From the exhibition
Staff Meeting
Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894, artist · 1880

Keppler draws his own editorial room: seven men cluster around a worktable covered with sketches and proofs, the controlled chaos of a weekly humor magazine in deadline mode. Keppler himself stands at far left, hand to chin, watching a seated colleague hold up a drawing for inspection. A bearded man leans in from behind; another figure at right turns toward an easel half-draped in cloth. On the back wall hangs a framed portrait—likely a political target or house hero—beneath heavy theatrical curtains. The image is a rare insider document: Keppler celebrating, with characteristic draftsmanly confidence, the collaborative labor behind America's most successful illustrated satire magazine.
Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894, artist Public domain