Salt River Ticket

The item pictured here is what is termed a “Salt Water” ticket, a type of satirical political card popular in the latter half of the 19th century. A trip up Salt River was a trip to oblivion, and opposition candidates were depicted as captains aboard such vessels. On this card Belva Lockwood is listed as a chambermaid on a ship guided by James Blaine, the 1884 Republican candidate for President who lost to Grover Cleveland. Despite the popularity of these cards, Lockwood always plays a secondary role, she is never the main object of the satire.