Books and Manuscripts

Washington, D.C.: Underwood & Underwood, ca. 1923. Large gelatin silver print, signed by all nine Supreme Court Justices of the United States, including: Willis van Devanter, Joseph McKenna, Chief Justice William Howard Taft, Oliver Wendell Holmes, J.C. McReynolds, Pierce Butler, Louis Brandeis, George Sutherland, and Edward T. Sanford; signed in pencil in image by Washington, D.C.-based photography studio, Underwood & Underwood, bottom left. Some light oxidation along upper edges of image; some old tape mounting residue on verso. 18 x 21 1/8 in. (457 x 536 mm). In mat and in frame, 24 x 25 7/8 in. (610 x 657 mm).

The Supreme Court under Chief Justice William Howard Taft's leadership (1921-30) sat for this photograph at the Underwood & Underwood studio in Washington, D.C. (active 1880-1955) on the morning of April 10, 1923. Immediately following this session, the justices returned to court to hear oral arguments. Following the processing of the film, Underwood sent a slightly different image from the same session to The Baltimore Sun who published it the following day.

Following Taft's (1857-1930) term as the 27th President of the United States (1909-13), he lobbied for a position on the Supreme Court during the presidency of Warren G. Harding. Following Harding's victory in 1921, Taft was offered a position upon a vacancy, but only agreed under the stipulation that he would only serve as Chief Justice. Following then-Chief Justice Edward Douglass White's death in May 1921, Taft was nominated and confirmed as Chief Justice in July 1921. Upon his appointment, Taft was and is the only person to serve as both President and Chief Justice.