The charmer
Subject(s): Belmont, Perry, 1850-1947, Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925, Conners, William James, 1857-1929, Folk, Joseph Wingate, 1869-1923, Gompers, Samuel, 1850-1924, Gray, George, 1840-1925, Guffey, James M. (James McClurg), 1839-1930, Hearst, William Randolph, 1863-1951, Johnson, John Albert, 1861-1909, Johnson, Tom Loftin, 1854-1911, Kern, John Worth, 1849-1917, McCarren, Patrick Henry, 1849-1909, Mitchell, John, 1870-1919, Murphy, Charles Francis, 1858-1924, Orpheus (Greek mythology), Parker, Alton B. (Alton Brooks), 1852-1926, Pulitzer, Joseph, 1847-1911, Ryan, Thomas Fortune, 1851-1928, Stone, William Joel, 1848-1918, Watterson, Henry, 1840-1921, Williams, John Sharp, 1854-1932
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William Jennings Bryan as Orpheus, singing and playing a lyre labeled “Harmony,” attracts a motley group of wild animals identified as: G. Gray, Kern, Folk, Gompers, McCarren, Mitchell, Hearst, Guffey, Watterson, Stone, Eliot, Williams, T. Johnson, Belmont, Sullivan, Pulitzer, Conners, Ryan, Parker, Murphy, and Johnson. One unidentified animal, similar to Williams, sits in a large tree, crawling through the branches above Bryan. Caption: Orpheus Bryan and the Democratic beasts.
Comments and Context
Orpheus was not in the underworld, but cartoonist Udo J. Keppler made the dismal swamp seem almost as pleasant in this loosely constructed allegory. The portly and unheroic-looking William Jennings Bryan had a heroic task, nonetheless, to tame the various and potentially deadly creatures.
The cast of unruly beasts pictured by Keppler is indeed a reminder of the composition of the Democratic Party of the day — not merely elements of the North and the South trying to reconcile ancient animosities.
A review of some of the figures warily listening to Bryan’s enchanting singing serves as a reminder of the task (and, often, failures) of Democratic leaders of the day: Wall Street moguls like August Belmont and Thomas Fortune Ryan, and labor leader Samuel Gompers; publishers William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, deadly rivals; reformer Mayor Tom Johnson and Tammany boss Charles Murphy; unreconstructed Southerner Henry Watterson and Harvard President Charles Eliot.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1908-08-05
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:
The charmer. [August 5, 1908]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o286850. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. The charmer. [5 Aug. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o286850.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1908, August 5]. The charmer.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o286850.
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.
