Willie and his make-up
William Randolph Hearst wears the clothing of past presidents as he embarks on a campaign for the presidential election in 1908. He is wearing Washington’s shoes, Lincoln’s pants and whiskers, Jefferson’s coat and wig, and Jackson’s hat. Next to him are boxes and trunks labeled “Old Hickory’s Hat Box,” “Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution,” and “T. Jefferson.” Standing in the background is Hearst’s right-hand man, Arthur Brisbane — editorial writer for the Hearst newspaper chain, and editor of several of its newspapers. Caption: “We will succeed if we walk straightly along the path where Washington and Jefferson and Jackson and Lincoln have walked before us.”
Comments and Context
Williams Jennings Bryan had recently made official his intention to secure the Democrat presidential nomination in 1908, at a speech in Madison Square Garden. But newspaper publishing titan and New York congressman William Randolph Hearst kept his own ambitions warm.
