Athletic Girl & The Millionaire- Puck Magazine

This delightful chromolithograph from Puck magazine captures the social anxieties of the mid-1890s with wit and visual sophistication. Frederick Burr Opper, one of America's most influential cartoonists, presents a six-panel narrative skewering both the athletic 'New Woman' and the gold-digging dynamics of Gilded Age courtship. The athletic girl tries everything: mountain climbing, diving, cycling, canoeing, and fencing, each pursuit rendered with Opper's characteristic energy and humor. Yet the elderly millionaire remains unmoved, ultimately proposing to a demure young woman who 'did nothing athletic at all.' The satire cuts both ways, mocking both female ambition and male preference for passive femininity. A standout piece for collectors of American illustration, women's history, or cycling ephemera, this print embodies the cultural tensions of an era when bicycles and bloomers were reshaping gender expectations. Size: 10.0" x 13.25" Artist: Frederick Burr Opper Condition: Very Good