Keene, James R. (James Robert), 1838-1913

Thomas W. Lawson, as Orpheus, plays a lyre while sitting beneath a tree on a hillside in a pastoral setting. In the foreground are John D. Rockefeller, James R. Keene, J. Edward Addicks, and Henry H. Rogers as wild animals that have become entranced by the music. In the middle distance, a sheep lies on its back.

comments and context

Comments and Context

The mythical Greek god, repository of perhaps the most attributes and personality traits of any god, added facets and powers in various tales through the centuries. No manifestation was more unlikely than in the person of Thomas W. Lawson in this Puck cartoon by Joseph Keppler Junior.

J. Rhinelander Dillon encloses an article reprinted from the Galveston News. Dillon describes a conversation he had with Wall Street stock broker and “Radical Democrat” James R. Keene, who believes President Roosevelt will be re-elected by a large majority if Democrats continue the “Wall Street chatter” about him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-12

Print shows William H. Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Russell Sage and James R. Keene checking ticker tape connected to a large straight-edge razor labeled “Wade in & Butcher’em” and “This Indicator Rises & Falls with Stocks” with a bear and a bull and several money bags labeled “$” balanced on the back of the blade; below, draped over the handle are many investors reaching for bundles of “Pacific Mail, Western Union, [and] Erie” stocks, the blade is poised to drop. In the background another group of investors labeled “The Lambs Brigade” are headed into the “N.Y. Stock Exchange”.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1881-09-07