An Irish maid is the subject of ridicule on this 1883 Puck magazine cover. The large, masculine Irish maid intimidates her delicate, feminine middle-class employer, even though the maid has broken a dish, burned the food, and allowed the pot to boil over. Images and articles about the servant problem were common in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and frequently used racial and ethnic stereotypes that are shocking by today’s standards.
Magazine cover/cartoon by Frederick Burr Opper. Puck Magazine (May 9, 1883), Published by Keppler & Schwarzmann. (Courtesy of Library of Congress)
Image featured in Investigating Family, Food, and Housing Themes in Social Studies by Cynthia Resor
I could use this to teach a stereotype lesson in fifth grade. The primary source image could prompt a discussion about the difference between stereotypes and bias.