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George Woodward - Too much on it / K.

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George Woodward - Too much on it / K.

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Summary

Illustration shows Uncle Sam's Christmas tree about to topple over onto him because there are too many heavy ornaments near the top, such as a red devil labeled "Politician", a cannon labeled "Sherman Law", a jack-in-the-box labeled "Wickersham", a basket filled with food labeled "Cost of Living", a parrot labeled "Woman Suffrage", a ball labeled "Increased Taxes", a large book labeled "Over-Legislation", another ball with a "$" and the face of big business, an automobile labeled "Extravagance", a large ball labeled "Bill" with the face of President Taft, and an angel labeled "Teddy".

Caption: Uncle Sam's Christmas crash.
Illus. in: Puck, v. 70, no. 1816 (1911 December 20), cover.
Copyright 1911 by Keppler & Schwarzmann.

It wasn't really until the 1700s that caricature truly blossomed as a form of political criticism. In the late 1750s, a man named Thomas Townshend began using the techniques employed by earlier engravers and applying them towards a political model. This gave Thompson's cartoons a much greater feeling of propaganda than previous artistic critiques of the time. The intense political climate of the period, and often accusatory nature of most political cartoons forced many artists to use pseudonyms in order to avoid accusations of libel. Other artists took it a step farther, and left their cartoons completely unsigned, foregoing any credit they may have received. Political higher-ups were notoriously touchy about their reputations and were not afraid to make examples of offenders. Puck was the first successful humor magazine in the United States of colorful cartoons, caricatures and political satire of the issues of the day. It was published from 1871 until 1918.

Just Christmas Trees

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Date

01/01/1911
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Contributors

Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956, artist
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Source

Library of Congress
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Copyright info

No known restrictions on publication.

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