Puck, 1877-10-17 · page 1 of 16
Puck — October 17, 1877 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Puck Magazine, October 17, 1877 This satirical cartoon depicts **John Kelly, Undertaker**, addressing what appears to be a funeral gathering at Tammany Hall in New York. The setup is a visual pun: Kelly, a prominent Tammany Hall political figure, is shown as a literal undertaker presiding over a coffin beneath a wooden structure. The satire likely comments on the political "death" or decline of Tammany Hall's power or a specific faction within it during the 1870s. The coffin and funeral imagery serve as dark political commentary on corruption or failure within New York City politics. The text identifies his address as Tammany Hall, East Fourteenth Street, New York—the headquarters of the notorious Democratic political machine.