Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Political Banner or Bandanna for Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
1912
National Kerchief Company
USA: New York, New York City
Lithograph on cotton
overall: 19 x 20 in.; frame: 21 3/4 x 22 3/4 in.
Gift of Robert A. Frank
2001.067.34

Political campaign banner or bandanna for Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919); red ground with Rough Rider hat in center surrounded by initials "TR" and caricatures comprising border design; red, white and brown colors; wooden frame with glass. At bottom left: "The National Kerchief Co., New York, Chicago and San Francisco."

Despite his vow not to run for a third term in 1908, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) did run for president in 1912 on the Progressive Party ticket. The campaign textiles waved by his supporters show a number of well-known Roosevelt emblems: a stick, recalling his fondness for the proverb, "Walk softly and carry a big stick"; the elderly bear that he famously spared on a big game hunt; and his glasses, grin and cowboy hat. The 1912 field also included Democrat Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) and incumbent Republican president William H. Taft (1857-1930). Wilson won the race over Roosevelt, with Taft placing a distant third.