The modern horn of plenty
Subject(s): Cornucopias, Corruption, Food prices, Inflation (Finance), Locks (Hydraulic engineering), Scarcity, Storage facilities, Trusts, Industrial
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A large cornucopia labeled “Cold Storage Warehouse” stores a significant amount of farm produce, creating an artificial shortage, in an effort to drive up the price of food in the marketplace. A group of people stand outside the locked door labeled “Closed for Higher Prices,” while, in the background, farm produce is being delivered from both sides for cold storage.
Comments and Context
The downside of prosperity, such as was enjoyed during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency, was a byproduct of human nature: sometimes retail prices rose not because of higher demand or better production standards, but because retailers — often the “middlemen” — could manipulate prices.
A Congressional investigation of prices in the marketplace found that the retail prices of the top 30 “necessities of life” rose 19.3 per cent between 1900 and 1907.
One New York City wholesaler testified that he was aware that a dozen eggs marked at 35 cents downtown were prices at 75 cents uptown, in wealthier Manhattan neighborhoods.
In Pughe’s cartoon, the cornucopia’s end was rimmed in hams; and the hungry shoppers are neither middle class nor the wealthy who paid the higher prices, but an evidently starving lot.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1907-02-27
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:
The modern horn of plenty. [February 27, 1907]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285717. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909. The modern horn of plenty. [27 Feb. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285717.
APA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909., [1907, February 27]. The modern horn of plenty.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285717.
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. February 26, 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.
