He meant well
Subject(s): Dining rooms, Motion sickness, Ocean liners, Ocean travel, Ship captains
Click on image to zoom in
The captain of an ocean liner offers a toast to his passengers sitting around a large dining table on a ship that is rocking a bit too much for most passengers. Caption: The Captain — Ladies and gentlemen, I drink to your very good health!
Comments and Context
Cartoonist Ehrhart here makes a humorous, not political, comment on a contemporary trend, the increasing popularity of ocean cruises. Rising prosperity in the United States enabled this trend that joined rail travel and resort vacations among the upper classes. Steamship lines hurried their production of luxury liners — in England by the White Star and Cunard lines; in Germany by the North German-Lloyd line. In the United States, J. P. Morgan devoted resources to enter, and, of course, dominate, the transatlantic passenger and shipping fleets. After purchasing shipbuilding companies in Cleveland and Philadelphia but failing to secure federal subsidies, he bought into Great Britain’s White Star line, even hiring its executive Bruce Ismay. (In 1912, it was the White Star’s The Titanic that famously sank, and its chief, Ismay, who shamefully climbed aboard a lifeboat as many perished.)
Americans were similarly infected by the popularity of maritime opulence in the form of yacht races. At this time the traditional America’s Cup races attracted greater attention, and yachting was in fashion.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-05-11
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:
He meant well. [May 11, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277818. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937. He meant well. [11 May. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277818.
APA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937., [1904, May 11]. He meant well.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277818.
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. March 12, 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.
