The expected
Subject(s): Physicians, Presidents--Election, Registers of births, etc., Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930, Uncle Sam (Symbolic character)
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Puck, as the attending physician to the birth of Uncle Sam’s child, emerges from the birthing room. Caption: Uncle Sam — Well? / Dr. Puck — It’s a boy, and his name is Bill.
Comments and Context
There was a week to go before election day, and Puck cleverly dealt with the perennial (or quadrennial) intersection of the advance deadlines of weekly magazines and election-day returns. The father of cartoonist Udo J. Keppler, Puck‘s founder Joseph Keppler, drew complicated and clever compositions showing the figures representing parties shaking hands “over the bloody chasm”, hiding caricatures of several politicians within trees and jagged mountains; a Judge Magazine cartoonist once drew an elaborate election-day subject, leaving the face of the victor blank until the last minute, printing presses awaiting.
In 1908 Keppler finessed the matter by addressing the fact that there would indeed be a victor. He cast the mascot-character of Puck as the attending physician in the delivery room. And — Puckishly — apparently for the first time in the campaign, noted that the two major candidates each had the Christian name William.
Hence the political-cartoon weekly’s fearless prediction.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1908-10-28
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 expected. [October 28, 1908]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o289039. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. The expected. [28 Oct. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o289039.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1908, October 28]. The expected.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o289039.
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.
