With thanks to Chris Dubbs for finding the “Puck” magazine of August 1917 cover with artwork by American artist and sculptor Louis Meyer (1869 – 1969) and poem “Patria’s Progress No. 3” by American poet Berton Braley (1882 – 1966)
Berton was born in Madison, Wisconsin, USA on 29th January 1882.
His WW1 poetry collections were: "A Banjo at Armageddon" (1917). New York: George H. Doran Company and
"In Camp and Trench: Songs of the Fighting Forces" (1918). New York: George H. Doran Company
Berton died on 23rd January 1966.
“Puck” was the first successful humour magazine published in the United States of America containing colourful cartoons, caricatures and political satire of the issues of the day. It was founded in 1871 as a German-language publication by Joseph Keppler, an Austrian-born cartoonist. The first English language edition of “Puck” was published in 1877, covering issues like New York City's Tammany Hall, presidential politics, and social issues of the late 19th century to the early 20th century. The magazine ceased publication in 1918.
"Puckish" means "childishly mischievous". This led Shakespeare's Puck (from his play “A Midsummer Night's Dream”) to be recast as a charming boy and used as the title of the magazine. “Puck” was the first magazine to carry illustrated advertising and the first to successfully adopt full-color lithography printing for a weekly publication.
The poem on the cover of "Puck" :
Berton Braley features in Catherine W. Reilly's book "English Poetry of the First World War: A Bibliography" (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1978) p. 394.
