Puck — June 19, 1878 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1878 *Puck* cartoon satirizes Recorder **James Hackett**, a New York City judicial official. The image depicts him as a devil-legged creature carrying a tray labeled "Board of Aldermen" and "Indictment" filled with tiny human figures—presumably corrupt politicians or aldermen. The satire suggests Hackett is literally manufacturing or parading criminals/rogues rather than legitimately prosecuting them. The "Rogues' Gallery" reference (a police collection of criminal mugshots) implies the Recorder himself is complicit in city corruption, perhaps by protecting guilty parties or by being surrounded by and enabling wrongdoing. The overall message: Hackett's judicial role produces only more rogues, not justice.