Washington, D.C., postcard publisher P.J. Plant was known for humorous montage images. Here, an armed sentry stands at attention at the gates of the snowy Capitol grounds. Congress hired its first watchman in 1801. As the Capitol developed, protecting the building and dealing with vandals and wayward cattle became priorities. In 1905, the year this postcard was created, souvenir-seekers broke parts of a statue of George Washington on the east lawn.
