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A postcard with a scene from the 1907 children’s book, The Roosevelt Bears Celebrate the Fourth. The scene depicts a brown bear and a white bear both wearing American flag themed red and white striped pants and a blue shirt with white stars. Both bears are leaping in the air over popping firecrackers. A quote from the book along with the book title is printed below the image.
1907
This postcard is part of the “4th of July” series. A child in military uniform waves an American flag in one hand and holds a sword in the other. The scene is set on a river bank with city buildings in the background. Fireworks and a cannon are at the child’s feet. Below is an illustration of Theodore Roosevelt with the words “July 4th” and a red, white and blue bow. The reverse has a divided space for message and address and a space for a one-cent stamp.
1910
A Fourth of July postcard with a child lighting fireworks which are arranged to represent President Roosevelt’s facial features. On the lower right of the image is the phrase “D-lighted” which represents one of Roosevelt’s favored exclamations. The reverse of the postcard is divided for message and address.
1907
Commissioner Roosevelt acknowledges the letter, book, and paper sent by John Wallace Riddle. His summer reading is now set. Roosevelt will be making a flying visit out west in August and wishes Riddle could join the family for the Fourth of July.
1889-06-12
A future Fourth of July celebration is depicted where women have gained suffrage and equality. Young and old women ring a bell labeled “Equal Rights.” A notice on the bell tower states “Strike Out the Word Male.” Women emerge from underground and participate in a procession, marching under banners that state “United Order of Matinee Women” and “Higher Culture Division.” The procession passes two statues, one of a woman holding a rolling pin labeled “Erected to the Memory of the First Woman Who Wore Breeches” and the second of an eagle wearing a bonnet, labeled “The American Bird is a Hen Eagle and Lays Eggs. [?] Blake Sculp.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1894-07-04
Citizens loudly celebrate the fourth of July with rifles and firecrackers. Standing at center is an elderly woman wearing a banner that states, “Society for the Suppression of Unnecessary Noises.”
Puck‘s busy and humorous Fourth of July cover — properly in red, white, and blue — was a Bruegel-like birds-eye view of a town square in 1776. Every area of the drawing tells it own story, and the humor is in the excellent cartoon of L. M. Glackens making occasional references to contemporary life in America — announcement of a baseball game; a Prohibition-style crank as a busybody; a newsboy hawking an “Extra” edition of the daily paper.
A fireworks display forms a chariot or wagon labeled “McKinleyism” driven by “boss” Mark A. “Hanna.” Thomas Collier “Platt,” Matthew S. “Quay,” and Joseph H. “Manley” appear in the display as chained, submissive prisoners following Hanna. Caption: A Republican Fourth of July display of fireworks, now arousing the wonder and admiration of the entire people.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1896-07-08
A gleeful Uncle Sam sits with John Bull, who is a sailor representing England, and six figures representing “Spain,” “Italy” (Umberto I), “Austria” (Franz Joseph I), “France,” Germany (William II), and “Russia” (Nicholas II), watching a fireworks display that shows the outline of a huge American battleship that illuminates the ruins of the “Spanish Fleet.” The clouds of smoke show portraits of “Schley, Sampson, Hobson, [and] Dewey.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1898-07-06
A young boy and a large firecracker are locked into stocks labeled “Safe and Sane 4th” with many dogs and cats dancing around them.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1910-06-29
Print shows a fireworks display with Puck bowing on a stage in front of a “Fan Light” featuring the likenesses of William H. Vanderbilt, Russell Sage, Cyrus W. Field, and Jay Gould; on stage with Puck is a hand holding a smoldering torch which may represent Bartholdi’s hand and torch from the Statue of Liberty. On the left is a pagoda labeled “Puck Office” and on the right is a building labeled “Tammany Hall.” Among the fireworks are many faces of politicians and other prominent figures of the day, some labeled by type of firework, such as “Chicago Shower” – Arthur, Grant, Conkling, Logan and Cameron; “Tumbler” – Tilden; “Twister” – Schurz; “The Falling Tammany Star” – Kelly; “Bomb” – Davis; “Junk Whizzler” – Robeson; “Polar Rocket” – Bennett; “Buster” – Butler; and “Star Route Staggerer” – Dorsey. Others shown are James G. Blaine, Henry Ward Beecher, Elizabeth Tilton(?), Thomas De Witt Talmage, and Theodore Tilton.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1882-07-05
Theodore Roosevelt was “overjoyed and relieved” to hear of the birth of Corinne Douglas Robinson. He is currently hosting Lispenard Stewart and Doctor Taylor at his ranch. They are getting along well but are very sore from yesterday’s long ride. Roosevelt gave a Fourth of July speech in Dickinson to a “great crowd of cowboys and grangers.” He is reluctant to accept Mayor William Russell Grace’s offer and if he continues to make long stays in Dakota Territory he may entirely give up his eastern life.
1886-07-05
Theodore Roosevelt and his friends set off large numbers of fireworks over the Fourth of July and they all have some burns. Corinne Roosevelt had an asthma attack but has recovered. Roosevelt is now permitted to stay in the water as long as he likes but he was almost drowned the other day after being caught under water. He is studying English, French, German, and Latin.
1872-07-07
Uncle Sam and a Chinese man are connected by a large firecracker. Caption: Sam and John, “the Siamese twins” of the Fourth of July.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1913-07-02
A large hand labeled “Special Privilege” has its thumb poised to squash a typical Independence Day celebration. A large crowd is listening to a man making a speech from a platform where others are sitting and a man is waving an American flag. Fireworks are going off in the background.
Puck Magazine might almost have patented the design of cartoons as this, “Independence Day,” by Udo J. Keppler. He, and especially the weekly’s newest cartoonist, Art Young, drew several striking center-spread cartoons composed of two parts in one image frame, capturing a blatant contrast or contradiction in society.
William Jennings Bryan shoots off fireworks labeled “Nomination, Platform, Enthusiasm, Permanent Organization, Keynote, Issues, Nominating Speech, Second Speech, Vice Presidency, Resolutions, [and] Temporary Organization” while indicating that George Gray and John Albert Johnson should stand back for their safety, reminding them of “what happened to Alton” Parker in 1904, who is standing in the background with his arm in a sling. Caption: “Stand back, boys! You’re too young and inexperienced! Remember what happened to Alton!”
At first glance the Puck cover drawing for the Fourth of July appears to be standard patriotic theme, and because it coincides with 1908’s Democratic presidential nominating convention, the prominent role of William Jennings Bryan seems logical.
At a Fourth of July celebration, a man stands on a large podium reading the “Declaration of Independence” before a cheering crowd. He is sandwiched between two large figures wearing robes and crowns labeled “Predatory Wealth” and “Predatory Labor.”
A recurring theme in Puck Magazine through the years was the Scylla and Charybdis represented by Big Business and Big Labor — not merely their bigness (the view of some latter-day Jeffersonians) but the real and potential abuses flowing therefrom. Joseph Keppler, Senior, founder of Puck, and his son Udo J. Keppler, the artist of this cartoon, perhaps more than other cartoonists, maintained this critique through the years.
Exploding firecrackers labeled “Land Grafter, Congressman, Financier, Senator, Deliberate & Unqualified, Rail Road Pres., Undesirable Citizen, [and] Nature Faker” have been ignited using a “Teddy Punk” stick. Caption: Every day is Fourth of July with Theodore.
Many cartoonists through the years of Theodore Roosevelt’s life and presidency found inspiration in his many interests, multitude of activities, and ranger of accomplishments. As a true polymath, Roosevelt was a magnet for cartoonists who were amazed, as were average citizens, by the many aspects of their president.
A British soldier tries to dodge bullets during the American Revolutionary War.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1912-07-03
A young boy jumps with joy as a battleship is blown up. His father is reminding him that the explosive display is his gift for being a good boy. “Fourth of July number” is written in the lower-left corner. Caption: Multi-Millionaire — There, Reginald! Didn’t papa say if you were a good boy he’d blow up an old battleship for you? That battleship cost papa twenty thousand dollars!
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1911-06-28
Theodore Roosevelt writes to his sister Anna Roosevelt about his upcoming travel plans west. He asks Anna if her employee Bob and Alec Lambert would like to go with him. He also updates her on the status of the family. They had a pleasant Fourth of July. Their uncle James King Gracie is sad over the death of his wife. Their brother Elliott is to leave New York Saturday.
1893-07-05