Puck — November 27, 1878 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Puck's Thanksgiving Turkey (November 27, 1878) This cartoon satirizes corrupt political patronage and embezzlement. A grotesque turkey—its body composed of multiple faces representing politicians or bureaucrats—is being presented for "Thanksgiving." One figure operates "Puch's Patent Cremater" (a furnace), while another stands near a coffin labeled "The Late Wm. H. H. Murray," suggesting disposal of evidence or bodies. The turkey's monstrous multi-faced form represents collective political corruption. The cremator symbolizes attempts to destroy evidence of wrongdoing. The overall message condemns how corrupt officials—literally embodied in this grotesque creature—are "roasted" (exposed) during holiday season, yet the system's machinery exists to conceal their crimes.