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Many children gather around Santa Claus and his bag of toys.
In the 1903 Christmas issue of Puck, the center-spread surrendered its typical political theme to a social and seasonal celebration for readers.
An elderly woman labeled “Democracy” stands next to a trunk labeled “Old Issues” and with a tag that states “To the White House.” Standing at the curb are several cab drivers labeled “Parker, Olney, Johnson, Shepard, Gorman, [and] Watterson” hoping to pick up a fare, and two other drivers labeled “Cleveland” and “Bryan” sitting on their carriages. Cleveland does not appear interested, though Bryan, on his cab labeled “16 to 1,” holding up his hat, calls out above the others.
Political cartoons, when well designed, not only present issues and events clearly, but also convey subtexts, background information, and nuances that speak to readers of their time, and to subsequent students of history.
Senator George F. Hoar, as an old woman waving an umbrella, yells at Uncle Sam as he confidently walks away from her with a shovel on his shoulder and papers labeled “Canal Plans” under his arm. Two diminutive figures labeled “Colombia” and “Philippines” are standing next to Hoar.
George Frisbie Hoar, Republican Senator from Massachusetts, was an old-line part loyalist for years, but a maverick on the issue of expansionism. He was consistent on this issue, to the extent of speaking out against the Spanish-American War; a leading opponent of territorial expansion and acquisition of defeated Spanish possessions, he never actually joined the American Anti-Imperialist League. The organization, founded by Mark Twain and whose members included former president Grover Cleveland, made prominent arguments in public debates but was short-lived.
A well-dressed couple discuss the amount of money a jockey earned the previous racing season. The woman suggests that he should be able to earn more than the diminutive jockey. Caption: He — That jockey made $50,000 last season! / She — What! That little fellow! Why can’t you do something like that, John?
Puck surrendered its political prerogative on this issue’s front page in favor of what it thought was a good joke, perhaps an early and brunette version of today’s “dumb blonde” memes. Of interest might be the specific reason the couple is impressed by the jockey’s earning of $50,000 the previous year. In today’s value that is approximately one million dollars.
A haughty, well-dressed woman sits in the middle of a ballroom, holding a paper that states “Society hence-forth will strive to attract brains, not mere vulgar wealth. –A leader of Alleged Society.” Around her are animal acts, gambling tables, men eating on horseback, people with small animals, and a monkey, wearing clothing, squatting on the floor eating off china. Caption: Puck — Madam, you can attract neither brains nor decency to society with this miserable outfit.
The “400” was the term given to the cream of American society, unconsciously bestowed by Ward McAllister, the unofficial arbiter of social events in Manhattan and Newport in the 1880s, and coined because of the capacity at one ball’s location. For social aspirants it became a term of ambition; for a growing class of moralistic conservatives — for instance, Theodore Roosevelt, who considered the playgrounds of the rich to be vulgar — and to the socially conscious and the poor, the activities of the 400 was something to disdain.
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.
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.
An old woman labeled “Democratic Party” stands in the “Democratic Intelligence Bureau” managed by “J.K. Jones” who is sitting behind a desk. She is “looking for help” and taking a good look at several prospective candidates, from left: David B. Hill “No objection to dirty work,” William Jennings Bryan “Used to waiting,” Richard Olney “Old but regular,” Edward M. Shepard “Will do anything,” Alton B. Parker “Neat and quiet,” and Arthur P. Gorman “Willing and obliging.”
A common theme of the time among political cartoonists, even Democrat cartoonists, is the weak field of national candidates. In Pughe’s variation, this Puck cartoon pictures the old-maid Democrat lady looking for household help — a presidential candidate for the following year.
A fashionably dressed woman wearing goggles is taking a drive in an automobile. Through a series of vignettes her slim figure and dress attract considerable attention. However, when she removes her goggles, exposing some blemishes to her looks, the men react with horror.
This cartoon is more than a cartoon strip on the cliched idea of an ugly spinster being mistaken as a pretty maid by men she encounters. It is a window into some of the fads and fancies, manners and morals of a forgotten time. There are several distinctive elements that tell us that the turn of the Twentieth Century was a period of peaceful but profound changes in society.
A little girl takes all the colored eggs from the Easter Bunny’s basket. She is putting them in her apron, but some have fallen on the ground and are broken. A hen wearing a bonnet is in the background.
Puck‘s annual Springtime/Easter issue was graced with a poster-like design by L. M. Glackens. This was one its most attractive covers at a time when social themes, humorous drawings and jokes, and decorative holiday-inspired artwork insinuated themselves on covers. With the flat-color background and silhouetted figures, the drawing has a feel of Japonisme — then a reigning “look” in poster art in the United States, Europe, and of course Japan.
Outside a church, an old woman labeled “Democratic Party” stands between William Jennings Bryan as a friar labeled “16 to 1” and Arthur P. Gorman as the devil. She is smiling as she looks toward the devil. Caption: Mephisto Gorman — You’ve been fasting long enough with dull Friar William. Follow me. I’ll lead you to -.
One of the thematic preoccupations of cartoonists in these years was the end of Lent — signifying (in cartoons, if not in real life) shedding the bonds of holy circumspection. In the interior pages, black-and-white humorous cartoons dealt with society girls and eligible bachelors. Sometimes dealing with temptations. Cartoonist Pughe adds politics and current events to mix in this center-spread cartoon in Puck.
A man labeled “Persia” and a man labeled “Greece” drink a toast from a punch bowl labeled “Renewal of Diplomatic Relations.” Caption: A long time between drinks.
Puck‘s cover cartoon on the last day of 1902 observed the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the Qajar rulers of Persia (present-day Iran) and Greece. It was assumed that diplomatic problems had been overcome and ratified by exchange of ambassadors, but in fact the two peoples had amicable relations since the days of Alexander the Great, who conquered Persia but had great admiration for its culture and science.
An old woman labeled “Democratic Party” turns a wheelbarrow to dump politicians labeled “Bryan, Olney, Gorman, Hill, Shepard, [and] Johnson” into a sandpit labeled the “Democratic Dumping Ground” where only the feet of other, previously discarded, Democrats are visible.
What makes this cartoon particularly interesting to students of history is that the cartoonist Pughe was not criticizing Democrats from “across the aisle” or from an adversarial point of view. Puck Magazine was Democratic, and beseeched its own leaders, or moss-bound leaders of recent years, to clean house. Except for Grover Cleveland, there had been no Democratic president since before the Civil War. It is interesting that the cartoonist did not even label the politicians’ issues that failed to excite voters (free trade, bimetallism, anti-expansion), suggesting the leaders themselves had worn out their welcomes. Even Tom Johnson, reform mayor of Cleveland, is among the deplorables in Pughe’s cartoon.
Two young women, holding golf clubs, discuss one’s relationship with a male friend in the context of a round of golf, punning on the word “paresis.” Caption: Gladys — Is Ferdy suffering from paresis? / Ethel — Suffering? Dear me, no! Why, he thinks he’s a golf champion!
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1902-04-30
A prim elderly woman admonishes a tramp lying on the ground next to a dirt road on the outskirts of a rural community. Caption: Mrs. Stern — Why don’t you brace up and be a man and take the place in society to which you are entitled? / Languid Lannigan (yawning) — Aw! Ping-pong is sich a bore don’t yer know!
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1902-06-04
A woman lying in a hammock daydreams of engaging in various social and sport activities with handsome young men. She imagines herself shooting, sailing, dancing, sitting on a beach, golfing, playing ping-pong and badminton, and fencing.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1902-07-30
A young woman is accompanied by an elderly matron as they depart a summer resort for the return trip to the city for the winter social season. Included is a brief verse by Arthur H. Folwell describing the scene.
The poem by Puck‘s editor Arthur H. Folwell illustrates the contemporary theme, repeated in countless cartoons and humorous observations of the day, of the “Summer Girl” taking to summer resorts, not so much to exercise or relax, but to seek romance and husbands. Even as she leaves the resort, Ehrhart’s “summer girl” (his pretty girls were Puck‘s counterparts to Life Magazine’s Gibson Girls) reflexively reveals petticoats and an ankle, which was relatively daring in 1902.
A man labeled “Republican Party” picks up the clothing of a man labeled “Democratic Party” who is swimming in the “Democratic Issue Pond” which is labeled “Socialism, Bryanism, Populism, Free Silver, Anti-Expansion, [and] Jeffersonian Simplicity.” At the upper right is a scene twenty years earlier, in which a man labeled “Democrat” picks up the clothing of a “Republican” swimming in the “Republican Corruption Water.”
Puck refers to Puck for a history lesson, and it makes a perfectly valid observation based on a cartoon by the senior Joseph Keppler 20 years earlier. Political parties frequently evolve in their positions; it is rather less frequent that two established parties largely trade their beliefs, and in such a relatively short time. It is true that in President Cleveland’s time, the Democratic Party was in many ways the more conservative of the two. After Populism, Bryanism, and reactions to economic ills, the Democrats grew radical. Ironically, under Theodore Roosevelt and the insurgents in the nation’s cities and Progressives in Congress, the Republicans — or those in one wing — quickly absorbed or adapted many of the recent Democratic positions. Also somewhat notable about Pughe’s cartoon is that Puck recognized these shifting trends so early: oftentimes such evolution is clear in hindsight.
An actress and her manager sit in an office. Caption: The Star — I’ve had my diamonds stolen three times and been married four. Now, what else can I do? / Manager — You might take lessons in acting!
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1902-03-19
A young woman walks arm in arm with a rabbit carrying a basket of Easter eggs. A tonsured monk standing in the background is startled by what he sees.
Humor magazines of the day frequently published Easter issues or focused on seasonal themes which were seldom religious in nature. In this case, either a dreaded Lenten sacrifices, or the end of such strictures. Cartoonist L. M. Glackens was beginning his role as a major staff member on Puck at this time. After a decade drawing magazine cartoons, he entered the nascent animated-cartoon field. His brother William Glackens was a member of “The Eight,” or the “Ashcan School,” major Post-Impressionist and Naturalist schools of American art.
Several young women wearing their new Easter fashions stand outside a church. Included is a poem titled “The Easter Girls” by Madeline Bridges.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1902-03-26