Homeward bound

President Roosevelt rides on a train that is full of items: “grizzly cub,” “petrified pumpkin from Dakota,” “redwood log from California,” and a barrel “from Colorado Springs.” The box of “ostrich eggs” falls off as they head “to Pittsburgh 10 miles.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

Cartoonist Walter R. Bradford, at this point in his career, was almost exclusively a humor cartoonist; even his political cartoons like “Homeward Bound” were sillier than they were partisan. At the time he also drew gag cartoons for Life magazine, and a Sunday comic page ridiculing revolutionaries, Fitzboomski the Anarchist. Ironically, Bradford would evolve into a cartoonist for radical causes in radical journals like Appeal To Reason and the International Syndicate of Baltimore.

The inspiration for this cartoon — a nonsense fantasy — was President Roosevelt’s return from long swing through the northern plains and the Pacific Northwest. He visited his beloved North Dakota, site of his two cattle ranches in the 1880s; gave speeches in Dickinson, Medora, and other cities; he explored lands he cherished and helped preserve, like the Yellowstone; and he delivered important policy addresses in Washington and Oregon.

Bradford addressed all those points of the agenda, and more, in his cartoon fantasy of the presidential train wending its way, with treasures, back to Washington.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-06-03

Creator(s)

Bradford, Walter R., 1872-1925

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)

Page Count

1

Production Method

Printed

Record Type

Image

Resource Type

Cartoon

Rights

These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.

Citation