"AM I AN ISLAND?"
[In two days, there were a quarter of a million applicants for service in the Local Defence Volunteers.]
§ John Bull looks up to the skies and seeing enemy planes overhead leaves his shovel and reaches for his rifle.
§ Keywords: Civilian population, war efforts, Local Defence Volunteers (LDV), voluntary services, Home Guard.
Source: British PUNCH humor/satire magazine, May 22, 1940, original, pulled from the magazine, not a modern reproduction. Illustrated by Bernard Partridge. Size 8 1/2 x 11" (approximately) Condition: excellent - minor toning, clean the page has been humidified and flattened for best appearance and for framing; backside is blank.
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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.