FROM FIFE TO HARP

Mr. Asquith “One more bonnie tootle, and then back to that dreary old harp”

+ British prime minister Herbert Asquith dressed in Scottish attire and playing a fife (flute) while thinking ‘One more bonnie tootle (on this delicious instrument) - and then back to that dreary old harp’. Asquith was the leader of the government which in 1911 planned the Third Home Rule Bill for Ireland. This bill, introduced in April 1912, made no provision for a special status for Protestant Ulster within a country - Ireland - with a Catholic majority. Ulster Protestants wanted no part of a semi-autonomous Ireland which did not take its interests into account, and smuggled in weapons and formed armed volunteer paramilitary groups.

+ The legislation for Irish Home Rule was due to come into effect in April 1914, allowing for the two-year delay under the Parliament Act following its defeat in the House of Lords. At the crucial moment Asquith retired for a time to East ‘Fife’ in Scotland, for which he was Member of Parliament, and is shown here being reluctant to return to London and the ‘dreary old harp’ (with the shamrocks representing Ireland).

+ Such was the risk of civil war that the Cabinet were discussing allowing the six predominantly Protestant counties of north-east Ulster to opt out of the whole arrangement, but the bill was duly passed unchanged. However, it was not implemented due to the outbreak of the First World War in September that year, a war which would bring much more dramatic changes for Ireland. 

SOURCE: This is an original cartoon from British Punch magazine of humor and satire, drawn by Bernard Partridge, published April 15, 1914, and pulled from the magazine, original not a modern reproduction. Full size: 8 x 10 1/2 inches, including borders. Pictured image is slightly cropped. CONDITION: excellent --  bright and clean, the page has been humidified and flattened for best appearance (and for framing); the backside is blank.

Over 4,500 Punch cartoons listed for sale (store category "Punch cartoons") -- humor, satire and propaganda; combine orders and save shipping charges. Questions are always welcome. If buying more than one, please use 'Add to Basket' instead of 'Buy now' then hit "send total" so I can adjust the invoice for shipping. 

WHO IS THE ARTIST?:

Sir John Bernard Partridge (11 October 1861 – 9 August 1945) was an English illustrator. Born in London, for some years he was well known as an actor under the name of Bernard Gould. But he was most renowned for his association with Punch magazine. He joined the Punch staff in 1891 and became chief cartoonist in 1910, a position he held until his death in 1945. His cartoons usually featured one or two stately figures centre stage; as Price, Punch’s biographer, pointed out Partridge’s cartoons were ‘theatrical’ rather than ‘dramatic’. He was a master cartoon propagandist, amply shown in his many war-time cartoons published in Punch.

WHAT IS PUNCH?

Punch, a magazine of humor and satire, ran from 1841-2002. A very British institution renowned internationally for its wit and irreverence, it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration. Punch was the world's most celebrated magazine of wit and satire. From its early years as a campaigner for social justice to its transformation into national icon, Punch played a central role in the formation of British identity -- and how the rest of the world saw the British nation. In its formative years Punch combined humors, illustration and political debate with a fresh and radical audacity. During its heyday in the late 1800s, it reflected the conservative views of the growing middle-classes and copies of it could be found in the libraries of diplomats, cabinet ministers and even royalty. In the Western world, Punch played a significant role in the development of satire. In the world of illustration, it practically revolutionized it. Over the decades as it charted the interests, concerns and frustrations of the country and today it stands as an invaluable source of cartoon art, satire, but as primary source material for historians.