Description: Booklet of illustrated rhymes drawn by cartoonist Frederick B. Opper and published by William Randolph Hearst, 1902. These satirical cartoons and rhymes criticized corporate trusts, or monopolies, which were often used by large companies to consolidate power and crush competition. Because of their association with anti-competitive practices, trusts were a politicized issue beginning in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Several presidents are associated with "trust-busting," including William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Frederick Opper was a well-known American newspaper cartoonist for more than sixty years. He was born on January 2, 1857, in Madison, Ohio, the son of Austrian immigrants. At the age of fourteen, Opper began drawing cartoons for the Madison Gazette, and in 1877, he accepted a position as staff artist with a magazine called Wild Oats. He spent several years at Wild Oats while also doing freelance work for several other magazines and newspapers. He then spent eighteen years working for Puck Magazine before becoming a cartoonist on the staff of the New York Evening Journal. He was one of the United States' leading cartoonists in the late 1800s and the early 1900s, and created memorable cartoon characters including "Alphonse and Gaston," "Maud, the Kicking Mule," and "Happy Hooligan," his best-known cartoon series. Opper continued to draw until 1932, when vision problems forced him to retire. He died on August 28, 1937. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: PABox683_10_001
Subjects: Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857-1937; Hearst, William Randolph, 1863-1951; Political cartoons; Editorial cartoons; Industrialists--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Economy--Business;
Places: Madison (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)