Face

The face of President Roosevelt appears with many arms extending from behind engaged in various activities, such as playing tennis, chopping wood, boxing, rowing, and signing papers making an “Appointment.” Caption: His annual rest at Oyster Bay.

comments and context

Comments and Context

For many years in Washington, D.C., it was not an option or mere tradition but an annual necessity for government workers to escape the District every year for an extended summer. The nation’s capital was basicall built on a swamp, in a zone that normally is high in humidity. Due to the humidity, and to temperatures routinely in the 90s and higher, the entire federal government frequently was “elsewhere” in summer months.

William H. Taft stands in a large room at the White House looking shocked. All the furnishings, from animal skin rugs to lamp shades, andirons to woodcarvings and the faces in paintings, wall trim and moldings to embroidered chairs, show the countenance of Theodore Roosevelt.

comments and context

Comments and Context

The Executive Mansion (first formally called the White House under President Roosevelt) underwent many expansions and renovations through the years, especially after invading British troops burned it during the War of 1812. Major alterations were ordered by Roosevelt shortly after he assumed the presidency. Modernizations included the trappings of Victorian furnishing and decoration of that era, especially ordered by Chester A. Arthur; and expansion was designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, as the West Wing.

Theodore Roosevelt holds a large bottle of champagne labeled “My Policies.” Roosevelt looks like he is about to christen a ship depicted as the face of William H. Taft.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1909-03-03

A winged female figure labeled “Peace” sits on one side of a mountain pass, and Mars, the Roman god of war, sits on the opposite side. A man wearing a crown and robe labeled “Czar” is walking down the path, carrying a large candle snuffer labeled “Peace Congress” that he hopes to use to extinguish a volcano labeled “War” that is erupting in the distance. He must pass through areas that are heavily armed with munitions and bearing the countenances of several foreign rulers.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1899-06-21

Illustration shows a beautiful young woman, bust portrait, facing front.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1915-01-09

Illustration shows a head-and-shoulders portrait of a beautiful young woman, facing front, in a red circle.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1914-12-19

A Christmas present box is filled with beautiful female faces.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1909-12-01

The head of a young man appears with a full head of hair (“The Better Half”). When inverted, the head of an old man with a large beard appears (“The Other Half”).

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1911-07-05