Features a cartoon depicting Grant fishing at the end of a branch of the "Presidential Tree." Behind him, Greeley, standing on the "Cincinnati Ladder," chops at the branch with an axe.

Greeley: They make fun of me for what I know about farming, but I guess some folks will soon find out what I know about chopping.

Grant: How nice it is to sit here and enjoy the sea breeze, knowing that everything is safe behind me.

The title is a reference to Long Branch, New Jersey, a beach resort where Grant and his family vacationed during the summer months. Greeley, who resided on a small farm in Upstate when he wasn't overseeing the New York Tribune, was nominated by a faction of Republicans who refused to endorse Grant for a second term. Their conventions was held in Cincinnati.

Going back to the time of the Revolution, the main way political cartoons were disseminated was as large-format prints that could be posted in taverns, barber shops, and other establishments frequented by men. Only later, as the cost of engraving declined, did they find their way into newspapers, the format we are accustomed to today. While the practise was on the wane by the latter half of the 19th century, the prolific firm of Currier & Ives continued issuing them, though even their work after the Civil War is rare. We had never seen this terrific pro-Greeley cartoon before the present example surfaced last year. Remarkably clean, and retaining full margins, it is likely one of only a small handful still in existence.