Merry Christmas in Boston
Subject(s): Bombs, Candy, Christmas, Christmas trees, Cigars, Corruption, Fraud, Holidays, Hyde, James H. (James Hazen), 1876-1959, Insurance, Lawson, Thomas William, 1857-1925, McCall, John A. (John Augustine), 1849-1906, McCurdy, Richard A. (Richard Aldrich), 1835-1916, Poisons, Rockefeller, John D. (John Davison), 1839-1937, Rogers, Henry Huttleston, 1840-1909
Click on image to zoom in
Thomas William Lawson stands among Christmas gifts and a notice posted on the wall, which states “Christmas Greeting to Lawson Put all insurance proxies in your possession on the State House Steps by 11:15 to night or–!!!” Lawson is surrounded by such gifts as a box of “Dynamite Perfectos Smoke Up! [from] Addicks,” a box of “Poisoned Candy Merry Xmas from McCall,” a large box labeled “Infernal Machine Best wishes of Wall St.,” a large jug with a skull and crossbones labeled “Drink Hearty from PA McCurdy,” a smoking bomb labeled “To Tom from John D.” nestled among flowers “From Rogers,” and a sword “From Hyde.” In the background is a Christmas tree with an oil can and one ornament showing a face.
Comments and Context
Udo J. Keppler’s cartoon is a caricature of Thomas William Lawson, whose 14 magazine articles, collected in a sensationalist best-selling book, Frenzied Finance, marked him at the time and in subsequent history as a prototypical Muckraker on a par with Upton Sinclair (the meat industry), Ida M. Tarbell (Standard Oil), and Samuel Hopkins Adams (medicines). Lawson’s expose was of the mining business, specifically Amalgamated Copper and related companies.
Ironically, Lawson’s book was as much a tell-all retaliation against his former partners in Amalgamated as the confessions of a reformed corporate predator. That he was not wholly repentant about the misdeeds of trust magnates or their system mattered little to the public. An insider’s view was enough to attract attention.
The attention his writings attracted, and the accelerated demands for reforms, were enough for Lawson to gain the approbation of his fellow moguls. The most prominent of those dissenters are identified by the “greetings” tagged to their Christmas presents in the cartoon.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1905-12-20
Creator(s)
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:
Merry Christmas in Boston. [December 20, 1905]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278471. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. Merry Christmas in Boston. [20 Dec. 1905]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278471.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1905, December 20]. Merry Christmas in Boston.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278471.
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.
