Austrian cartoon after Battle of Hampton Roads

Maybe another part of the puzzle: the sound a rooster makes is described in German "Kikeriki" (you would pronounce it "Keekareekee"). And 1861 is the founding year of a popular Austrian satirical magazine, called also "Kikeriki". So maybe the ironclad with the rooster directing it symbolizes this satirical magazine (then "truth" (the steam from the funnel) and "joke" (written on the ramrod) were also fitting for a satirical magazine). And it would explain the remark "with advertisement enclosed". Look here for the frontcover:
http://anno.onb.ac.at/info/kik_info.htm
 
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Maybe another part of the puzzle: the sound a rooster makes is described in German "Kikeriki" (you would pronounce it "Keekareekee"). And 1861 is the founding year of a popular Austrian satirical magazine, called also "Kikeriki". So maybe the ironclad with the rooster directing it symbolizes this satirical magazine (then "truth" (the steam from the funnel) and "joke" (written on the ramrod) were also fitting for a satirical magazine). And it would explain the remark "with advertisement enclosed". Look here for the frontcover:
http://anno.onb.ac.at/info/kik_info.htm


Bingo. The cartoon is from the 3 July 1862 issue of that magazine. Great detective work!
 
The magazine obviously thought its POV was modern, and that the Concordant was passe. Glad to see the artist wasn't glimpsing the future, just relying own his own conception of a monitor.
 
The 'steamer' looks very much like the Monitor (except for the ram) which was unlike anything conceived previously. Also, things in cartoons are supposed to be somewhat recognizable; the message is lost if the reader's first thought is "what the heck is that???" As 1950lemans mentioned, the Austrian ironclads of the day were conventional armored frigates and corvettes. It seems unlikely to me that a cartoonist would think of portraying a 'young steamer' that way until after the Monitor's debut. Presumably whatever conflict there was between the 1861 constitution and the Concordat was still ongoing.

The figure atop the turret looks like a rooster. The guy with the harpoon looks like Captain Ahab, whatever he would signify in Austria.


Also, the Monitor turret was Ericsson's unique design and unknown until Hampton Roads. Agreed the artist was using the recent naval development as a simile to make a then-current but now unknown ( outside Austria at least ) editorial point.
 
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