A wolf from Wolfert’s Roost
Subject(s): Deception, Hill, David B. (David Bennett), 1843-1910, Parker, Alton B. (Alton Brooks), 1852-1926, Presidents--Election, Sheep, Wolves
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David Bennett Hill, as a wolf wearing a sheep skin labeled “Parker Boom,” stands on a bluff overlooking a herd of sheep labeled “Democratic Patronage.”
Comments and Context
Democrat David B. Hill had served as New York’s lieutenant governor, governor, and United States senator, but never as United States president, though not for want of trying, or ambition. He had a peripatetic career, supporting and opposing Grover Cleveland, supporting and opposing William Jennings Bryan, favoring both free silver and the gold standard. It was difficult to determine whether such malleable positions hurt his public support, or was his his attempt to gain support.
By 1904 he set aside his own presidential ambitions and supported his upstate New York neighbor, Appeals Court Judge Alton B. Parker, an obscure conservative Democrat, for the presidency. When Parker was nominated, Hill served as his campaign manager.
The visual pun in Keppler’s cartoon portraying Hill as a wolf in sheep’s clothing is that Hill operated from his estate, “Wolferts Roost” near Albany. In one of Puck‘s few negative comments on Parker — though slight — it suggests that he might be used by the voracious political animal, Hill.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-05-18
Creator(s)
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:
A wolf from Wolfert’s Roost. [May 18, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277819. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. A wolf from Wolfert’s Roost. [18 May. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277819.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1904, May 18]. A wolf from Wolfert’s Roost.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277819.
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 5, 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.
