Puck 25th Anniversary, 1877–1902

This cover celebrates Puck magazine's twenty-fifth year of publication with an oval cameo photograph of the bronze Puck statuette—the cherubic, top-hatted mascot holding a long pen and a hand mirror—mounted on a pedestal inscribed "What fools these mortals be," the magazine's editorial motto borrowed from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Surrounding the cameo are painted roses, a candle-studded birthday cake, and a ribbon banner proclaiming 25th Anniversary / 1877–1902. The composition is institutional self-congratulation: Puck had pioneered American color lithographic satire and outlasted rivals, and the cover frames the statuette as a civic monument rather than a cartoon character, implying the magazine had earned permanent cultural standing. Copyright is credited to Keppler & Schwarzmann, the founding partnership.