The Beginning and the End: Oom Paul's Ultimatum to John Bull
Two-part Puck centrefold: at left a grinning, top-hatted Kruger seizes a bull in a red coat (John Bull, per the notice) above a paper headed "Oom Paul's Ultimatum to John Bull"; at right the bull stands and Kruger is flung upside down through the air, hat falling. The tell: the outcome is drawn as a foregone comic reversal, with the Boer leader a reckless old man and Britain a bull (name-calling).
- Date
- November 8, 1899
- Period
- Pre-1914
- Made by
- Puck, drawing by Udo Keppler
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Cartoon
- Issuer type
- Media
- Regime
- Mckinley Administration
- Leader
- William Mckinley
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Theme
- War and the military
- Techniques
- Name-calling
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Library of Congress, retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain in the US (pre-1931); LOC: "No known restrictions on publication"
Puck, vol. 46, no. 1183, 8 November 1899 (centrefold by Udo J. Keppler). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-28556; hosted at 1024 px.
Text on the object
PUCK "OOM PAUL'S" ULTIMATUM TO JOHN BULL [on the paper on the ground] THE BEGINNING AND THE END. Copyright, 1899, by Keppler & Schwarzmann. J. OTTMANN LITHO. CO. PUCK BLDG. N.Y. [signature:] [illegible]
Read from the 1024 px LOC image.
