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Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, Jubilee Issue, July 18, 1891 By: Various |
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OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. VOL. 101. July 18, 1891.
MR. PUNCH'S JUBILEE NUMBER. [Illustration] "My Reminiscences!" said Mr. Punch , replying to a question put by
his Interviewer, ANNO DOMINI EIGHTEEN NINETY ONE; "They are already
before the World, in exactly One Hundred Volumes! My first 'Number'
bore date 'for the week ending July 17th, 1841. My memory is indeed
stored with recollections, pleasant, picturesque, pathetic, of the
teeming past, memories of my joyous 'Table,' of my well beloved 'Young
Men,' of Great Names, of Genial Comrades, of Bright Wits, of Warm
Hearts, of Famous Artists, of Clever Writers, who in the words of the
greatest of them all 'Perched round the stem
Of the jolly old tree.' "How well the words of the wise wit written in 1847 express our
thoughts to day, Mr. ANNO DOMINI: 'Here let us sport
Boys, as we sit,
Laughter and wit
Flashing so free.
Life is but short
When we are gone,
Let them sing on
Round the old tree. Evenings we knew
Happy as this;
Faces we miss
Pleasant to see.
Kind hearts and true,
Gentle and just,
Peace to their dust!
We sing round the tree.' It is one of my proudest memories to recollect that THACKERAY's
'Mahogany Tree,' was my Table." "To have been Amphitryon to such guests must have been the most
pleasant privilege of hospitality," said ANNO DOMINI. "Very true," responded Mr. Punch , "And of all my
Deputy Amphitryons if I may use the term who more fully, fitly,
justly, and genially filled the post than the earliest of them all,
the kindly and judicious MARK LEMON? Had not he and clever HENRY
MAYHEW, and Mr. Printer LAST, and EBENEZER LANDELLS, my earliest
engraver, foregathered first with me in furtherance of the 'new
work of wit and whim,' embellished with cuts and caricatures, to
be called: PUNCH; OR, THE LONDON CHARIVARI ? "LEMON, and LAST, and MAYHEW, were they here to day, would probably
agree to divide between them the early honours, as they shared the
early responsibility. But doubtless MARK LEMON was the literary shaper
of the 'Guffawgraph,' as he jocularly called it in his 'Prospectus,'
and, from the first, its guiding spirit. Happily so, for his was a
spirit fitted to rule, both by power, and tact, and taste. With 'Uncle
MARK' in the chair, I knew there would be neither austere autocracy,
nor fainéant laxity, neither weakness of stroke nor foulness
of blow, neither Rosa Matilda ish, mawkishness, nor Rabelaisian
coarseness. "How well I remember my first group of 'Young Men,'" pursued Mr.
Punch , musingly. "There was swift and scathing DOUGLAS JERROLD, with
his tossed and tangled mane of grey hair. GILBERT ABBOTT À BECKETT,
too, the whimsically witty, the drolly satirical, the comically
caustic. HENRY MAYHEW, of course, and, a little later, his brother
HORACE, the simple, lovable 'PONNY.' HENNING, NEWMAN and BRINE, were
my earliest Artists. HENNING drew the first Cartoon, whilst NEWMAN and
BRINE, and, later, HINE, between them, were responsible for most of
the smaller cuts, head and tail pieces, pictorial puns, and sketchy
silhouettes, wherewith Punch's early pages abounded. "In the fourth Number of Punch , published on August 7th, 1841, first
appeared the soon to be famous signature of 'JOHN LEECH.'" "Ah! JOHN LEECH," cried the attentive ANNO DOMINI. "A name to conjure
with! How did that 'Star swim into your ken'?" "There was a certain clever, scholarly, and genial gentleman,"
responded Mr. Punch , "who had lately published, under the pseudonym
of 'PAUL PRENDERGAST,' an extremely funny Comic Latin Grammar . 'PAUL
PRENDERGAST' was, in reality, Mr. PERCIVAL LEIGH, originally a medical
gentleman, the well beloved 'Professor' of later Punch days. The
Comic Latin Grammar had been admirably illustrated by a personal
friend, and fellow student, of LEIGH's named LEECH. The services of
both of the contributors to the Comic Latin Grammar were soon
enlisted in my interests. "Another of LEECH's medical student friends was ALBERT SMITH, and he
before long was penning his 'Physiology of London Evening Parties'
(illustrated by PHIZ HALBOT KNIGHT BROWNE NEWMAN, and others) for my
pages... Continue reading book >>
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