From Causeries avec Mes Élèves by Lambert Sauveur, 1875.

Here's a cauldron of alphabet soup from Southerly Busters by Ironbark, 1878.

From Southerly Busters by Ironbark, 1878.

Here's a genuine skeleton key from Love Lyrics and Valentine Verses by E. M. Davies, 1875.

You've heard of "black comedy," and this is its ruling jester.  From Love Lyrics and Valentine Verses by E. M. Davies, 1875.

From Peeps into the Haunts and Homes of the Rural Population of Cornwall by John Tabois Tregellas, 1879.

From The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, 1873.

From The Philosophy of Laughter and Smiling by George Vasey, 1875.

Your instinct was correct -- our globe is all triangles.  From Monteith's Physical and Political Geography, 1875.

"There ain't a lighter hand at a pudden, though I say that shouldn't."  From Lettice Lisle by Lady Verney, 1870.

So the lighter the hand, the lighter the pudding.  But also:

• "The more devastating the criticism, the lighter the hand has to be." (Lester B. Lave, quoted in "A Life that Mattered")
• "The lighter the hand, the more berries in the pan." (Fedco Seeds)
• "The lighter the hand, the lighter the biscuit." (Convivial)
• "The lighter the hand of the sawyer, the better the saw operates." (Luke Miner, "Sawing Lessons: Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postcript")
• "The lighter the hand, the flakier the crust." (Food Network)
• "The lighter the hand of the [tattoo] artist on the needle, the less pain you'll have during the procedure." (Beth Asaff, "Pain of Getting a Tattoo in Different Places")
• "When applying a concealing makeup, the lighter the hand, the better." (The Sturge-Weber Foundation)
• "The lighter the hand of the guiding adult, the more motivated and spontaneous the play is likely to be."  (Anne Burke, Ready to Learn: Using Play to Build Literacy Skills in Young Learners)
• "The lighter the hand, the closer you can wear [perfume] to your nose." (Perfume Interview with Judith of Unseen Censer, Part I)
• "For the lighter the hand becomes, the deeper you will go." (Marjor Mark Cunningham, "Intro to Hypnosis")

Those playing along at home will have already guessed that we added the clock hands as the gentleman's tie.  Otherwise, this is from St. Nicholas magazine, 1877.

See also this collection of 112 cocktail recipes to be drunk in remembrance of the dead: Of Drinking in Remembrance of the Dead.