Snapshots of the Past

Before the Trojan horse is admitted the puzzled citizen will have to be shown a little more fully – Historic Reproduction

Before the Trojan horse is admitted the puzzled citizen will have to be shown a little more fully, 1909 Feb. 3 [publication date] — historic drawing
Before the Trojan horse is admitted the puzzled citizen will have to be shown a little more fully, 1909 Feb. 3 [publication date]. Historic drawing from the Horses collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

A window into the past: Before the Trojan horse is admitted the puzzled citizen will have to be shown a little more fully, preserved in this historic drawing. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

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Before the Trojan horse is admitted the puzzled citizen will have to be shown a little more fully

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Will Bradley's drawing casts Standard Oil as a Trojan horse wheeled up to Missouri's gate, a gift the puzzled citizen is urged to accept. It belongs to the fight over the state's 1905 suit, which sought to cancel the licenses of three Standard subsidiaries and bar them from doing business in Missouri. Published in February 1909, as the company's lawyers were filing a proposal to head off the motion, the cartoon treats that legal maneuver as something to be wary of. Bradley's India ink over pencil gives the scene a crisp, graphic finish.

Created / published1909 Feb. 3 [publication date]
Medium1 drawing : India ink over pencil, with scraping out on bristol board ; 43.2 x 35.3 cm. (sheet)
GenreDrawings American 1900-1910.Editorial cartoons American 1900-1910.Periodical illustrations American 1900-1910.
NotesNo copyright information found with item. Signed, lower left: Bradley. Bequest and gift; Caroline and Erwin Swann; 1977; (DLC/PP-1977:215.59) In March, 1905, the State of Missouri brought suit against John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil conglomerate for operating in violation of its anti-trust laws. A motion was introduced to cancel Standard's licenses, thereby prohibiting three of the company's subsidiaries (Waters-Pierce Oil Co., Standard Oil of Indiana, and Republic Oil Co.) from conducting business in the state. In an effort to thwart the motion, defending attorneys filed a proposal on February 2, 1909 (the day before publication of this cartoon) suggesting that Standard and Missouri form a corporation to administer the oil company's holdings. This unprecedented concept, put forth by a corporation known for its secrecy, aroused the suspicions of state officials and the press. Bradley
SubjectsStandard Oil Company--1900-1910. Industrial trusts--Missouri--1900-1910. Octopuses--1900-1910. Petroleum industry--Missouri--1900-1910. Trojan horses--1900-1910.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,266 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-156045

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