VINTAGE BRITISH PUNCH MAGAZINE CARTOON:
MAY 10, 1893: "Therefore, on this bright may day are we wreathing / a flowery band to bind us round the earth.” – Keats, slightly altered
+ The idea to build the Imperial Institute originated in the late 1870s with the idea to build a permanent Empire Museum or exhibition in London. An Indian Museum (of art objects) was opened at South Kensington in 1880, and then following the success of the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition the Prince of Wales enlisted the colonial representatives in a scheme to perpetuate the exhibition for the celebration of the Queen's approaching Jubilee.
+ The building was designed by T. E. Colcutt. The foundation stone was laid by the Queen in July 1887 and the official opening by the Queen took place on 10 May 1893 in a temporary hall as the Great Hall was not completed.
+ "Subjects" of the British Empire in traditional attire (Australia, Canada, India and Africa), as supplicants to Britannia. An example of what Peter Gay called Punch's imperialist "chauvinism and self-righteousness".
Illustrator: John Tenniel, famous illustrator of Alice in Wonderland, from British Punch humor/satire magazine, May 13, 1893, pulled from the magazine, not a modern reproduction. Size 8 x 10 1/2 inches. Condition: very good indeed -- minor toning, clean, the page has been humidified and flattened for best appearance and for framing; the backside is blank. NOTE: in addition this cartoon comes with another page with a satirical commentary associated with the cartoon; also, a half page cartoon by George du Maurier is shown.
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WHO IS THE ILLUSTRATOR?
+ Sir John Tenniel 1820 –1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knighted for artistic achievements in 1893, the first such honour ever bestowed on an illustrator or cartoonist.
+ Tenniel is remembered mainly as the principal political cartoonist for Punch magazine for over 50 years and for his illustrations to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871). Tenniel's detailed black-and-white drawings remain the definitive depiction of the Alice characters, with comic book illustrator and writer Bryan Talbot stating, "Carroll never describes the Mad Hatter: our image of him is pure Tenniel."
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.