Drawing* attention to Victorian cartoons

*pun intended.

Cartoons are marvellous. They can be witty, satirical, clever, or just plain funny. And even better, the Victorians were the first to associate the word 'cartoon' with comical drawings,  giving a name to the satirical output of the likes of Hogarth and Gilray (two fantastic Georgians - but I mustn't get sidetracked).

In honour of this great tradition, here are my three all-time favourite Victorian cartoons, both of the time and more recent creations.

This is from an 1851 edition of Punch. I wonder if it was based on the artist's own experiences?!

This one is by Kate Beaton. It's a perfect satire of the Victorian can-do attitude. Plus, it features Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who (quite frankly) was fabulous. I may give him a blog post all to himself at some point soon...

But my absolute favourite Victorian cartoon is this, from a past issue of Private Eye. I liked it so much at the time that I cut it out, and it has been sat in a little frame on my desk ever since!

However, I can't possibly do a blog about Victorian cartoons without mentioning the brilliant Sydney Padua, author of The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. If you haven't read it, you really should:

1. it's a graphic novel about awesome Victorians. Few people are more awesome than Ada Lovelace, and Padua makes her even more awesome in the book. It's incredible.
2. the illustrations are beautiful, and make the book immensely readable, even if (like me) you're new to graphic novels.
3. FOOTNOTES. So many footnotes. Read the book, and revel in the glory of learning about Victorians through the medium of footnotes. You think Terry Pratchett was fond of footnotes? His were a drop in the ocean compared to these!
4. It features the Duke of Wellington, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Need I say more?!

The history of cartoons is in itself quite interesting. Punch's website elaborates further:

"It was Punch which invented the cartoon as we know it today. One momentous day, Punch made a grim joke which accidentally changed the English language by giving a new meaning to an old word. The butt of the joke was an exhibition intended to help in the selection of new paintings and murals for the Houses of Parliament, then being rebuilt after the disastrous fire of 1834. Artists made their submissions in the form of cartoons – the original meaning of the word was a preliminary drawing for a work of art; a painting, a fresco, a tapestry. At the time, the most important part of the magazine was a full-page satirical drawing, known as The Big Cut, entitled 'Mr Punch’s Pencillings'. But in July 1843, The Big Cut was replaced for a week by the magazine’s own entry for the Parliamentary exhibition. In a series of drawings which it ironically titled “cartoons”, Punch contrasted the sumptuousness of the Parliamentary plans with the miserable poverty of the starving population. [...] it parodied beautifully the designs submitted to the 1843 competition to decorate Westminster. As a result the word "cartoon" stuck and became associated with pictorial satire and eventually with any humorous drawing."


What's your favourite Victorian cartoon?  Let me know in the comments or tweet them to me @nice_cravat...

And if you haven't already, you should check out all the cartoonists, magazines and websites I've mentioned! Links:
Punch
Kate Beaton
Private Eye
Sydney Padua

Enjoy!
The Secret Victorian 


P.S. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present my aforementioned desk, currently adorned with two more cartoons than usual as a result of this blog...!

Return of the 5-foot wedding cake

You may remember this phenomenal 5-foot wedding cake from my last post.

In discovering this cake, I was distracted by the man who designed it - Albert Hastings Markham (1841-1918):

It transpires that he was a brilliant character who seems to embody much of the Victorian spirit of adventure and discovery. For your perusal, here follow the results of my research, presented in an internet-friendly Buzzfeed-esque listicle:

5 Things I Bet You Didn't Know About Albert Hastings Markham:

1. Despite suffering from crippling seasickness, he joined the Navy at the age of 15.
He spent the next 8 years fighting Chinese pirates.

2. He broke the record for most northerly point reached at the time.
Having left the Navy after they refused to let him undertake an official research expedition to the Arctic, Markham displayed some classic Victorian chutzpah and went anyway. He and his sledge team made it all the way to (83° 20' N), but sadly didn't make it all the way to the Pole. They did get this lovely souvenir painting made though!

3. He has a bird named after him in recognition of his contributions to science.
Markham’s Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma markhami) was named after he published a list of Pacific Gulls in 1882.

4. He designed the flag of New Zealand.
Markham came up with the distinctive design, which was then authorised by Governor Bowden - who is often credited with the design as well. Outrageous.

5. His father captained ships with awesome names.
John Markham was variously in control of HMS Phoenix, HMS Volcano, HMS Zebra, HMS Sphinx, and HMS Blonde, among others. He was promoted to command the Volcano by Sir Peter Parker, who sadly was not some sort of Georgian Spiderman. As far as I can tell.


In short: Rear-Admiral A. H. Markham was awesome. He managed to achieve most of the classic schoolboy career aspirations: pirate-hunter, ship's captain, explorer... and still had time to design his own wedding cake.


This post doesn't particularly help anyone to live 21st-century life as a Victorian, but it was so interesting I thought I'd share it anyway. I can't promise that there will be no more wild tangents in future posts...!
The Secret Victorian


(Many thanks to this lovely website, where I got most of the information in this post from, and where you can find even more information about Markham if you so wish!)

Bake Off is back! And it's more Victorian than you'd think.

Spectacular bakes are nothing new - the Victorians had showstoppers down to a fine art.

The records of the Great Exhibition of 1851 show that among thousands of cakes, buns and biscuits served to visitors was the humble macaroon, perhaps the most prolific of Bake Off staples:

 

And yet Mary and Paul can’t even begin to compete with the Victorians, who managed to consume an impressive 1500 lbs (around 680 kg) of macaroons at the Great Exhibition.

If you assume that one weighs approximately 20g, I think this means they got through around 34,000 macaroons. Blimey. I wonder if you could fit them all into the Bake Off tent?!

 

Many of the images included in Mrs Beeton’s 1861 Book of Household Management look worthy of a Bake Off showstopper. I’d like to see this year’s contestants attempt this glorious trifle, for example. Wouldn't it be wonderful if those were little macaroons around the side?

 

The Victorians were also crazy about wedding cakes, which were of course the technical challenge in Bake Off's series 4 final. While Frances’ winning cake was certainly impressive, it pales in comparison to the intricate majesty of this Victorian wedding cake. The groom - Admiral Markham - designed it himself! I wonder what his new wife thought of it. Yes, it was beautifully intricate, but it was also 5-foot high...

 

If you know of any other culinary Victorian masterpieces, why not share them in the comments below?

 

Happy Baking!
The Secret Victorian