Political Cartoons

Boer War

Edward Linley Sambourne

Edward Linley Sambourne was born 24 years after Tenniel, in 1844. His original career was as an apprentice engineer, but he was moved into the drawing office when his aptitude was discovered. His work came to the attention of Punch editor Mark Lemon, and he had his first drawing published in the magazine when he was 23 in 1867.Within 4 years he had become a staff member, although he was not to provide his first political cartoon until 1884. Ten years later he began to regularly draw the magazine’s second cartoon. Finally, upon Tenniel’s retirement in 1902 he became the principal cartoonist for Punch.

You have to feel for him a bit. After waiting so long for Tenniel to step down, Linley Sambourne could only enjoy the position as top dog for 8 years, passing away in 1910.

J.M.Staniforth

Joseph Marwood Staniforth started publishing cartoons, mainly in the Wales and West of England Western Mail newspaper in the late 1880s. His cartoons often focused on social arrest in these areas, and he would continue as the Western Mail’s principal cartoonist until his death in December 1821.

Clifford K. Berryman

Berryman was a cartoonist who worked extensively in Washington D.C.

(Sir) Bernard Partridge

Bernard Partridge was the artist who became the chief cartoonist in Punch after Edward Linley Sambourne in 1909. He had trained as an architect and then gone on to design stained glass windows for churches, having also acted on stage under the name Bernard Gould. Partridge joined the staff of Punch in 1891, so worked for the magazine at the same time as Tenniel and Linley Sambourne. Partridge, like Tenniel before him, would produce work for Punch for over 50 years, continuing right up until his death in 1945. He’s probably better known for his work during world war I than he Boer War, when he did design posters for the Government as well, and again, like Tenniel before him, he would receive a knighthood, in 1925.

Harry Furniss

Harry Furniss is an artist illustrator whose work I have copied in the past. Harry Furniss was born in Ireland but worked for the most part of his career in England. He joined the staff of Punch in 1880 and stayed with the magazine for 14 years, before parting company with them after he sold a cartoon that had appeared in Punch first to Pears soap to use in their advertising. I don’t know “The King” magazine and I haven’t been able to find out any information about it. I would guess that it was one of many magazines that came along trying to grab a slice of the popularity of Punch and probably didn’t last very long. When Furniss’ attempts to create his own successful humour magazine floundered he moved to America, becoming a writer and actor in very early movies, and reputedly even making an animated film for Thomas Edison.