geekyBuilding on the work of Harper's Weekly cartoonist Thomas Nast, Puck Magazine was another successful humor magazine in the United States, published in the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. It contained colorful cartoons, caricatures and political satire, poking fun at the political figures and issues of the day, quite often at the president. Puck was published from 1871 until 1918.
Puck was a weekly magazine and was founded by Joseph Ferdinand Keppler in St. Louis. It began publishing English and German language editions in March 1871. Five years later, the German edition of Puck moved to New York City, where the first magazine was published on September 27, 1876. The English language edition soon followed on March 14, 1877. The English language magazine continued in operation for more than 40 years under several owners and editors, until it was bought by the William Randolph Hearst company in 1916. Puck lasted two more years after that. The last edition was published on September 5, 1918.
A typical 32-page issue contained a full-color political cartoon on the front cover and a color non-political cartoon or comic strip on the back cover. There was always a double-page color centerfold, usually on a political topic. There were numerous black-and-white cartoons used to illustrate humorous anecdotes. A page full of editorials contained comments on the issues of the day, and the last number of pages were devoted to advertisements.
The magazine took its named from the Shakespeare's character Puck, from A Midsummer Night's Dream. He was drawn as a charming boy and used as the title of the magazine. Puck was the first magazine to carry illustrated advertising and the first to successfully adopt full-color lithography printing for a weekly publication. The magazine consisted of 16 pages measuring 10 inches by 13.5 inches with front and back covers in color and a color double-page centerfold. The cover always quoted Puck saying, "What fools these mortals be!" Puck appeared on the magazine cover, as well as over the entrance to the Puck Building in New York's Nolita neighborhood, where the magazine was published.
In May 1893, Puck Press published A Selection of Cartoons from Puck by Joseph Keppler featuring 56 cartoons chosen by Keppler as his best work. That same year, Keppler published a smaller-format, 12-page version of Puck from the Chicago World's Fair grounds. Joseph Keppler died in February of 1894, and Henry Cuyler Bunner, editor of Puck since 1877 continued the magazine until his own death in 1896. Harry Leon Wilson replaced Bunner and remained editor until he resigned in 1902. Joseph Keppler, Jr. then became the editor.
Over the years, Puck employed many early cartoonists who were famous in their time. These included, Louis Dalrymple, Bernhard Gillam, Livingston Hopkins, Frederick Burr Opper, Louis Glackens, Albert Levering, Frank Nankivell, J. S. Pughe, Rose O'Neill, Charles Taylor, James Albert Wales and Eugene Zimmerman.
Puck frequently made Presidents the target of its satire. For example, an 1890 Puck cartoon depicts President Benjamin Harrison at his desk wearing his grandfather's hat which is too big for his head, suggesting that he is not fit for the presidency. Atop a bust of William Henry Harrison, a raven with the head of Secretary of State James G. Blaine stares down at the President, a reference to the famous Edgar Allan Poe poem "The Raven". At the time Blaine and Harrison disagreed over the recently proposed McKinley Tariff. Puck continued to attack Harrison in other cartoons. In one published after the election, Grover Cleveland is shown finding an empty treasury left by Harrison.
Puck became the nation's premier journal of graphic humor and political satire. It purported to be a non-partisan media outlet, more concerned with good government and constitutional ideals. Its prime targets were corrupt machine politicians, but like Thomas Nast, it also attacked the Catholic Church, especially Pope Leo XIII. New York's infamous Irish Tammany Hall was dominated by Irish Catholics and Puck believed that the Catholic Church, with Tammany's support, wanted to control the nation. The magazine regularly blasted Tammany and the papacy.
Later presidential targets of the magazine included William McKinley and his campaign manager Mark Hanna (who was seen as being beholden to corporate interests) and Theodore Roosevelt, who was attacked for being too powerful and not subservient to the constitution.
A collection of Puck cartoons dating from 1879 to 1903 is maintained by the Special Collections Research Center of The George Washington University.