Editing Puck (magazine)

{{Short description|American humor magazine (1876–1918)}}
{{for|the 1990s publication|Puck (literary magazine)}}
{{not to be confused with|Punch (magazine)}}

{{Infobox magazine
| title = Puck
| image_file = Puck cover2.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_alt = border
| image_caption = Cover of ''Puck'' (April 6, 1901): [[Columbia (name)|Columbia]] wearing a warship bearing the words "World Power" as her "Easter bonnet" <!-- Ehrhart after sketch by Dalrymple -->
| total_circulation = 
| circulation_year = 
| frequency = Weekly
| language = German<br />English
| category = Humor
| company = 
| editor = [[Henry Cuyler Bunner]] (1877–1896)<br />[[Harry Leon Wilson]] (1896–1902)<br />[[Joseph Keppler Jr.]] (1902–onward)
| editor_title = Editor
| editor2 = 
| editor_title2 = 
| publisher = [[William Randolph Hearst]] (1916–1918)
| firstdate = German-language edition ({{start date and age|1876}})<br />English-language edition ({{start date and age|1877}})
| lastdate = {{end date and age|1918|09|05}}
| founder = [[Joseph Keppler]]
| country = United States
| based = [[St. Louis]], later New York City
| website = 
| issn = 
}}
[[File:070914puck2gpm.jpg|388x388px|[[Puck Building|The Puck Building]] in Manhattan, New York City|alt=The Puck Building|thumb]]

'''''Puck''''' was the first successful [[humor magazine]] in the United States of colorful [[cartoon]]s, [[caricature]]s and [[political satire]] of the issues of the day. It was founded in 1876 as a German-language publication by [[Joseph Keppler]], an Austrian immigrant cartoonist.<ref name=us-senate>{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/historical-images/political-cartoons-caricatures/puck-intro.htm|title=U.S. Senate: Puck|website=www.senate.gov|access-date=August 10, 2022}}</ref> ''Puck''<nowiki/>'s first English-language edition was published in 1877, covering issues like [[Tammany Hall|New York City's Tammany Hall]], presidential politics, and [[social issues]] of the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

"Puckish" means "childishly mischievous". This led [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] [[Puck (A Midsummer Night's Dream)|Puck]] character (from ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'') to be recast as a charming near-naked 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dueben|first=Alex|date=September 10, 2014|title=Puck Magazine and the Birth of Modern Political Cartooning|url=https://www.vulture.com/2014/09/puck-magazine-and-the-birth-of-modern-political-cartooning.html|access-date=May 21, 2021|website=Vulture|language=en-us}}</ref>

''Puck'' was published from 1876 until 1918.<ref name=us-senate /><ref name=trcenter>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Learn-About-TR/TR-Encyclopedia/Reading-and-Writing/Puck-Magazine.aspx|title=TR Center – Puck Magazine|website=www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org|language=en|access-date=November 27, 2018}}</ref>

==Publication history==
After working with ''[[Leslie's Illustrated Weekly]]'' in New York – a well-established magazine at the time – Keppler created a satirical magazine called ''Puck,''. The weekly magazine was founded by Keppler in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. Keppler had begun publishing German-language periodicals in 1869, though they failed.  In 1871,<ref>{{cite news|author=Jeremy Glass|title=5 Defunct Magazines that Changed America|url=https://www.thrillist.com/vice/spy-life-magazine-and-puck-defunct-magazines-you-should-ve-read|access-date=May 1, 2016|work=Thrillist|date=November 24, 2014}}</ref> he attempted another cartoon weekly, ''Puck'', which lasted until August 1872.<ref name="dab">{{Cite DAB|title=Keppler, Joseph|author=Catherine Palmer Mitchell|volume=V, Part 2|pages=352–3}}</ref>  Then in 1876, he again began publishing ''Puck'' in German. Interested backers wanted ''Puck'' in English so he published it in both languages for 15 years until he ceased the German version.<ref name=trcenter />

In 1877, after gaining wide support for an English version of ''Puck,'' Keppler published its first issue in English. The first English edition was 16 pages long and was sold for 16 cents.<ref name=trcenter />

Sometime before 1887, ''Puck'' moved its editorial offices from St. Louis to New York City.

In May 1893, Puck Press published ''A Selection of Cartoons from Puck by Joseph Keppler (1877–1892)'' featuring 56 cartoons chosen by Keppler as his best work. Also during 1893, Keppler temporarily moved to Chicago and published a smaller-format, 12-page version of ''Puck'' from the [[World's Columbian Exposition|Chicago World's Fair]] grounds. Shortly thereafter, Joseph Keppler died, 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.<ref name="Bancroft">{{cite web |url=http://www.oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=tf796nb2hn;query=;style=oac4;view=admin |title= Guide to the Harry Leon Wilson Papers, ca. 1879–1939 |publisher=[[Bancroft Library]] |access-date= April 8, 2010 |location= Berkeley, CA}}</ref> [[Joseph Keppler Jr.]] then became the editor.

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 (ironically, one 1906 cartoon mocked Hearst's bid for Congress with his newspapers' cartoon characters). The Hearst conglomerate discontinued the political material and switched to fine art and social fads. Within 2 years, subscriptions fell off and Hearst stopped publication; the final edition was distributed on September 5, 1918.

===London edition===
A London edition of ''Puck'' was published between January 1889 and June 1890. Among contributors was the English cartoonist and political satirist [[William Mecham|Tom Merry]].<ref>{{cite book |author= Simon Houfe |title= Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists 1800–1914 |url= https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbrit00houf |url-access= registration |year= 1978|publisher= Antique Collectors' Club |isbn= 9780902028739 }}{{Full citation needed |date= May 2014}}</ref>

== Content ==
The magazine consisted of 16 pages measuring 10&nbsp;inches by 13.5&nbsp;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!" The jaunty symbol of Puck is conceived as a [[putto]] in a top hat who admires himself in a hand-mirror. He appears not only on the magazine covers but over the entrance to the [[Puck Building]] in New York's [[Nolita]] neighborhood, where the magazine was published, as well.

''Puck'' gained notoriety for its witty, humorous cartoons and was the first to publish weekly cartoons using chromolithography in place of wood engraving, offering three cartoons instead of one.<ref name=us-senate /> In its early years of publication, ''Puck'''s cartoons were largely printed in black and white, though later editions featured colorful, eye-catching lithographic prints in vivid color. 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 of editorials commented on the issues of the day, and the last few pages were devoted to advertisements.

[[File:The Raven-Harrison&Blaine.jpg|thumb|right|240px|''The Raven''<br>An 1890 ''Puck'' cartoon depicts President [[Benjamin Harrison]] at his desk wearing his [[William Henry Harrison|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]] gawks down at the President, a reference to the famous [[Edgar Allan Poe]] poem "[[The Raven]]". Blaine and Harrison were at odds over the recently proposed [[McKinley Tariff]].]]

===Anticatholicism===
{{Further|Anti-Catholicism|Anti-Irish sentiment}}
The magazine was founded by German immigrants who were sympathetic to [[Otto von Bismarck]] who launched a major [[Kulturkampf]] against the Catholic Church in Germany. ''Puck'' especially targeted Irish Catholics in New York City, where they controlled [[Tammany Hall]]. <ref>John J. Appel, "From shanties to lace curtains: the Irish image in Puck, 1876–1910." ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'' 13.4 (1971): 365-375.</ref> According to historian Samuel Thomas, himself a Catholic:<ref>  See "In Memoriam: Sam Thomas, 1941-2024" (Department of History, Michigan State U. 2024) [https://history.msu.edu/in-memoriam-sam-thomas-1941-2024/ online]</ref> <blockquote>[I]n an age of partisan politics and partisan journalism, ''Puck'' became the nation's premier journal of graphic humor and political satire, played an important role as a non-partisan crusader for [[good government]] and the triumph of American constitutional ideals. Its prime targets, however, were not just corrupt [[machine politics|machine politicians]]. The magazine included as well ...[the] political agenda of the Catholic Church, especially its new Pope, [[Leo XIII]]....[[Tammany Hall]]... was all the more dangerous to ''Puck'' because, beginning in the 1870s, Irish Catholics dominated it.... In cartoons and editorials spanning two decades, the magazine blasted and often conjoined both Tammany and the papacy with invidious comparisons that left few readers in doubt as to their sympathies.<ref>{{cite journal |first= Samuel J. |last= Thomas |title= Mugwump Cartoonists, the Papacy, and Tammany Hall in America's Gilded Age |journal= [[Religion and American Culture]] |date= Summer 2004 |volume= 14 |issue= 2 |pages= 213–250 |doi=10.1525/rac.2004.14.2.213|s2cid= 145410903 }}</ref></blockquote>

==Contributors==
Over the years, ''Puck'' employed many early cartoonists of note, including, [[Louis Dalrymple]], [[Bernhard Gillam]], [[Friedrich Graetz]], [[Livingston Hopkins]], [[Frederick Burr Opper]], [[Louis Glackens]], Albert Levering, [[Frank Arthur Nankivell|Frank Nankivell]], [[J. S. Pughe]], [[Rose O'Neill]], Charles Taylor, [[James Albert Wales]], and [[Eugene Zimmerman]].

==Puck Building==
{{Main|Puck Building}}
''Puck'' was housed from 1887 in the landmark [[Chicago school (architecture)|Chicago-style]], [[Romanesque Revival]] [[Puck Building]] at [[Lafayette Street (Manhattan)|Lafayette]] and [[Houston Street (Manhattan)|Houston]] streets, New York City. The steel-frame building was designed by architects Albert and Herman Wagner in 1885, as the world's largest [[lithography|lithographic]] pressworks under a single roof, with its own electricity-generating [[electrical generator|dynamo]]. It takes up a full block on Houston Street, bounded by Lafayette and [[Mulberry Street (Manhattan)|Mulberry]] streets.

== Legacy ==
Years after its conclusion, the "Puck" name and slogan were revived as part of the ''Comic Weekly'' [[Sunday comics|Sunday comic section]] that ran on Hearst's newspaper chain beginning in September 1931 and continuing until the 1970s. It was then revived again by Hearst's ''[[Los Angeles Herald Examiner]]'', which folded in 1989.

== Archives ==
A collection of ''Puck'' [[cartoon]]s dating from 1879 to 1903 is maintained by the Special Collections Research Center within the [[Gelman Library]] of The [[George Washington University]].<ref>[http://library.gwu.edu/ead/ms2121.xml Guide to the Samuel Halperin Puck and Judge Cartoon Collection, 1879–1903], Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University</ref> The [[Library of Congress]] also has an extensive collection of ''Puck'' Magazine prints online. The [[Florida Atlantic University]] Libraries Special Collections Department also maintains a collection of both English and German edition ''Puck'' cartoons dating from 1878 to 1916.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fau.catalog.fcla.edu/permalink.jsp?28FA033734620|title=Catalog Record for Puck Magazine|date=2018|website=FAU Libraries Catalog|access-date=November 27, 2018|archive-date=December 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209225056/https://fau.catalog.fcla.edu/permalink.jsp?28FA033734620|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fau.catalog.fcla.edu/permalink.jsp?28FA033751876|title=Catalog Record for Puck Magazines, German|date=2018|website=FAU Libraries Catalog|access-date=November 27, 2018|archive-date=December 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209220927/https://fau.catalog.fcla.edu/permalink.jsp?28FA033751876|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Gallery of ''Puck'' cartoons==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Schurz Forester1.jpg|U.S. [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] [[Carl Schurz]] accosts [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[James G. Blaine]] chopping down a tree in the forest, c. 1878
File:Puck - Carl Edler von Stur - Go West! 1881-2.jpg|European Royalties: Go West! (after assassination of [[Alexander II of Russia]]), March 30, 1881
File:Emoticons Puck 1881 with Text.png|[[Emoticons]], March 30, 1881
File:PUCK1881-Joseph Keppler-President Garfield (NYPL).jpg|President [[James A. Garfield]], ''Auf seinem Posten gefällt'', July 6, 1881
File:PuckMagazineCoverGoneToMeetJohnKelly11091881.jpg|''Gone to meet [[John Kelly (New York politician)|John Kelly]]'' ([[Hugh McLaughlin (politician)|Hugh McLaughlin]], the Irish Catholic political "boss" of [[Brooklyn]]) being deposited in "[[Hades]]" (hell), November 9, 1881 cover
File:PUCK-Monopoly Millionaires Dividing the Country.jpg|German edition: Monopoly Millionaires Dividing the Country ([[William Henry Vanderbilt]], [[Jay Gould]], [[Cyrus West Field]], [[Russell Sage]]; [[Andrew Carnegie]]), 1885
File:Joseph Ferdinand, Keppler Rapid Transit to Sheol 1888 Cornell CUL PJM 1097 01.jpg|''Rapid Transit to Sheol—Where We Are All Going According to the Reverend Dr. Morgan Dix'' by [[Joseph Ferdinand Keppler]], 1888
File:Puck112188c.jpg|Nasty little printer's devils, 1888
File:OZ5-2-94.JPG|Cyclone as [[metaphor]] for [[political revolution]] during U.S. mid-term elections of 1894
File:School Begins (Puck Magazine 1-25-1899).jpg|''School Begins'' by [[Louis Dalrymple]], January 25, 1899
File:PuckCartoon-TeddyRoosevelt-05-23-1906.jpg|''The Infant [[Hercules]] and the [[Standard Oil]] Serpents'' by [[Frank A. Nankivell]], depicting U.S. President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] grabbing the head of [[Nelson W. Aldrich]] and the snake-like body of [[John D. Rockefeller]], May 23, 1906  
File:Paris in half-mourning by Ralph Burton 1915.jpg|''"Paris in Half-Mourning"'' by [[Ralph Barton]], 1915
File:Henry Mayer, The Awakening, 1915 Cornell CUL PJM 1176 01 - Restoration.jpg|''The Awakening'' (depicting the universal suffrage movement) by [[Henry "Hy" Mayer]], 1915
File:John Bull's dilemma - Dalrymple. LCCN2012648689 (cropped).jpg|"[[John Bull]]'s dilemma": "It's 'ard to 'ave to disturb 'im–'e's such a good customer!" ''[[Puck (magazine)|Puck]]'', 1895

</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Journalism|United States}}
* [[Punch (magazine)|''Punch'' magazine]]
* ''[[Osaka Puck]]''
* ''[[Tokyo Puck]]''
* [[Yellow journalism]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first=Richard Samuel |last=West |title=Satire On Stone |url=https://archive.org/details/satireonstonepol0000west |url-access=registration |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |year=1988 |isbn=0-252-01497-9}}
* {{cite book |first1=Michael Alexander |last1=Kahn |author-link1=Michael Alexander Kahn |first2=Richard Samuel |last2=West |title=What Fools These Mortals Be!: The Story of Puck; America's First And Most Influential Magazine of Color Political Cartoon |publisher=[[IDW Publishing]] |location=San Diego, CA |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-63140-046-9}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Puck (magazine)}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19990220135410/http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7EMA96/PUCK/ U Virginia collection], color cartoons
* [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008886840 ''Puck''] at [[HathiTrust]] (black and white)
* [https://archive.org/details/pub_puck ''Puck'' at ''archive.org'' (black and white, scanned from microfilms)]
*[http://www.greatcaricatures.com/keppler/01_keppler.shtml Gallery of 1877 ''Puck'' Magazine caricatures by Joseph Keppler]
*[http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/puckframes.html Cartoons from ''Puck'' featuring U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203032232/http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/puckframes.html |date=February 3, 2011 }}
*[http://library.gwu.edu/ead/ms2121.xml Guide to the Samuel Halperin ''Puck'' and Judge Cartoon Collection, 1879–1903], Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puck (magazine)}}
[[Category:1876 establishments in Missouri]]
[[Category:1918 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Defunct magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1876]]
[[Category:Magazines disestablished in 1918]]
[[Category:Magazines published in New York City]]
[[Category:Magazines published in St. Louis]]
[[Category:History of racism in the United States]]
[[Category:Satirical magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Weekly magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Puck (folklore)]]