Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Quick Thinking Charity Worker

Change the patter in order to make a favourable impression on the stuck-up snobs. The butler is out-sneering his employers.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: What is Wrong About Wilkins?

She doesn’t mind him giving away his worn-out clothes but she draws the line at Wilkins. Why should that be?

There is a suggestion here that he isn’t one of ‘our sort people.’ However I can’t help noticing the complete similarity between donor and recipient. The artist hasn’t shown this by accident. Even the posture is the same. Does this imply that Wilkins is the result of an illicit liaison between the donor’s father and some lower class girl? That would account for her comment since the outfit draws attention to the similarity. But what is such a scenario doing in the pages of Punch?

My solution seems rather far-fetched but I can’t think of any other. Any other suggestions?

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Portrait of a City

This is not meant as a joke. It is simply an artist’s impression of the bustle and diversity of life in New York. It is a vivid account and is in complete harmony with what we can see in the films of the time.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Another Scottish Stereotype

This is one of many jokes about the Scots being very ‘careful’ with their money. Here the humour is not far-fetched – this scenario is entirely plausible.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Doubts About Hitler

Without the benefit of hindsight this cartoon reflects a sense of unease about the massive German rearmament taking place at the time. By portraying Hitler as a dodgy, down-at-heel street vendor the cartoonist suggests that his justification is probably untrue. For 1938 this represents a noticeable shift from the ‘let us hope that at all costs we can avoid another war’ feeling that was very much the popular view even at what we now know to be a very late stage.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: The Alarmist

This cartoon is the other side of the coin to yesterday’s example in which Hitler’s motives are viewed with suspicion.

Here the man in the gas mask is the object of the joke. He is obviously over reacting but the underlying message is that we don’t really need to worry. It is difficult for later generations to comprehend this short sightedness but it was based on a deeply-held fear of a repeat of the bloodshed of the previous war.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Footpads Again

They weren’t called muggers then but that is what they were doing. The idea that they didn’t want to be ‘put in the wrong’ was obviously absurd. They certainly looked shabby. Their intended victim doesn’t look all that prosperous either.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Mental Arithmetic

The child is applying her recently acquired numeracy skills to something to which she can relate. How different this was to the sort of questions I remember solving which consisted of how long does it take to fill a bath (cubic capacity given) or to mow a field (area stated).

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Metropolitan Life

It comes as a surprise to us now but in 1938 the pace of life in London was considered to be absolutely frantic. The ‘country cousins’ are quite bewildered at the eternal rushing about and consequently keep getting in the way. The graphics are a quite compelling illustration of this phenomenon though it exaggerates quite a lot.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1938: Celebs as they were then known

The body language has changed now but this activity is still very much with us.