The Heathen Chinee.
[n.d., c.1875.]
Chromolithograph. Sheet 370 x 240mm (14½ x 9½").
A version of 'The Smile that was childlike', one of the illustrations of 'The Heathen Chinee', a narrative poem by American writer Bret Harte satirising the racial prejudice against the Chinese in northern California, especially from the Irish labourers who saw them as a threat to their jobs. First published in September 1870 as 'Plain Language from Truthful James', the narrator tells the story of how he and Bill Nye invited 'Ah Sin' to join a gambling card game which the Chinaman claimed not to know. Although Nye is cheating Ah Sin wins: he is attacked and revealed as a better cheat. The game ending in a riot with bottles thrown and guns fired. However James's claim that Ah Sin had 24 packs of cards up his long sleeves show his claims were exaggerated. The poem was an instant hit and was republished in newspapers across the country. However the satire was too subtle for some people: Eugene Casserly, a senator from California, thanked Harte for supporting his anti-Chinese immigration campaign. Despite the poem making him one of the foremost American writers of the period, Hart (1836-1902) called the poem 'the worst poem I ever wrote, possibly the worst poem anyone ever wrote'.
Ricky Jay Collection.
[Ref: 65572] £180.00
Chromolithograph. Sheet 370 x 240mm (14½ x 9½").
A version of 'The Smile that was childlike', one of the illustrations of 'The Heathen Chinee', a narrative poem by American writer Bret Harte satirising the racial prejudice against the Chinese in northern California, especially from the Irish labourers who saw them as a threat to their jobs. First published in September 1870 as 'Plain Language from Truthful James', the narrator tells the story of how he and Bill Nye invited 'Ah Sin' to join a gambling card game which the Chinaman claimed not to know. Although Nye is cheating Ah Sin wins: he is attacked and revealed as a better cheat. The game ending in a riot with bottles thrown and guns fired. However James's claim that Ah Sin had 24 packs of cards up his long sleeves show his claims were exaggerated. The poem was an instant hit and was republished in newspapers across the country. However the satire was too subtle for some people: Eugene Casserly, a senator from California, thanked Harte for supporting his anti-Chinese immigration campaign. Despite the poem making him one of the foremost American writers of the period, Hart (1836-1902) called the poem 'the worst poem I ever wrote, possibly the worst poem anyone ever wrote'.
Ricky Jay Collection.
[Ref: 65572] £180.00