Puck Easter

Carl Hassmann's cover for Puck Vol. LIX, No. 1519 pairs the magazine's jester mascot—rendered in the traditional red-and-yellow motley, bells at his ankles, a toy sword at his belt—with a young crowned woman seated on a garden bench. Her pale yellow gown is scattered with pink hearts; she wears long pink gloves and smiles with patrician composure while the jester gestures as if offering a jest or a gift. The word EASTER anchors the lower border in Gothic lettering. The scene carries no overt political argument: this is one of Puck's periodic seasonal covers in which the satirical mascot softens into a courtly entertainer, selling the holiday issue on charm rather than controversy. No ethnic caricature is present. Copyrighted 1906 by Keppler & Schwarzmann.