Re: The Pages of Punch

1917: Ladies in Uniform

The RSM is intrigued by the fact that the women in uniform also have the same ranks as the men in the army. By the look of him he seems to considering amorous possibilities and wonders whether his ‘opposite number’ would be a suitable conquest. Chances are that he would not find her to his taste and that he might be more interested in the ambulance driver herself.

The practice of calling a woman ‘a cat’ as a term of abuse seems quite anaemic to us today. I can only recall one instance of this use and that was in Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga. Here is the extract (found thanks to Google):

He had flushed the peculiar flush which always centred between his eyes; lifting his hand, and, as it were, selecting a finger, he bit a nail delicately; then, drawling it out between set lips, he said: "Mrs. MacAnder is a cat!"

Re: The Pages of Punch

1917: Food Shortage Yet Again

The interesting thing here is that the toffs are now doing the hard manual work. The sheer number of food jokes is surely testimony to a severe shortage. The young woman’s uncle looks far from pleased at the though of having to do more heavy digging for Mrs Robinson. She looks as though she is playing the ‘I’m just a helpless female’ role. Uncle’s spats look particularly inappropriate for the task in hand.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1917: Spy Mania Again

Early in the war we saw quite a smattering of cartoons about spies. Here is another one though in this case it is treated as a joke.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1917: Women Doing a Man’s Job

I see that Mills and Boon was founded in 1908. It may therefore be that this cartoon is inspired by that actual firm. The cartoonist is having a lot of fun with the possibilities for romantic fiction caused by women taking on men’s jobs during the war. This is a well thought out and well executed joke.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1917: The Man in the Middle

In this scene all the men are recruits who have been thrown together regardless of their backgrounds. The man in the middle has understood the request of the man on the right. He chooses to convey it in a manner more suited to his own background. It is not clear that the man on the left will find this form of words preferable to the original question. On balance I would think that he does when we compare his table manners to those of the original questioner.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1917: A Dose of Reality

Unlike an earlier cartoon in which a family is dancing home from their allotment we see here a much more realistic picture of food cultivation.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1917: By Jingo

HM Bateman is here in a gung-ho mood. This sits oddly with the known mood of the nation by 1917. The fighting is not realistically portrayed. There are no trenches, there are only wisps of barbed wire and the bullets are whizzing harmlessly past the brave (indeed reckless) Tommies while Fritz is pathetically eager to surrender. This is not reality as experienced by those doing the actual fighting.

The signature at the foot of the drawing gives a date of 1916. I would have guessed early 1916. In fact, I think the sentiment belongs to an even earlier period. I suppose that the drawing had been lying around and someone decided to use it at this juncture. Perhaps this was in the hope of recapturing some of that early enthusiasm.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1917: Food Again

The Irish waiter has answered the question in his own discreet way. I suspect that in 1917 it was very easy to detect the difference and it would have been pointless to conduct an ‘I can’t tell the difference’ campaign.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1917: Malapropism and the War

We are witnessing here the effect of the high rate of casualties in the war. Quite apart from his astigmatism in view of his age Mr Smith would in 1914 have been rejected even if he had volunteered. By 1917 it was no longer possible to be so choosy.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1917: A Topsy Turvey World

Like many of the readers of Punch the lady of the house is grappling with the servant problem. I suspect that the applicant’s lofty manner is somewhat exaggerated in spite of the many alternative employment opportunities that existed in 1917.