Joseph Ferdinand Keppler
Encyclopedia
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
- 19 February 1894 New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
), was an Austrian-born American cartoonist and caricaturist, who greatly influenced the growth of satirical cartooning in the United States.
Early life in Europe
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 ViennaAcademy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, Austria.- History :The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy by the court-painter Peter Strudl, who became the Praefectus Academiae Nostrae. In 1701 he was ennobled as Baron of the Empire...
. Through some caricatures criticizing the foibles of the time, his work at an early age gained access to the leading periodicals of Vienna, including the Austrian magazine Kikeriki (Cock-a-doodle-do),
the vehicle for his first political cartoons. Quite as remarkable as his precociousness was his versatility. He joined a theatrical troupe as a comedian and traveled with them in the Tyrol and Italy. His ability to restore old paintings gained for him the good will and some extra money in many monasteries on the way. He was a charming companion, an excellent story-teller, and immediately popular wherever he went. Meanwhile his father had settled in the United States, and hearing glowing accounts from America, young Keppler wished to become as prosperous as others.
St. Louis
Keppler arrived in St. Louis in 1867 and joined his father, who had come to the States to escape the European Revolutions of 1848Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
, and established himself as a farmer and the proprietor of a general store. Keppler also studied medicine for a time, tried his hand once more at acting, became involved in the German-American community, and struck up friendships with journalists, writers, and artists. In 1869, he started a weekly, Die Vehme, which lasted for a year. In March 1871, he and fellow émigré Adolph Schwarzmann started Puck
Puck (magazine)
Puck was America's first successful humor magazine of colorful cartoons, caricatures and political satire of the issues of the day. It was published from 1871 until 1918.-History:...
as a German-language weekly in St. Louis, which lasted until February 1872. While in St. Louis, Keppler married Pauline Pfau in 1871, the union producing three children, Udo, Irma and Olga.
In 1864, he had married the Viennese actress Minna Rubens. She had died in 1870.
New York City
He was then hired as cartoonist by Frank LeslieFrank Leslie
Frank Leslie was an English-born American engraver, illustrator, and publisher of family periodicals.-English origins:...
about 1873 and within a short while took charge of most of the cover illustrations for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. In 1876 he left and with Adolph Schwarzmann successfully resurrected Puck in New York, publishing an English-language version the following year. Keppler's main delight was in producing cartoons criticising President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, 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 colour lithography for caricature. Much of his success was due to a clever adaptation of classical
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
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.
Initially Keppler drew all the Puck cartoons. When his workload became too much, he made use of several talented artists including Frederick Burr Opper
Frederick Burr Opper
Frederick Burr Opper is regarded as one of the pioneers of American newspaper comic strips, best known for his comic strip Happy Hooligan...
, Livingston Hopkins
Livingston Hopkins
Livingston York Yourtee "Hop" Hopkins was an American cartoonist who became a major Australian cartoonist during the time of the Federation of Australia.- Early life in the USA :...
, Eugene Zimmerman
Eugene Zimmerman
Eugene Zimmerman, cartoonist, was born on May 23, 1862 and died on March 26, 1935. Known by his famous signature "Zim", he was born in Basel, Switzerland. He lost his mother and was sent to live with relatives in Alsace. In 1867 his father, who was a baker, and an older brother emigrated to the...
, Louis Glackens
Louis Glackens
Louis M. Glackens American illustrator, animator and cartoonist, was the brother of Ashcan School painter and illustrator William Glackens.Louis M. Glackens was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, Frank Arthur Nankivell
Frank Arthur Nankivell
Frank Arthur Nankivell was an Australian artist and political cartoonist.Nankivell was born to John and Annie Nankivell in Maldon, northwest of Castlemaine, Victoria in April, 1869. He was a book illustrator in New York circles of the 1910s and 1920s on such publications as Puck, which was...
and Rose O'Neill
Rose O'Neill
Rose Cecil O'Neill was an illustrator who created a popular period comic called Kewpie.-Early life:...
.
Chicago
In 1893, he took Puck to ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
for a year for the World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
. The stress and exhaustion of that experience damaged his health, and he died the next year in New York.
Udo Keppler
Keppler's son, Udo J. Keppler (1872–1956), was also a political cartoonist and editor for Puck Magazine, a collector of Indian artifacts and an Indian activist. He had his name changed to Joseph Keppler, Jr. in honour of his father. He was an honorary chief of the Seneca nationSeneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
, promoted Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
lacrosse teams, and obtained discount railroad fares for New York Indians.