In the German jam closet
Subject(s): Cookery (Jam), Despotism, Divine right of kings, William II, German Emperor, 1859-1941
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William II, Emperor of Germany, is caught by Germania with his fingers in a jar of jam labeled “Buttinkeit Jam” that he has taken from a cupboard where other preserves are kept. On the shelves are jars of “Imperial Assumption Jelly, Meinself Und Gott Preserve, Divine Right Jam, [and] Absolutism Jelly.” Caption: Wilhelm–Ach, Mutter, I promise dot I von’t do id again! / Germania–Vell, rememper!! If you do, den I gifs you a goodt someding vot you von’t forget!
Comments and Context
The inspiration for L. M. Glackens’s cover cartoon in Puck was a crisis in the German Reichstag at the time.
The specific impetus was a letter written two years previously. It was a very undiplomatic letter to a London newspaper, criticizing alleged British indifference to friendly overtures by Kaiser Wilhelm II. In fact it was written by a bureaucrat favored by the kaiser, but bore the monarch’s name; the actual author was never revealed, and the note caused bitter and continuing resentment in England.
Finally in 1908 the Kaiser expressed his counter-displeasure, and generally was asserting the perquisites of the monarchy. However this was also a time when the Reichstag was asserting its own power, and seeking to diminish the role and imperious actions of the throne. There were a growing number of Socialists in the Reichstag; and the Catholic parties, the Christian Democrats, and the Social Democrats all rebuked the Kaiser. This is the context of Puck‘s cover cartoon.
During the debates on the Kaiser’s “arrogance” he left Germany on a hunting trip with an Austrian royal, further infuriating parliamentarians. This friction in German ruling circles continued until at outbreak of war in 1914, when the nation rallied behind the throne until 1918 when leftist elements asserted anti-monarchical views.
Puck began as a German-language publication, for years issued a German-language edit, and retained a large German-American readership, but most attentive readers in 1908 would have been aware of the German crisis between the Kaiser and the Reichstag.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1908-12-09
Creator(s)
Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
In the German jam closet. [December 9, 1908]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o289410. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933. In the German jam closet. [9 Dec. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o289410.
APA:
Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933., [1908, December 9]. In the German jam closet.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o289410.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
