Puck — July 18, 1877 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This July 1877 *Puck* cartoon satirizes temperance movement hypocrisy. The image shows a tall, skeletal figure labeled "The Model Temperance Orator" standing atop a large barrel (presumably of alcohol) while gesturing dramatically to an audience below. Signs visible in the background reference "Reform," "Drunkards," and "Crazy." The satire is clear: the temperance advocate preaches against alcohol while literally standing on a barrel of it—suggesting moral corruption or that temperance leaders profited from or secretly participated in the very vice they publicly condemned. The skeletal appearance emphasizes the cartoon's mockery of self-righteous reformers. This reflects 1870s skepticism toward temperance campaigners' sincerity, a recurring theme in period satire.