The campaign Santa Claus
Subject(s): Communication, Meyer, George von Lengerke, 1858-1918, Political campaigns, Postal service, Presidents--Election, Santa Claus, Santa Claus (Fictitious character)
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“Postmaster General” George von Lergeke Meyer, dressed as Santa Claus, stands beneath a sign that states “What is home without Statistics,” placing sheets of paper labeled “On Everything” in stockings hung before a fireplace. He carries a mail pouch stuffed with notices labeled “Mr. Taft on the Tariff, Mr. Bryan on the Tariff, Mr. Taft on Publicity, Mr. Bryan on Publicity, Mr. Bryan’s Conception of the Presidency, Mr. Kern’s Conception of the Vice Presidency, [and] Mr. Sherman on Protection.”
Comments and Context
George von Lengerke Meyer was a college friend of Theodore Roosevelt (one year ahead of the future president, class of 1879), and was a Massachusetts businessman and politician. He was appointed to offices in government and the diplomatic corps by President William McKinley and by Roosevelt, finally serving as Postmaster General of the United States, 1907-1909.
A traditional role of the Postmaster general in those days, even after successive civil-service reforms, was as a political dispenser of jobs, from within the department’s upper levels to local post offices. The national party in power was able to hold and expand its influence thereby.
The predictable purport of cartoonist Frank A. Nankivell’s drawing would therefore have had Postmaster Santa dispensing offices during an election campaign. The point of the cartoon, however, was different. Meyer proved more political than most Postmasters General, as he actively spoke and wrote on behalf of Republican candidates and the presidential nominee William H. Taft.
Taft, in apparent gratitude, appointed Meyer to his cabinet — not the Post Office, but as Secretary of the Navy, where he would serve a full four years; one of the very few personnel holdovers from the Roosevelt Administration.
For all of his political activities, Meyer was a busy and able Postmaster General, addressing the establishment of a parcel post system, postal savings banks, and postage-stamp dispensing machines during his brief tenure.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1908-09-16
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:
The campaign Santa Claus. [September 16, 1908]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o288527. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959. The campaign Santa Claus. [16 Sep. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o288527.
APA:
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959., [1908, September 16]. The campaign Santa Claus.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o288527.
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.
