[INTRODUCTION] IMAGE #1 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerbBlockAtWork.jpg (Embed: Courtesy photo) Alt tag: Cartoonist Herb Block (Photo by Robert Devaney c/o The Georgetowner) Herbert L. Block (1909-2001), known by the pen name Herblock, was a Washington-based political cartoonist who lampooned American presidents for nearly seven decades. His syndicated cartoons appeared in newspapers across the United States, and 40 of them can be seen in an exhibition (“Herblock’s Presidents: ‘Puncturing Pomposity’”) at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery through November 30, 2008. America.gov offers a tour of some famous Herblock cartoons of the 20th century. Photo by Robert Devaney c/o The Georgetowner IMAGE #2 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockFranklinRoosevelt.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: In this 1938 cartoon, President Franklin D. Roosevelt is mocked for attempting to pack the U.S. Supreme Court with partisan judges who would promote his agenda. The U.S. Capitol building, representing Congress, falls out of Roosevelt’s grasp, just as the real Congress defied Roosevelt’s power grab. You can’t have everything By Herblock Pencil on paper Published January 26, 1938, by the Newspaper Enterprise Association Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation IMAGE #3 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockHarryTruman.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: A 1952 Herblock sketch shows President Harry Truman trying to clean up the mess created by dishonest political appointees who abused their powers. Uncle Sam, a symbol of the United States, questions the effectiveness of Truman’s house-cleaning efforts, represented by a disconnected vacuum cleaner. When are you going to plug it in? By Herblock Pencil on paper Published January 30, 1952, by The Washington Post Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation IMAGE #4 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockJohnKennedy.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: In a 1962 cartoon, President Kennedy watches in dismay as his policy proposals sink under the weight of congressional obstruction. The U.S. Capitol building, where Congress meets, is shown as a space capsule floating in the sea, unable to rescue Kennedy’s proposals because its escape hatch won’t open. Isn’t there some way to blow the hatch on these things? By Herblock Pencil on paper Published February 27, 1962, by The Washington Post Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation IMAGE #5 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockLyndonJohnson.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: A 1966 Herblock image depicts President Johnson in the title role of The Music Man, a play about a crook who claims to be forming a children’s band but instead runs off with the townspeople’s money. Here, Johnson -- having pledged to help the poor -- leads the country astray with unfulfilled promises. Did the music man say when our instruments and uniforms are coming? By Herblock Pencil on paper Published April 29, 1966, by The Washington Post Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation IMAGE #6 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockRichardNixon1.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: In a 1970 Herblock cartoon, President Nixon gives Vice President Spiro Agnew a road map for defeating their Democratic opponents. Agnew, emerging from a sewer, clutches a list that reveals how he and Nixon plan to portray Democrats as dangerous radicals. Now, when you get to this city you turn right and come up at the auditorium By Herblock Pencil on paper Published October 11, 1970, by The Washington Post Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation IMAGE #7 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockRichardNixon2.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: A 1973 Herblock sketch shows a scandal-plagued President Nixon pursued by a giant bloodhound. The hound, an emblem of justice, remains on Nixon’s trail despite the president’s attempt to appease him by offering bones (representing top Nixon aides) and tapes of recorded conversations relating to the Watergate scandal. Look -- nice tapes, okay, boy? -- Okay? … By Herblock Pencil on paper Published October 24, 1973, by The Washington Post Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation IMAGE #8 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockGeraldFord.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: In 1976, it was President Ford’s turn to be pursued by Herblock’s bloodhound. This cartoon depicts Ford trying unsuccessfully to shake off the persistent hound, who serves justice by sniffing for clues about Ford’s possible role in blocking Watergate inquiries. You wanted to have it behind us, and that’s just where it is By Herblock Pencil on paper Published October 28, 1976, by The Washington Post Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation IMAGE #9 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockJimmyCarter.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: Employing imagery from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, a 1977 Herblock cartoon portrays President Carter as the vanishing Cheshire Cat. Here, Alice watches as Carter, perched in a tree, disappears -- along with his reform agenda. This time it vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin By Herblock Pencil on paper Published May 10, 1977, by The Washington Post Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation IMAGE #10 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockRonaldReagan.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: Alice in Wonderland imagery resurfaces in a 1984 Herblock cartoon suggesting that President Reagan held a distorted worldview. Reagan beams from a television screen, while Alice plunges through the screen to join him; the cartoonist felt that Reagan used his communication skills to persuade voters to embrace his upside-down vision. Through the looking glass By Herblock Published July 3, 1984, by The Washington Post Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation IMAGE #11 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockGeorgeHWBush.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: A 1988 Herblock cartoon mocks President George H. W. Bush’s attempts to pass himself off as a man of the people. Here, Bush unwittingly reveals his patrician background by entering a diner and inviting its working-class patrons to join him for some tea instead of a beer. Hi there -- I’m George Bush and I’m a regular fellow -- How about a splash of tea, men? By Herblock Pencil on paper Published August 2, 1988, by The Washington Post Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation IMAGE #12 -- G:\Press\CSV\Photos\HerblockBillClinton.tif (Embed: Courtesy photo) CAPTION: When this 1998 Herblock cartoon was published, President Clinton’s image was tarnished by revelations that he had engaged in an illicit relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On the verge of delivering his State of the Union Address, Clinton is shown wading through the mud of scandal and fighting off charges from hostile Republicans. State of the President By Herblock Pencil on paper Published January 22, 1998, by The Washington Post Herbert L. Block Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, © The Herb Block Foundation |
