A few shots at the King’s English
Subject(s): Ammunition, Bouquets, Chaucer, Geoffrey, -1400, Encyclopedias and dictionaries, Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784, Revolvers, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
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President Roosevelt holds two revolvers and fires at a dictionary, which has a variety of holes in it. Beside him is “amunishon from A. Carnege Skidoo Castel” and a bouquet “from the Simplified Spelling Board.” Ghosts of Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, and Samuel Johnson come out of the dictionary. Caption: “What Mr. Roosevelt means is to scrap the English language. He is a patriot, not a pottering philologist.”—The London “Saturday Review.”
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1906-09-22
Creator(s)
Kemble, E. W. (Edward Windsor), 1861-1933
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Page Count
1
Production Method
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:
A few shots at the King’s English. [September 22, 1906]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301329. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Kemble, E. W. (Edward Windsor), 1861-1933. A few shots at the King’s English. [22 Sep. 1906]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 15, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301329.
APA:
Kemble, E. W. (Edward Windsor), 1861-1933., [1906, September 22]. A few shots at the King’s English.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301329.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 15, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
APA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
