Rare Ramsay MacDonald British Cartoon: 1931 STERLING CRISIS

Description: It is hard to escape the legacy of the Punch Magazine. From 1841 to 2002, the magazine cast a satirical eye on life in Britain. It charted the interests, concerns and frustrations of the country and today it stands as an invaluable resource not just as cartoon art and satire, but as primary source material for social historians.Illustration by Bernard Partridge (excellent). Size: 8 x 10 1/2 including borders, image shown slightly cropped. Source: British PUNCH humor/satire magazine, from June 17, 1931; original, pulled from the magazine, not a modern reproduction. Condition: excellent -- bright and clean, no handling wear, page lays flat for easy framing; backside is blank. NOTE: I attempt to research some relatively obscure British cartoons, and information provided is suggested as background to the cartoon (feedback welcome). A NASTY JAR: "All the interim is / Like a Phantasma or a Hideous Dream" -- Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene 1.--"The 1931 devaluation of sterling ended a decade of financial struggle. It marked the collapse of an international financial order that had served the world for generations and had been reconstructed at considerable expense following the First World War. The gold standard parity of sterling, officially re-established in 1925, was a reference point for exchange rate stabilization by a number of countries: France in 1926, Italy in 1927, Norway in 1928, and Portugal in 1929, to name but a few. Thus the pound’s devaluation in 1931 symbolized a radical change in the structure of international economic relations." -- Sir Alec Cairncross & Barry Eichengreen --Ramsay MacDonald, Labour Party, "Interim Report on the Dole," Genie in a Bottle.--Macmillan Committee Report, 1931:Over 3,500 Punch cartoons listed for sale (under store category “PUNCH CARTOONS), combine orders and save shipping charges. Questions are always welcome. 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.”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.Knighted in 1925, Sir Bernard Partridge was simply one of the finest political cartoonists ever to grace the pages of Punch, and therefore the world. His style was a simplifying of Sir John Tenniel's fine cross hatching, with thicker but no less detailed expression into dramatic and epic statements. This successful progression of tone in Punch was in no small part due to Partridge having been a theatre actor of renown who knew and painted many portraits of Henry Irving, one of England's greatest stage actors. His bold and rousing images span a career of over 50 years and his WW1 political cartoons are not only the best of propaganda from that time, but also often chillingly and brutally observed, which nearly a hundred years on are still fresh and hard hitting. If one were to pick just two definitive examples from Punch magazine, it would surely be a Tenniel cartoon from the Victorian era and a Partridge cartoon from the Twentieth Century.

Price: 16.95 USD

Location: Milton, Vermont

End Time: 2025-01-18T15:04:38.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6.95 USD