Click on image to zoom in
A bloated William Jennings Bryan, with a paper extending from his pocket labeled “Membership Fat Man’s Club. W.J. Bryan,” rides a diminutive Democratic donkey, while an even larger William H. Taft rides a diminutive “G.O.P” elephant. Caption: A case for the S.P.C.A.
Comments and Context
At the end of his life, in 1925, William Jennings Bryan had enjoyed, or endured, periods of corpulence, probably inflicted by uncountable chicken dinners on the Chautauqua Circuit. That was his image as portrayed by Frederic March (as “Matthew Harrison Brady”) in the motion picture Inherit the Wind. In fact neither at the end of his life, nor in 1907 as in Frank A. Nankivell’s caricature on the cover of Puck, was Bryan ever as heavy as drawn.
The cartoonist’s point, rather, was to contrast and compare the likely 1908 presidential candidates. Were they to be burdens on their parties? The answer for William H. Taft was “probably not,” as he was probably the most popular candidate who was not Theodore Roosevelt.
Bryan, on the other hand, was a two-time loser as presidential aspirant; and his nostrums — still old Populist formulae of sixteen-to-one bimetal currency; anti-imperialism, among them — had expired dates on their labels, so to speak. Nankivell’s caricature of Bryan was so out of the ordinary that he had to include an awkward paper with an identification for readers who might miss the perennial candidate.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1907-05-22
Creator(s)
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959
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:
Exercising the mounts. [May 22, 1907]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285749. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959. Exercising the mounts. [22 May. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285749.
APA:
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959., [1907, May 22]. Exercising the mounts.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285749.
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 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.
