Theodore Roosevelt

The real-life 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt first appeared as a subject of political caricature in the pages of Puck in 1884, when artist Bernhard Gillam depicted him during his early rise in American public life.

Few figures from American history have leapt off the political stage and onto the comic page quite like Theodore Roosevelt, whose illustrated life began all the way back in 1884 — deep in the Platinum Age — when artist Bernhard Gillam first rendered him in the pages of Puck. Over a remarkable 137-year span in print, Roosevelt became a recurring presence across publications like Judge, Life, and Successful Farming, accumulating more than 200 catalog appearances that speak to his enduring grip on the popular imagination. He keeps extraordinary company on these pages, sharing ink with the likes of Uncle Sam, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Ulysses S. Grant — a rogues' gallery of American iconography that tells you everything about the stature cartoonists and illustrators assigned him. With a key issue already to his name and a publishing history that stretches across generations, Roosevelt is a genuinely fascinating figure for collectors who love the intersection of history, satire, and the long, rich tradition of illustrated American commentary.