The Punch Line in Microphotographs

摘要

The title page of Punch was a popular subject for microphotography: the cover image of Mr Punch sitting sketching his dog Toby, modeling for him while perched on volumes of the periodical, was first introduced in 1849 (Fig.1). It was to survive unchanged for over a century. As a microphotograph, the supporting text with its widely differing character sizes provided a challenge for the viewer, while the activity of the "little people" surrounding the central cartoon gave much to explore and enjoy. The mid-nineteenth century was a period when daily newspapers did not carry illustrations, so one looked to periodicals such as the satirical Punch, with its relatively coarse woodcuts/engravings, or the Illustrated London News, with its finer and often larger engravings, to provide a much needed alternative to the densely packed newsprint of, for example, The Times.