The pit and the pendulum
Subject(s): Consumers--U.S. states, Corruption, Cost and standard of living, Death, Pendulum, Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849, Reform movement, Tariff
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A man labeled “Consumer,” tied to a bed with cords labeled “Graft Tariff,” watches as a pendulum labeled “Cost of Living” with a sharp blade affixed to the bottom swings over his body, coming closer to cutting him in half. Caption: “The pit and the pendulum,” by Edgar Allan Poe, tells of a victim of the Spanish Inquisition doomed to watch a knife-like pendulum that swung nearer and nearer to his heart.
Comments and Context
The father of cartoonist Udo J. Keppler (Joseph Keppler, founder of Puck) borrowed from a memorable work of Edgar Allan Poe in 1889 — The Raven. In that famous cartoonist, a diminutive President Benjamin Harrison shrank at his desk in a darkened office as the ominous “raven,” his political rival James Gillespie Blaine, hovered overhead, uttering “Nevermore” about Harrison’s chances of renomination.
The younger Keppler visited Poe for darker imagery, more personal and threatening to readers. Reprising a recent thematic preoccupation, an average consumer was gravely threatened by the “graft tariffs” (imposition of duties for trust magnates’ fortunes and special interests).
Puck was dismissing partisan dust-ups, for the most part, in this period, except as they affected the tariff debates in Congress. Otherwise, apocalyptic cartoon such as this were becoming common fare.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1909-05-26
Creator(s)
Period
African Safari (March 1909-1910)
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:
The pit and the pendulum. [May 26, 1909]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o291379. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. The pit and the pendulum. [26 May. 1909]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o291379.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1909, May 26]. The pit and the pendulum.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o291379.
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 26, 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.
