In the popular as well as the academic imagination, political cartooning in Victorian Britain is synonymous with Punch; or, the London Charivari. Yet as recent research has highlighted, for much of its life, Punch was only one satirical publication among many (albeit the most important and most pervasive). Following the repeal of the last ‘taxes on knowledge’ (the newspaper stamp duty; repealed 1855), and in response to new political and social developments, Britain witnessed a flowering of Punch-like satiricalpapers, each of which aimed to appeal to a differentiated market. Although founded in 1841 as a radical journal, Punch had drifted to the right by the 1850s. Fun (1861-1901) appeared on Punch’s left, seeking to appeal more directly to the same constituency as the Liberal Party (founded 1859). At the time of the Second Reform Act (1867), Judy; or, the London Serio-Comic Journal (1867-1906) was founded to appeal to the hoped-for ‘Tory democracy’ to Punch’s right. The Tomahawk (1867-1870) took a similar, if more critical, line; as did the other major Conservative-aligned satirical papers: Will O’ The Wisp (1867-1871) and Moonshine (1878-1902).
The staple of each of the Punch-like papers was the ‘large cut’ cartoon; and in each case, the work of the great Punch cartoonist – Sir John Tenniel (1820-1914) – was the touchstone. But Tenniel was not followed, slavishly, by his contemporaries, and many of them can truly be said to have been rivals of the great man at Punch. This paper will detail the life and work of several of Tenniel’s key rivals, namely: Matthew Somerville Morgan (1837-1890), John Proctor (1836-1914), William Henry Boucher (1837-1906), Frederick Barnard (1846-1896), and John Gordon Thomson(1841-1923). Research into these men is nearing completion, for publication as a major monograph – Eminent Victorian Cartoonists – which will be published in the new ‘Studies in Comics and Cartoons’ series of the Ohio State University Press.
A3 theatre, Arts Building
followed by morning tea
ALL WELCOME
Enquiries to: Karin von Strokirch – kvonstro@une.edu.au
Dr Richard Scully is Senior Lecturer in Modern European History, and an ARC-funded DECRA Fellow (2013-2015). His DECRA project is entitled ‘The Cartoon Empire: The Anglo-American Tradition of Political Satire and Comic Art, 1720-2020’ and looks to reconceptualise the political cartoon as a global art-form, ratherthan one that emerged from narrowly-defined national contexts. Richard has published widely on cartoons and their history, including in the International Journal of Comic Art, German Studies Review, European Comic Art, and the Journal of Victorian Culture. His most recent monograph – British Images of Germany: Admiration, Antagonism, & Ambivalence, 1860-1914 (Palgrave 2012) has been praised for its incorporation of political cartoon evidence into the history of Anglo-German relations prior to the Great War.