The day after
Subject(s): Christmas, Gifts, Holidays, Returning goods
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A large crowd of people rush forward to the “Exchange Desk,” bearing Christmas gifts which they wish to exchange.
Comments and Context
“Many unhappy returns.” The subtext of L. M. Glackens’ post-Christmas cover cartoon in Puck is how America had changed in, say, one short decade. Ten years prior, America was trying to crawl out from a devastating depression punctuated by labor strikes and strife, and from a turbulent presidential election enlivened by fears of radicalism and a Populist movement.
By 1906, after a war and a presidential assassination, the United States found equilibrium, and enjoyed an unprecedented prosperity under President Roosevelt. It was a time of record immigration, but a simultaneous shift of urbanites to suburbs; and new industries generally absorbed the new workforce.
Glackens’ cartoon, therefore, would have been anachronistic a decade earlier. But a consumer culture had set in — even conspicuous consumption, middle-class style — and well-dressed shoppers filling stores with armloads of gifts resonated with many readers.
Ironically, two brothers were achieving public prominence at this moment, with very different thematic preoccupations. Louis, as in this cartoon, produced light-hearted drawings of the comfortable middle class. His brother William was one of the celebrated “Eight,” also called “Ashcan School” artists. Their paintings and drawings reflected Naturalism in literature and was akin to European Expressionism — focusing on the underside of life in the new century: urban poverty, underserved or orphaned gamins, outcasts. Fellow artists of Glackens included John Sloan, George Bellows, Walt Kuhn, and their leader Robert Henri. Their major breakthrough came as exhibitors in the famed Armory Show in New York City in 1913. It was a large-scale exhibition that introduced America to many Impressionists, Cubists, and Expressionists from Europe, and substantially was organized by American cartoonists who had turned to painting.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1906-12-26
Creator(s)
Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933
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:
The day after. [December 26, 1906]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o284169. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933. The day after. [26 Dec. 1906]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o284169.
APA:
Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933., [1906, December 26]. The day after.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o284169.
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.
