Capitalists and financiers

John D. Rockefeller appears as Uriah Heep from the Dickens novel David Copperfield. Two logbooks on the floor at his feet are titled “Competitor Business” and “Rebate Schedules,” and hanging on the wall is a paper that states “The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth.” Caption: “Men, I want to tell you that systematic saving and self-denial, with a good deal of hard work, form the foundation for every large fortune. That has been my experience.”–John D. Rockefeller

comments and context

Comments and Context

Contemporary Americans, those who have not read Charles Dickens’s classic novel David Copperfield, might not be familiar with the name or character of Uriah Heep. Some people might know of the epithet, a harsh denigration of someone as “a” Uriah Heep. Almost certainly, everyone has encountered someone with the personality traits and deficiencies of Dickens’s memorable character.

Uncle Sam, wearing royal robes and a crown, sits on a throne. At his feet is a court jester labeled “Andy” sitting with his legs crossed and holding a short staff with two balls attached labeled “Bluff” and “Guff.” Nearby is a book titled “Skibo Joke Book.” Caption: Sometimes his prattle becomes a trifle wearing.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1912-12-18

A four-headed, eight-armed monster, formed out of the upper torsos of James J. Hill, Edward Henry Harriman, J. Pierpont Morgan, and George Jay Gould, juggles New York State and municipal services and federal influence in Congress, while stepping on a red liberty cap. Three diminutive figures stand in the left foreground: the center figure represents Theodore Roosevelt, the one on the left is labeled “You,” and the one on the right is labeled “Me.” Caption: Messrs. Hill, Harriman, Morgan and Gould, sole managers and proprietors.

comments and context

Comments and Context

Udo J. Keppler’s center-spread drawing in Puck is a rare example of the magazine presenting a political cartoon not on a specific issue or policy debate. As a generic observation of the “current situation,” it speaks to history as an iconic representation of the truth, and not merely a cartoonist’s truth.

A gunslinger labeled “Morgan” sits on the porch of the “Dead Mans Gulch Saloon,” shooting two handguns labeled “Control of Credit” and “Control of Bank Deposits” at the feet of three men labeled “Promoter, Business Man, [and] Banker,” causing them to jump. Visible through a narrow opening in the mountains (of Wall Street) is Trinity Church.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1912-03-20

Uncle Sam stands behind a group of legislators and businessmen who are bowing before a large hog labeled “Greed” with its front feet in a trough labeled “Wall Street.” Caption: Those who know the term but not its meaning may find enlightenment above.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1911-04-19

A diminutive Uncle Sam rows a sailboat and receives a helping hand from J. P. Morgan.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1911-04-26

A huge red flying creature labeled “Wickersham,” holding a fork with webbing in one hand and papers labeled “Trust, Dissolution, Sherman Law, [and] Disintegration” in the other, descends on fleeing crowds of men on a city street, possibly Wall Street.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1911-10-18

Baron Shibusawa is vacationing in the United States and Europe, but would also like to meet leading businessmen with the ultimate goal of establishing better relations between East and West.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-06-16

Durham White Stevens is helping organize the visit of Baron Shibusawa, a leading Japanese financier and capitalist, to the United States and wants to ensure that Shibusawa is able to meet with leading Americans in similar fields.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-06-16

Brayton C. Ives takes the Northern Pacific Board to task for their laudatory remarks about Henry Villard on acceptance of his resignation as chairman of the board. Ives details the financial decline of the companies under Villard’s control. Ives would become president of Northern Pacific later that year.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1893-08-03