The Rent Question

Poking fun at the working poor of the late Victorian era.

This 19th century political cartoon was drawn by Joseph Keppler and originally published in an 1881 edition of Puck. Densely crowded urban slums have single rooms advertised for $8/month, while tranquil country cottages in the distance have a monthly rent of a mere $12. Children play in the squalid environment, filled with refuse and places to get a drink. But, as off-handedly explained by the Capitalist, “Even if they have to lodge over a Stable or a Gin Mill, they won’t leave the City!”