Keppler, Joseph

Keppler, Joseph, 1838–94, American cartoonist, b. Vienna. Emigrating to America in 1867, he established with Adolph Schwarzmann in St. Louis a humorous German periodical, Puck (1871). Upon its failure, Keppler joined the staff of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper in New York City and in 1876 started a second Puck, followed in 1877 by the English edition. Both magazines became famous for their political cartoons, which espoused the cause of the national Democratic party. Keppler's cartoons were skillfully drawn and notable for their penetrating satire. He was the first in the United States to apply color lithography to caricature.

---

Keppler, Joseph (1837–94) caricaturist, publisher; born in Kieligenstadt, Austria. After studying art in Vienna, he joined his father in the U.S.A. in 1867 where he soon founded a German-language journal of humor, Die Vehme. In 1870 he founded Puck, also printed in German; it was revived in New York in 1877 in an English-language version. His intricate cartoons lampooned Tammany politicians, Prohibition, and other issues of the day. He also created several cartoon icons, notably a bewhiskered Uncle Sam.