McClellan Presidential Campaign Lantern, 1864

Late-nineteenth-century political parties rallied their supporters by holding torchlight parades. In the evening, marchers lit up the street carrying torches, lamps and lanterns. Inexpensive paper lanterns glowed with the image or name of the party's candidate or other patriotic imagery. In 1864, backers of General George McClellan used lanterns like this to call for the defeat of the "Old Joker," President Abraham Lincoln.