Skip to main content
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Better Send out for More Thermometers
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.

Better Send out for More Thermometers

Artifact ID1965.28.364
Artist (United States, 1905 - 1986)
Publisher (1922 - 1989)
Date ca. October 1965
Medium Ink and grease pencil on drawing paper
DimensionsOverall H 14 1/2 in x W 11 1/8 in (36.8 cm x 28.3 cm )

Physical Description
Physical DescriptionOriginal cartoon drawing. LBJ sits on a hospital bed with a mouthful of thermometers, handing out used thermometers to nurses. In the foreground, one doctor speaks to another doctor while he holds a thermometer. Caption reads: "Better Send out for More Thermometers". Artist signature lower left: "Reg Manning [drawing of a cactus]". Additional text at lower right: "McNaught Syndicate, Inc."
Inscriptions and MarkingsHandwritten at lower left: "Regards to President Johnson Reg [drawing of a cactus] 10-11-65". Handwritten across bottom: "3 col". Handwritten and stamped at lower center: "Oct 11 1965 Mailing".
Historical NoteOn October 8, 1965, President Johnson underwent gallbladder surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Presidents sometimes use multiple pens to sign one bill and then distribute them to the people standing nearby that helped get it passed. Because Lyndon Johnson signed so many laws as president, many pens were made so that he could give them to people afterwards. When Johnson decided not to run for president in 1968, a surplus of pens were already made in anticipation for his second term.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteThe item was a gift from the general public to President Johnson during his term in office. It was received by President Johnson, until the President donated it to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in 1973.
Credit LineGift of Lyndon Baines Johnson
Use Restriction StatusRestricted - Fully
Use Restriction NoteCopyright or other proprietary rights are held by individuals or entities other than the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum. The LBJ Presidential Library and Museum does not warrant that the use of materials will not infringe on the rights of third parties holding the rights to these works, or make any representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement, treaty, or protections that may apply. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy any copyright or other use restrictions. Pertinent regulations can be found at 36 C.F.R 1254.62.
Person Referenced Lyndon Baines Johnson (United States, 1908 - 1973)
Not on view