Punch Cartoons

Punch magazine was published weekly between 1841 and 2002. Punch gives us a humorous, sometimes campaigning commentary on the social, political and economic life of Great Britain, and to some extent of the rest of the world. Punch's writers could be scathing in their comments and its cartoonists captured not just the essence of a comment, but put this into the day-to-day context of the time, often including details of dress, street furniture, and every-day activities which are long since past. For this reason, many collectors and writers find Punch cartoons invaluable to illustrate and further their interests. Punch used some of the best-known cartoonists and illustrators of the age. Punch's cartoons have been used over the years to illustrate many other texts.

As collectors of ephemera, we occasionally have for sale or swap the odd Punch Cartoon which doesn't fit with our collection. Mail us if you have any particular subjects for Punch cartoons that you would like us to look out for.

Punch cartoons make unique and highly prized original gifts. They look superb framed in simple black frames and provide excellent talking points.

If you require more information on the history, activities and staff of Punch, see: The History of Punch M.H.Spielmann, Cassell 1895, A History of Punch, R.G.G. Price, Collins 1957, Mr Punch's History of Modern England, 4 vols, Charles Graves, Cassell 1922, Dictionary of British Cartoonists and Caricaturists 1730-1980, Mark Bryant and Simon Heneage, Scolar Press 1994. There are also numerous books on different topics as illustrated by Punch, for example the excellent Mr Punch and the Police, Christopher Pulling, Butterworths 1964.

These cartoons are genuine original Victorian prints, published and sold as part of Punch magazine, usually dated, printed on a letterpress from an engraved wood block. The artist's original art work was usually destroyed during the hand cutting of the wood block, leaving these prints as the only originals. Punch's paper is a form of newsprint and so there can sometimes be slight yellowing of the paper or the occasional foxing marks - commensurate with age, but never detracting from the cartoon itself. These cartoons turn up in chance survivals of individual weekly copies of Punch, or bound annual volumes. Where the overall condition of these volumes is beyond saving, they are carefully split to save cartoons of interest.

We have some Victorian sale / swap items at the moment on:

Egypt
Disraeli
Gladstone
Wellington
Railways
Cycling
Church of England
Persia
Royal Academy
Franchise in England
Seaside
Ireland
City of London
Photography
Water Companies
Sanitation and living conditions
Crime and punishment

The example below is an 1844 attack on the injustice of the harsh Victorian game laws by one of Punch's most famous cartoonists, John Leech (1817-1864). The cartoon depicts a peasant about to be sacrificed at the foot of a statue of a standing hare. The print shows the make up of the three wood blocks used for these cartoons as there are slight vertical white lines visible in two places. There is also a horizontal crease across the print where the original magazine was folded to go through the Victorian postal system. The cartoon measures 9.5 x 7 inches.