Puck — July 2, 1879 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Puck Magazine, July 2, 1879 This page satirizes the murder of Jane Forrest Hull on June 14, 1879. The main cartoon, titled "Under a Cloud," depicts an elderly bearded man (likely a figure blamed or suspected in the case) tormented by newspapers and detectives promoting various theories about the crime. The top section shows Puck's masthead with the tagline "What fools these Mortals be!"—Shakespeare's famous quote about human folly. The satire targets sensationalist journalism and competing murder theories ("Newspapers' and Detectives' Inside Theory"), suggesting that conflicting public explanations compound the victim's family's grief. The cartoon critiques how media coverage and amateur detective work create confusion rather than clarity in criminal investigations.