Belshazzarfeller’s feast
Subject(s): Aldrich, Nelson W. (Nelson Wilmarth), 1841-1915, Belshazzar, Capitalists and financiers, Dinners and dining, Frick, Henry Clay, 1849-1919, Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, Morton, Paul, 1857-1911, Politicians, Rockefeller, John D. (John Davison), 1839-1937, Rockefeller, William Avery, 1810-1906, Rogers, Henry Huttleston, 1840-1909
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John D. Rockefeller, as Belshazzar, sits on a throne above a group of capitalists and politicians enjoying a feast of such dishes as “Draw Back Bon-Bons, Fruits of Monopoly, [and] Rebate Plums.” The festivities are interrupted by a hand appearing from above holding “The Big Stick” and writing the words “Rate Legislation.” Caption: “And the King saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the King’s countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him.” [Daniel 5:5-6]
Comments and Context
Belshazzar’s Feast is the account in Daniel about a mysterious hand appearing as if from heaven, writing a moral warning on the wall during a feast of the Babylonian king and a thousand of his followers. The words on the wall were, in Hebrew, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin,” roughly interpreted as “God has numbered the days of your kingdom… You have been judged and found wanting;” and “Your kingdom will be divided.”
Many cartoonists have used this account as one upon which to make a political comment. The most prominent probably is Walt McDougall’s “Belshazzar’s Feast and the Money Kings,” on election eve in 1884 — on the front page of the New York World, depicting Republican candidate James G. Blaine feasting at Delmonico’s restaurant in New York with various monopolists. It is said the cartoon tipped a small portion of New York’s votes toward Grover Cleveland, enough for the Republican Party to lose the electoral vote, and thus the presidency.
In this centerspread cartoon, more elaborate than most Pughe drawings, the “pen” is not only labelled the Big Stick, but the hand is wearing a Rough Riders gauntlet. The guests, trust magnates all, had reason to scatter in fear, in the view of Puck, and history.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1905-05-31
Creator(s)
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
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:
Belshazzarfeller’s feast. [May 31, 1905]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278107. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909. Belshazzarfeller’s feast. [31 May. 1905]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 24, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278107.
APA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909., [1905, May 31]. Belshazzarfeller’s feast.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278107.
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 24, 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.
