Mr Punch and the Police

Published by Butterworths, 1964, hardcover, A4 format, illustrated, 282 pages, condition: very good.

Published in 1964 by Butterworths, featuring cartoons from the magazine Punch that explore the changing public attitudes towards police and policing through visuals and a linking narrative, the collection serves as an accessible introduction to primary source material for those interested in visual history.

Punch, or The London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and wood-engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 1850s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration. Artists at Punch included John Tenniel who, from 1850, was the chief cartoon artist at the magazine for over 50 years. The editors took the anarchic puppet Mr Punch, of Punch and Judy, as their mascotthe character appears in many magazine coverswith the character also an inspiration for the magazine's name. With its satire of the contemporary, social, and political scene, Punch became a household name in Victorian Britain. Sales of 40,000 copies a week by 1850 rose above 100,000 by 1910. After the 1940s, when its circulation peaked, it went into a long decline, closing in 1992. It was revived in 1996, but closed again in 2002.