The cartoon shows Theodore Roosevelt holding a sword that says, "public service" as he faces the great robber barons of the day including J.J. Hill, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould and Oxnard.

Roosevelt's sentiment holds true today as much as it did in 1904. The political and philosophical themes of social and economic balance, political power, riches, poverty, and perceived corruption are part of America's journey and are ongoing and appear in one form or another, in every generation.

Udo J. Keppler, the illustrator, was the son of the founder of Puck Magazine. Born in 1872, he joined the Puck staff as an editorial cartoonist in 1891. He took control of the magazine after his father's death in 1894, and in 1917, sold it to William Randolph Hearst, who shut it down in 1918. This example of his editorial cartooning gives a strong flavor of his style and what might be called "scathing" today.

Puck Magazine was one of the first political satire and humor magazines in America. It started as a German language, bi-weekly in St. Louis in 1871. Puck faired badly and quickly folded but the senior Kepler moved the operation to New York City in 1876. It was published in both German and English with the English version fairing poorly until it started to take on such controversial local topics as Tammany Hall corruption, and national issues like Ulysses S. Grant's attempt to win a third term as President. His political cartoons were notoriously biting, garnering much attention for Puck, and he was one of the first artists to use color lithography for caricature. Udo's political cartoon continued the "scathing" characteristics for which Puck became famous.

Medium : 1 print, lithograph, color

Created/Published : 1904

Creator : Udo J. Keppler, artist, 1872-1956

Housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress

Availability: Usually ships in one week

Product #: cph3b52138