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Thomas Collier Platt, with his young bride, passes through the gates to the “Oldboys’ Hymeneal Paradise” where they are greeted by a “Reception Committee” of several old men labeled “Depew, Potter, Dewey, Flagler, [and] Woodford” and their young wives.
Comments and Context
Cartoonist Ehrhart was not merely commenting on the “May-December” nuptials of the elderly Senator Thomas Collier Platt, and surrounding him with fellow white-haired friends. In a scene where many gray-bearded men are romancing young women, the foreground figures are indeed men who betook younger brides.
Admiral George Dewey, for instance, not only married a widow much younger than he, precipitating a scandal — not so much for the difference in their ages, but her religion (Catholic) and the strange choice of Dewey to transfer his $50,000 house, a gift bought from public subscription, to his wife. New York Senator Chauncey Depew’s second wife was 35 and he almost twice her age. Episcopal Bishop Henry Potter recently married his second wife, who was “only” 15 years younger.
Senator Platt, the focus of this cartoon, was himself widowed in 1901, and when he married Lillian Janeway in 1903, the New York Times described her as being so young as to be routinely mistaken for his daughter. (They divorced in 1906.)
As a side-joke, Ehrhart drew the figure of Puck, in this geriatric garden of romance, with a white beard!
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1903-10-28
Creator(s)
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937
Period
U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
“Me too”. [October 28, 1903]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277631. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937. “Me too”. [28 Oct. 1903]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. August 3, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277631.
APA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937., [1903, October 28]. “Me too”.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277631.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. August 3, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
