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Joseph Ferdinand Keppler
Joseph Ferdinand Keppler

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler

American, 1838 – 1894
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Joseph Ferdinand Keppler was an Austrian-born American cartoonist and caricaturist who greatly influenced the growth of satirical cartooning in the United States.

He was born in Vienna. His parents were bakers, and his talent is said to have first manifested itself in his cake decorations. He studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and later contributed comic drawings to the Vienna humor magazine Kikeriki (Cock-a-doodle-do).

Unable to make a living from his art in Vienna he joined a theatrical troupe as a scene painter and then as a comedian, traveling with them in the Tyrol and Italy. His ability to restore old paintings gained for him some extra money in some of the monasteries on the way. He was a charming companion, an excellent story-teller, and immediately popular wherever he went. In 1864, he married the Viennese actress Minna Rubens. Meanwhile, his father, who had come to the States to escape the European Revolutions of 1848, had established himself as the proprietor of a general store in a little town in northern Missouri. Hearing glowing accounts from America, young Keppler and his wife decided to emigrate.

After visiting his father, Keppler made his way to St. Louis in 1867 and renewed his career as an actor. In 1869, he helped launch the German-American cartoon weekly, Die Vehme, which lasted for a year. It was followed by Frank und Frei, which lasted six months. In March 1871, he attempted another cartoon weekly, Puck, which lasted until August 1872.

After the death of his wife in 1870, Keppler married Pauline Pfau in 1871, the union producing three children, Udo, Irma and Olga.

In the fall of 1872, he moved with his wife and son to New York city and was soon working for Frank Leslie's publishing house. Starting in 1874, he began contributing political cartoons to Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. In September 1876 he and fellow Frank Leslie employee Adolph Schwarzmann resurrected Puck for the New York German-American audience and then introduced an English-language version the following year. Keppler's main delight was in producing cartoons criticizing President Ulysses S. Grant, and the political corruption of his administration. His cartoons were famous for their caustic wit, generating much publicity for Puck and pioneering the use of color lithography for caricature. Much of his success was due to a clever adaptation of classical and historical subjects to his criticisms of modern life.

Keppler's opinions and wit endeared him to large sections of the American public. His illustrations cast light on complex politics, making issues clear to the average voter. Puck did not shy away from criticism of the administration and by influencing the perceptions of the voting public, certainly altered the course of American political history.

In one of his cartoons entitled "Looking Backward" (Puck, January 11, 1893), he depicted a group of nouveau riche hypocritally protesting the arrival of an eastern European immigrant—notwithstanding the fact that the "protesters" themselves had been immigrants or sons of immigrants.

Initially Keppler drew all the Puck cartoons. When his workload became too much, he made use of several talented artists including Frederick Burr Opper, James A. Wales, Bernhard Gillam, Eugene Zimmerman, C. J. Taylor, and others.

In 1893, he took charge of a special World's Fair Puck published weekly for six months on the grounds of the World's Columbian Exposition. The stress and exhaustion of that experience damaged his health, and he died the next year in New York.

Keppler's son, Udo J. Keppler (1872–1956), was also a political cartoonist and co-owner for Puck magazine, a collector of Indian artifacts and an Indian activist. He had his name changed to Joseph Keppler Jr. in honor of his father. He was an honorary chief of the Seneca nation.

100 items

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The American Fagin

The American Fagin (1907)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
The administration’s hardest job.

The administration’s hardest job. (1885)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Rally round the flag, boys!.

Rally round the flag, boys!. (1891)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
President Cleveland and his Cabinet.

President Cleveland and his Cabinet. (1885)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
In Memoriam. Brigham Young.

In Memoriam. Brigham Young. (1877)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Under false colors

Under false colors (1882)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Uncle Sam’s neglected farm

Uncle Sam’s neglected farm (1882)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Uncle Sam’s lodging-house

Uncle Sam’s lodging-house (1882)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Science, or sport – A modern spectacle after an old model

Science, or sport – A modern spectacle after an old model (1882)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Two political paths

Two political paths (1885)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Two of a kind

Two of a kind (1884)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Throw ’em out!

Throw ’em out! (1893)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
This is what the ‘freedom of worship’ bill means – can we hold the evil in check

This is what the ‘freedom of worship’ bill means – can we hold the evil in check (1885)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
The writing on the wall

The writing on the wall (1884)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
The World’s International and Cotton Centennial Exposition, New Orleans

The World’s International and Cotton Centennial Exposition, New Orleans (1884)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
The universal church of the future – from the present religious outlook

The universal church of the future – from the present religious outlook (1883)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
The U.S. Hotel badly needs a ‘bouncer’

The U.S. Hotel badly needs a ‘bouncer’ (1883)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
The transfusion of blood – may the operation prove a success!

The transfusion of blood – may the operation prove a success! (1884)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
The return of the ‘prodigal father’ at the ‘Puck’ office – drawn by himself

The return of the ‘prodigal father’ at the ‘Puck’ office – drawn by himself (1883)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
The pyrrhic victory of the Mulligan guards in Maine

The pyrrhic victory of the Mulligan guards in Maine (1884)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
City flowers

City flowers (1886)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
How to keep a girl

How to keep a girl (1883)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
History repeats itself

History repeats itself (1885)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Helping the rascals in – a burglarious scheme that may be suddenly spoiled

Helping the rascals in – a burglarious scheme that may be suddenly spoiled (1884)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
He can’t beat his own record

He can’t beat his own record (1884)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Harmony and envy

Harmony and envy (1885)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
First annual picnic of the ‘Knights of Labor’ – more fun for the spectators than for the performers

First annual picnic of the ‘Knights of Labor’ – more fun for the spectators than for the performers (1882)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Escaping from the old shell

Escaping from the old shell (1881)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Don’t they wish they had never taken hold of it!

Don’t they wish they had never taken hold of it! (1886)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
Democracy’s disastrous egg-dance

Democracy’s disastrous egg-dance (1884)

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (American, 1838 – 1894)
Illustration
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