Puck, v. 54, no. 1395

Uncle Sam, with a bundle of papers labeled “Canal Plans,” pats a diminutive man, wearing a hat labeled “Panama,” on the shoulder. The man smiles broadly and is leaning on a large sword. Canal construction equipment is just offshore, in the background. Caption: Uncle Sam — Well! Well! You boys have at last had a revolution which will help the whole world.

Comments and Context

Sometimes in cartoons, as well as texts — and perhaps more so, literally — history can “read between the lines.” Joseph Keppler Junior’s cover cartoon in Puck appeared one week after the United States and the new Republic of Panama concluded a treaty that recognized the latter’s national independence.

Behind that fact and the composition of the drawing, Keppler assigns negative aspects to the new government: short and diminutive compared to his sword; cocky; and disreputable-looking. Hardly a dignified depiction of a new, important American ally, perhaps. But there was a general suspicion that the United States and greedy rebels (and intermediaries) conspired to recognize the independence of a district in Colombia that had attempted revolutions scores of times through decades.

The British Lion, the Russian Bear, a cat labeled Austria, and three dogs labeled “France, Italy, [and] Germany” gather around a table for Thanksgiving dinner. The British Lion is holding a large knife labeled “Dismemberment of Turkey,” but the platter is empty. Looking in from the left is a turkey wearing a fez labeled “Turkey.” Caption: Turkey — Ha! Ha! How disappointed they look! Now I have lots to be thankful for.

Comments and Context

In cartoonist Pughe’s drawing the only thing that the symbol of Turkey, the turkey in the doorway, can really be happy about is the frustration on the faces of those neighboring powers who were prepared to gobble it up. The once-mighty Ottoman Empire, reduced to the country of Turkey but slowly chipped away, province by province, people by people, tribe by tribe, for more than a century.

In 1813 the Serbs begun their revolts, ultimately a successful secession. In 1821, Greece declared independence, formalized in 1832. In 1830 Algeria had been ceded to France; in 1831 a war for independence commenced with Egypt. In 1853 the Crimean war began, formally against Russia but, famously, with British participation (“Charge of the Light Brigade”). In rapid succession, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, and Cyprus slip from control of the Ottoman Empire, scarcely an empire any more. In the days before the Great War, Turkey declared itself a nation (although not an independent Republic until 1923 under Ataturk), and quickly, as “the Sick man of Europe,” lost Libya in Africa, and Albania; and all of its lands in continental Europe except for the city of Constantinople, now Istanbul.

In a kitchen, a young woman prepares a pie while four young children watch. A dead turkey lies on a table and a large pumpkin stands on the floor.

Comments and Context

Increasingly during the first decade of the twentieth century, Puck devoted more issues to holidays and seasonal observances, as with this Thanksgiving-themed issue. And increasingly the magazine devoted more attention to decorative covers. Rose O’Neill, Frank Nankivell, and L. M. Glackens were most often assigned these covers and spreads; and memorable reflections of the spirit of the times, like this happy drawing, tenderly colored, resulted.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs