Nice big apple for the elephant, but he doesn’t seem to want it
Subject(s): Apples, Republican elephant (Symbolic character), Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930
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President Roosevelt holds a large apple that looks like like Secretary of War William H. Taft to the mouth of the “G.O.P.” elephant.
Comments and Context
A very early Brooklyn Daily Eagle cartoon by Nelson Harding — who would remain with the paper for more than two decades, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial cartooning in 1927 and 1928, still the only cartoonist to win in consecutive years.
The cartoon foreshadowed Harding’s work throughout his career: a reliance on icons, symbols, and labels, and avoiding caricatures and figural work, which were deficiencies. In this mode he was similar to Daniel Fitzpatrick of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and was, also like Fitzpatrick, a superb conceptualist.
Secretary of War William H. Taft is portrayed, oddly, as an apple (except that Taft and apples generally were round) and despite the caption, the elephant seems happy about the fruit being offered by the diminutive Theodore Roosevelt. Nevertheless it was true that there was no groundswell of support for Taft, nor a large political base advancing his candidacy for the upcoming 1908 presidential nomination. In fact Taft himself evinced a passive measure of acceptance from his chief sponsor, President Roosevelt. The president’s endorsement, as well as Taft’s virtual lack of enemies, paved his path to the Republican nomination.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-01-27
Creator(s)
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:
Nice big apple for the elephant, but he doesn’t seem to want it. [January 27, 1908]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301692. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Harding, Nelson, -1944. Nice big apple for the elephant, but he doesn’t seem to want it. [27 Jan. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301692.
APA:
Harding, Nelson, -1944., [1908, January 27]. Nice big apple for the elephant, but he doesn’t seem to want it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301692.
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. February 26, 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.
