The magazine Punch was set up by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebeneezer Landells. Intended as a satirical publication in the heyday of radical politics, it was inspired by the French magazine Le Charivari, from which it took its subtitle of The London Charivari. The editorship was undertaken jointly by Mayhew (later also known for his social researches, culminating in 1851 in London Labour and the London Poor) and Mark Lemon. It instigated the use of the word 'cartoon' in the modern sense, and its pages were richly populated with satirical images of the monarchy, the political establishment and social foibles it deemed worthy of mockery. The magazine reached a peak in circulation during the 1940s, but thereafter …
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Punch". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=910, accessed 23 November 2024.]
