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An original 1859 Democratic municipal election ticket from Boston's Ward 6, printed for the December 12 election and featuring an impressive spread-winged American eagle holding a banner identifying the ward.
The ticket nominates Joseph M. Wightman for mayor, together with a complete slate of candidates for Boston's Board of Aldermen, Common Council, ward offices, school committee, and overseer of the poor.
Wightman challenged incumbent mayor Frederic W. Lincoln Jr. in 1859 but was defeated. He returned the following year to win the mayoralty, becoming Boston's first Democratic mayor.
Particularly interesting is the inclusion of Otis Clapp as the Ward 6 aldermanic candidate. Clapp, an established local politician and Republican, also appeared on the Democratic ticket, illustrating the overlapping political allegiances and municipal endorsements of the period. Clapp served as president of Boston's Board of Aldermen in 1860.
Before the introduction of government-printed ballots and the secret voting system, political parties produced and distributed their own election tickets. These printed sheets were carried to the polls and deposited as actual votes, making them surviving artifacts of nineteenth-century American electoral practice.
With its bold patriotic eagle, extensive candidate slate, and association with Boston politics immediately before the Civil War, this is an evocative example of early American campaign printing.
Details
Title: Democratic Ticket. Ward 6.
Date: 1859
Place: Boston, Massachusetts
Election: Municipal election, December 12, 1859
Party: Democratic
Mayoral Candidate: Joseph M. Wightman
Notable Aldermanic Candidate: Otis Clapp, Ward 6
Format: Original single-sheet printed election ticket
Illustration: Large spread-winged American eagle holding a banner marked "WARD 6"
Dimensions: Approximately 5½ × 9⅜ inches
Condition
Fair vintage condition. Substantial overall toning, scattered staining, discoloration, and handling wear. Irregular paper loss along the upper edge, including a prominent notch near the center, with a smaller loss along the lower edge. Multiple old tape repairs and adhesive remnants, particularly visible on the reverse, with corresponding areas of discoloration on the front. Some creasing and minor edge tears. Eagle illustration and printed candidate names remain clearly legible. Please examine photographs for condition details.
Subject: Boston History, Joseph M. Wightman, Democratic Party
Topic: Political Ephemera, Election Ballots, Massachusetts History, Pre-Civil War America, Nineteenth-Century Printing, Municipal Elections
