Signed Photograph of President Taft’s Cabinet

TAFT, WILLIAM HOWARD & HIS CABINET. SP. 1p. Oblong 4to. (Image size roughly 9” x 12,” overall framed presentation 15¾” x 13”). Washington, D.C., [Between 1911 and 1913]. A black-and-white Harris & Ewing photograph of President Taft and all nine members of his cabinet, seated around a table in the White House Cabinet Room. Boldly signed in the lower margin of the image by:



WILLIAM H. TAFT (1857-1930, “Wm. H. Taft”), 27th president of the United States. In 1904, Taft left his position as governor-general of the Philippines to become Theodore Roosevelt’s Secretary of War. As such, he carried out and acted as a spokesman for Roosevelt’s military policies including the Second Occupation of Cuba in 1906 and construction of the Panama Canal. After serving two terms, President Roosevelt refused to seek another and, instead, pushed the Republicans to nominate Taft, who won the nomination at the 1908 Republican National Convention and was elected in November. However, Roosevelt felt that the efforts of his successor were not progressive enough and felt betrayed when Taft opposed TR’s previous anti-trust efforts. Taft served only a single term, and following his departure from Washington, he accepted an appointment at Yale Law School, becoming president of the American Bar Association. In 1921, he became the only U.S. president ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court;



Secretary of State PHILANDER C. KNOX (1853-1921, “Philander Knox”). In 1899 President McKinley offered his longtime friend, Philander C. Knox, the position of attorney general, but Knox, then engaged as a corporate lawyer in the formation of the Carnegie Steel Company, turned down the opportunity. However, on April 5, 1901, a few days after John W. Griggs’ resignation as McKinley’s second attorney general, Knox accepted the post and began his noteworthy career in public service. On September 6, 1901, Leon Czolgosz shot and killed President McKinley in Buffalo, New York, elevating the vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, to the presidency and making Knox the last of McKinley’s 15 cabinet appointees. It was during the Roosevelt administration, however, that Knox began his famous “trust busting” career by initiating litigation under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890). After finishing his tenure as attorney general Knox served first in the senate and then as President Taft’s secretary of state from 1909-1913, a position in which he actively promoted the support and protection of corporate America’s foreign investments, a policy that became known as “dollar diplomacy;”



Secretary of the Treasury FRANKLIN MCVEAGH (1837-1934, “Franklin MacVeagh”). A Chicago businessman and president of the National Bank of Chicago, Taft appointed him secretary of the Treasury in 1909. In that office, he promoted efficiency and economy within the Treasury Department;



Secretary of War HENRY L. STIMSON (1867-1950, “Henry L. Stimson”). The law partner of former Secretary of State and Secretary of War Elihu Root, Stimson joined Taft’s cabinet in 1911 and continued the work started by Root to reorganize the military. He later served as secretary of state under Herbert Hoover and, again, as secretary of war, under Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman;



Attorney General GEORGE W. WICKERSHAM (1858-1936, “Geo. W. Wickersham”) was an associate at Taft’s brother’s law firm. As Taft’s attorney general from 1909-1913, Wickersham pursued the president’s trust-busting agenda and held several positions in subsequent administrations including president of the Council on Foreign Relations under Franklin Roosevelt;



Postmaster General FRANK H. HITCHCOCK (1867-1935, “Frank H. Hitchcock”). Employed by the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce, and briefly president of the Republican National Committee, Hitchcock served as postmaster general from 1909-1913, during which time he established the country’s first airmail service and cracked down on mail fraud;



Secretary of the Navy GEORGE VON LENGERKE MEYER (1858-1918, “G. v. L. Meyer”). Meyer had served as ambassador to Italy under presidents McKinley and Roosevelt and ambassador to Russia as well as joining TR’s cabinet as postmaster general. He served as Taft’s secretary of the Navy during Taft’s entire term and oversaw aviation experiments. In 1916, Meyer threw his support behind Roosevelt’s bid to return to the White House and was a vocal member of the military preparedness movement after the outbreak of World War I;



Secretary of the Interior WALTER L. FISHER (1862-1935, “Walter L. Fisher”). A Chicago lawyer, Fisher fought local political corruption as president of the Municipal Voters League of Chicago and the National Conservation Association, which he founded. His efforts were noticed by Taft, a longtime friend, who appointed him to his cabinet in 1911;



Secretary of Agriculture JAMES WILSON (1835-1920, “James Wilson”). Born in Scotland, Wilson was re-elected to Congress (after having served two earlier terms) to represent Iowa’s 5th congressional district in a disputed 1882 election. President McKinley appointed him secretary of Agriculture in 1897, and he worked for the next three consecutive presidents, making him the longest-serving cabinet member in United States history. During his time in office, he oversaw the modernization of American farming and increased regulation and inspection of food, often seeking to limit the scope of the Food and Drug Act of 1906;



Secretary of Commerce and Labor CHARLES NAGEL (1849-1940, “Charles Nagel”). A St. Louis lawyer, Nagel was elected to represent Missouri in Congress in 1881. Active in Republican politics, Taft appointed him secretary of Commerce and Labor in 1909. After his term, the cabinet position was divided in two: secretary of commerce and secretary of labor. Nagel was a founder of the United States Chamber of Commerce;



Signed in the blank lower margin of the framed photograph. Elegantly matted but not examined out of the frame. Harris & Ewing’s blind-embossed stamp is partially visible in the lower right corner. In excellent condition. Ex-Sang Collection, sold in 1978. USpresident