SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CARTOON BY CHARLES BRITON BASED ON THE DESIGNS FOR THE CARNIVAL COSTUMES «LOST LINKS» OF THE 1873 MARDI GRAS MASQUERADE IN NEW ORLEANS

turns to graphic material -a series of sketches of carnival costumes by the American artist of Swiss origin C. Briton.The sketches were caricatures, on the example of which the intention of criticism of the political state of New Orleans society, social problems of the population of the second half of the XIXth century was traced.The author examines the history itself, traditions and customs of its holding, the difference between the costumes of the masquerade of 1873 and a number of others held in New Orleans.The article emphasizes the problem of the multidimensionality of the semantic component of the caricature images created by the artist.