustrated Magazine. Several years later he moved to the New York Illustrated News, and his first assignment was in England at the...