George Speaight Punch & Judy Collection
Print
December 22nd 1888 (published)
December 22nd 1888 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A coloured lithograph entitled St Stephen's Review Presentation Cartoon December 22nd 1888, engraved and drawn by Tom Merry.
It shows a stage on which a group of puppets perform an elaborate dance routine. These puppets resemble key figures of the day and are dressed in a range of colourful outfits, some of which are associated with traditional characters in the Punch and Judy story (the policeman, Punch and Judy), the others are stock theatrical figures. The identities of the performers are indicated by names attached to a set of strings which are being manipulated by two suited figures seated under the stage. These men are dressed in black and one wears a black half mask and is shown next to a dagger and pistol (both discarded on the ground beside him). There are two further puppets languishing in a box beside these shadowy puppeteers. There names are marked as O'Shea and O'Donnell. The names of the puppets appear to be Labby, Granville, Trevelyan, Gladstone, Harcourt, Herbert, Sir W Lawson, Bradlaugh and Morley.
The names of the puppets correspond with those of contemporary Members of Parliament and the caption below the image, 'Parnell's Puppets', seems to be a deliberate reference to Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891). Parnell was an Irish Protestant landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party which he led through the period of Parliamentary nationalism in Ireland between 1875 and his death in 1891. O'Shea and O'Donnel were also Irish politicians.
It is part of the George Speaight Punch & Judy Collection.
It shows a stage on which a group of puppets perform an elaborate dance routine. These puppets resemble key figures of the day and are dressed in a range of colourful outfits, some of which are associated with traditional characters in the Punch and Judy story (the policeman, Punch and Judy), the others are stock theatrical figures. The identities of the performers are indicated by names attached to a set of strings which are being manipulated by two suited figures seated under the stage. These men are dressed in black and one wears a black half mask and is shown next to a dagger and pistol (both discarded on the ground beside him). There are two further puppets languishing in a box beside these shadowy puppeteers. There names are marked as O'Shea and O'Donnell. The names of the puppets appear to be Labby, Granville, Trevelyan, Gladstone, Harcourt, Herbert, Sir W Lawson, Bradlaugh and Morley.
The names of the puppets correspond with those of contemporary Members of Parliament and the caption below the image, 'Parnell's Puppets', seems to be a deliberate reference to Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891). Parnell was an Irish Protestant landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party which he led through the period of Parliamentary nationalism in Ireland between 1875 and his death in 1891. O'Shea and O'Donnel were also Irish politicians.
It is part of the George Speaight Punch & Judy Collection.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | George Speaight Punch & Judy Collection (named collection) |
| Materials and techniques | printing ink on paper |
| Brief description | A coloured lithograph entitled St Stephen's Review Presentation Cartoon December 22nd 1888. It was engraved and drawn by Tom Merry. George Speaight Punch & Judy Collection |
| Physical description | A coloured lithograph entitled St Stephen's Review Presentation Cartoon December 22nd 1888. It shows a stage on which a group of puppets perform an elaborate dance routine. These puppets resemble key figures of the day and are dressed in a range of colourful outfits, some of which are associated with traditional characters in the Punch and Judy story (the policeman, Punch and Judy), the others are stock theatrical figures. The identities of the performers are indicated by names attached to a set of strings which are being manipulated by two suited figures seated under the stage. These men are dressed in black and one wears a black half mask and is shown next to a dagger and pistol (both discarded on the ground beside him). There are two further puppets languishing in a box beside these shadowy puppeteers. There names are marked as O'Shea and O'Donnell. The names of the puppets appear to be Labby, Granville, Trevelyan, Gladstone, Harcourt, Herbert, Sir W Lawson, Bradlaugh and Morley. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Accepted by HM Government in Lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the V&A in 2010. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | A coloured lithograph entitled St Stephen's Review Presentation Cartoon December 22nd 1888, engraved and drawn by Tom Merry. It shows a stage on which a group of puppets perform an elaborate dance routine. These puppets resemble key figures of the day and are dressed in a range of colourful outfits, some of which are associated with traditional characters in the Punch and Judy story (the policeman, Punch and Judy), the others are stock theatrical figures. The identities of the performers are indicated by names attached to a set of strings which are being manipulated by two suited figures seated under the stage. These men are dressed in black and one wears a black half mask and is shown next to a dagger and pistol (both discarded on the ground beside him). There are two further puppets languishing in a box beside these shadowy puppeteers. There names are marked as O'Shea and O'Donnell. The names of the puppets appear to be Labby, Granville, Trevelyan, Gladstone, Harcourt, Herbert, Sir W Lawson, Bradlaugh and Morley. The names of the puppets correspond with those of contemporary Members of Parliament and the caption below the image, 'Parnell's Puppets', seems to be a deliberate reference to Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891). Parnell was an Irish Protestant landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party which he led through the period of Parliamentary nationalism in Ireland between 1875 and his death in 1891. O'Shea and O'Donnel were also Irish politicians. It is part of the George Speaight Punch & Judy Collection. |
| Other number | Political Puppet Cartoons File |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1164-2010 |
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| Record created | June 22, 2010 |
| Record URL |
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