Vanity Fair, Vol. 6, No. 149

Wood-engraved cover from the American comic weekly *Vanity Fair*, featuring a caricatured bust of actor Edwin Booth in profile, identified by caption as "Hamlet." The figure sports exaggerated long curls and theatrical dress; below runs a quoted line: "They are coming to the play." The masthead frames the portrait in ornamental lettering. Published by Ticknor & Fields of Boston, this New York–based satirical journal lampooned Union politics, personalities, and manners during the Civil War era. *Vanity Fair* (1859–1863) mixed political caricature with comic verse, serving as an ancestor to American humor magazines and the comic press.