PUNCH DRUNK!Continuing the (not very convincing) food and drink theme for this month's blog entries, I've started a new project. I have a whole run of Punch reprints mouldering on my shelves (1841-91) and I'm putting the full-page cartoons online.
The first volume (July-Dec 1841) is now available here
http://punchproject.blogspot.com/
and I plan to add additional volumes, when I get the chance.
The cartoons, although visually engaging, are largely satirical/political in nature and Victorian politics is quite beyond me - most feature Robert Peel or Lord Melbourne in this period, but I have difficulty telling the difference between even them. If anyone wants to add comments that would enable me to put some contextual information, please do so!
I cannot add any information about Victorian politics to help you out, but I wonder if the opening credits for "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" were inspired by these?
ReplyDeleteThey were the work of Gerald Scarfe, a major UK cartoonist whose work appears in lots of interesting places
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Scarfe
Yes, I'm sure that he would be aware of the long UK tradition of political cartoons, not least Punch.