Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Some People Just Ought Not To Be So Wealthy

This cigar smoking plutocrat belongs to a category that is a frequent object of satire in the pages of Punch. He represents New Money. That is, he has made his own fortune without the benefit of a suitable upbringing that ‘ought’ to go with the possession of such riches. This blatant display of his prosperity is simply ‘not done’.

Old Money is, of course, considered to be a good thing provided that it isn’t too large. In that case it, too, tends to be satirised.

Re: The Pages of Punch

Mr Magoo, I have just stumbled across this thread which I had no idea existed.
I've enjoyed looking at all the cartoons up to the end of Page 4.

I now intend to go all the way to Page 62 - eventually!

Re: The Pages of Punch

Such a unique thread! I can see this will provide hours of fascinating reading as Ive only just stumbled upon it.

Re: The Pages of Punch

Indeed. I estimate at least a couple of weeks for me.

Thanks, Mr Magoo, BTW.

Re: The Pages of Punch

Thank you JBR and bellajjoy. It is always nice to receive praise.

By the way if you feel inclined to comment on any of the issues raised by the cartoons, please feel free to share your thought with us all.
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And here is today’s instalment.



1938: Ultimately Inappropriate Choice of Names

It makes for an amusing sequence of scenes. Their husbands don’t look up to much either.

Not many parents today would choose to name their daughter ‘Gay.’ On the other hand, I had a colleague in the army whose forenames names were Victor David…

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Tricks For Remembering

The man in this old-fashioned scene is fighting a losing battle against memory loss. Many of us today are in a similar situation. Meanwhile we are privileged to observe a cosy room in which radio, let alone television, is entirely absent.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: All Hands to the Pump

The joke here is that something is happening that is counter intuitive. The bowler hatted city gent is never going to carry a load of bricks. He isn’t even shown to be passing them on to the ‘brickies’ on the left of the cartoon. Surely he isn’t going to steal them?

The effect of this incongruous scene is heightened by filling in the gent’s image while all the workmen and the vehicles are shown only in outline.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Caught in the Middle

The man in the glasses knows that he has no part to play in this argument. His neighbours are so engrossed in their dispute that they are forgetting good manners. What could they be arguing about?

The scene behind them is also interesting. The waiting staff also seem to be disagreeing about something. The roast potatoes are the immediate casualty.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: My Glass is Half Full, not Half Empty

By the time that Anne has grown up World War Two will be over and she may well decide to enter the legal profession. She seems to have the aptitude.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Where is the Object of the Satire?

Well, it certainly isn’t the Parrot House.