Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Astronomy, Meteorology

Genre:

Essay, Drollery

Subjects:

Military Technology, War

    Describes Mr Punch's 'Umbrella Rifle', in which he seeks to interest the newly-formed volunteer force. This weapon enables users to 'shield them[selves] from a soaking while it provides them with the means of opening a hot fire'. It consists of an umbrella attached to the rifle muzzle and has been designed to save uniforms from being damaged by rain and damp soldiers from paying doctors' bills.

Genre:

Notes, Drollery

Subjects:

Gravity, Domestic Economy

People mentioned:

Isaac Newton Newton, Sir Isaac (1642–1727) DSB
Close   View the register entry >>

Genre:

Letter, Spoof

Subjects:

Gender, Health

    Argues that a rifle corps for ladies would provide drill and accordingly 'healthy exercise for girls'.

Genre:

Regular Feature, Reportage, Drollery

Subjects:

Light, Manufactories, Commerce, Government

    Notes the House of Commons House of Commons
Close   View the register entry >> discussion of a bill for 'making Gas Companies behave with some sort of fairness and honesty'. Despite the tactful defence of gas companies provided by the statesman Meaburn Staniland Staniland, Meaburn (1809–1867 or after) Stenton 1976
Close   View the register entry >>, Punch points out that people will still refuse to believe that 'Companies ought to charge high for bad gas'. (21)

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Zoology, Physiology, Health, Pollution, Nutrition

    Claiming that this subject is now 'occupying the scientific', reports Mr Punch's observation that a party of French officials recently travelled a great distance in a smoke-filled railway carriage. Concludes that those who eat toads can clearly survive without air.

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Mechanics, Language

    Puzzled by an advertisement for 'Comfort and the Hydrostatic Paradox', and suggests that if a coffee-pot is to be styled the 'Hydrostatic Paradox', then a 'roasting-jack' may be 'denominated the Differential Calculus'.

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Narcotics, Psychology

    Following an advertisement for a perfume that allegedly improves the memory, Punch wonders how this can be achieved. Agrees that a pinch of snuff can 'stimulate the power of recollection'. Suggests several uses of this perfume, including enabling 'the poor washerwoman' to remind herself of the 'fashionable ladies' who forget to pay her bills, reminding gentlemen of their 'small commissions or necessary purchases', and reminding candidates at a Civil Service Civil Service
Close   View the register entry >> examination of the 'cram which they had forgotten'.

Genre:

Serial, Essay, Drollery

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Military Technology, War

    Noting the great changes that were supposed to have taken place in 'military equipment' during the thirteenth century, describes the changes in the military helmet, and draws attention to its increasingly cumbersome size. Later, describes the introduction of chain-mail as a replacement for the 'old flat-ringed form of armour', and the different shields and 'implements of manslaughter' used during the reign of Edward I Edward I, King of England and Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine (1239–1307) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >>. (29) One illustration shows a figure wearing a massive helmet shaped like a barrel.

Genre:

Regular Feature, Reportage, Drollery

Subjects:

Government, Chemistry, Narcotics, Medical Treatment, Astronomy, Mental Illness, Light, Manufactories, Commerce

    Likens the way in which William E Gladstone Gladstone, William Ewart (1809–98) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> used the duty on paper to raise revenue to a chemist who extracts 'medicines from poisonous herbs' (31). Referring to the recent solar eclipse, claims that the moon passed a resolution that 'the Sun was unworthy of the confidence of the Earth' and so placed herself between these two celestial bodies. As the eclipse was only partial, reports on the moon's decision to move out of the way of the sun. Notes that this event prompted discussion of the bill for dealing with gas manufacturers who overcharge. (32)

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Experiment, Quackery, Charlatanry

Publications cited:

Owen 1860 Owen, Robert Dale 1860. Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World: With Narrative Illustrations, Philadelphia: J. P. Lippincott & Co
Close   View the register entry >>

    Discusses two reports of spirit manifestations announced in the Spiritual Magazine Spiritual Magazine (1860–77) Waterloo Directory
Close   View the register entry >>, which appear to suggest that the 'Spirit Medium and Clairvoyante' Louise Besson Besson, Louise (fl. 1860) PU1/39/4/2
Close   View the register entry >> was 'astonishing' audiences in two different places at the same time. Questions whether the aristocratic witnesses to one of these events, when they complemented Besson 'on her "spirit manifestations"', were congratulating her 'as a witch or an artist'. Following Besson's apparent ability to 'command spiritual manifestations nearly wherever she pleases', the author asks her to do so at the Punch office. Turning to other material in the 'credulous' Spiritual Magazine—which Punch christens 'Giles Scroggins's Journal' after a poem by Charles I M Dibdin Dibdin, Charles Isaac Mungo (1768–1833) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> featuring a character of this name (see Dibdin 1807 Dibdin, Charles 1807. Mirth and Metre: Consisting of Poems, Serious, Humorous, and Satirical; Songs, Sonnets, Ballads, and Bagatelles, London: Vernor [and 2 others]
Close   View the register entry >>)—notes the poor grammar of messages allegedly 'transmitted by a departed spirit through the hand of a medium', messages which suggest that spirits are like 'most rogues'. Warns its 'spiritual contemporary' against ridiculing truth and 'that experiments which cannot be performed except under certain conditions which are among those of jugglery are inconclusive, and that it is the peculiarity of all quacks and enthusiasts, whether religious or scientific, to resent derision of their impostures or delusions'. Draws attention to the Spiritual Magazine's claim that both John S Copley (1st Baron Lyndhurst) Copley, John Singleton, the younger, 1st Baron Lyndhurst (1772–1863) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> and Henry P Brougham (1st Baron Brougham and Vaux) Brougham, Henry Peter, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux (1778–1868) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> are spiritualists, but points to the unlikelihood that 'any alleged spiritual manifestation is genuine'.

Genre:

Serial, Essay, Drollery

Subjects:

Military Technology, War

    Discusses some of the 'weapons of offence' used in the reign of King Edward I Edward I, King of England and Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine (1239–1307) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> (including the scimitar and falcastrum), and proceeds to describe the stronger types of armour developed to withstand these heavier weapons. Explains why a 'greater quantity of plate was worn mixed with chain', which does 'not mean that knights carried more forks and spoons about them'. (38)

Genre:

Reportage, Spoof

Subjects:

Astronomy, Observation, Amateurism, Politics, Magnetism, Narcotics, Meteorology

    Considering Punch Punch (1841–1900+) Waterloo Directory
Close   View the register entry >> the 'first scientific journal of the day', presents the 'fullest, truest, and the most particular account' of the recent solar eclipse, exploiting the observations of its 'sharpest-eyed' contributors. Laments the fact that it received written reports of the eclipse from a drunkard and that the documents contained information that could have been obtained without the reporter and his 'scientific co-labourers' venturing to Greenwich. However, notes that the reports will 'show the future HERSCHEL Herschel, Sir John Frederick William (1792–1871) DSB ODNB
Close   View the register entry >>' some of the 'strange effects' accompanying the eclipse which were not reported in 'any other journal'. Presents five spoof reports of these effects. These include reports by Smith, who linked the eclipse to politicians being 'in the dark' about the war with China and William E Gladstone's Gladstone, William Ewart (1809–98) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> 'Spirit-Tax', by Tittle, who stated that the 'marked magnetic variation' during the eclipse caused a 'deviation' in the object of affection of 'several single gentlemen', and by Walker, who related that Mr Swizzler announced how much beer he had drunk on being 'urged by a scientific friend to make a note of what "precipitation of moisture" accompanied the Eclipse'.

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Horticulture

    Discusses the costly drainage of Richmond Park, which has resulted in 'the development of a plentiful crop of—thistles!'.

Genre:

Regular Feature, Reportage, Drollery

Subjects:

Disease, Hospitals, Government

Institutions mentioned:

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital
Close   View the register entry >>

Genre:

Notes, Drollery

Subjects:

Mental Illness, Accidents

    Draws attention to a 'new book' by Forbes B Winslow Winslow, Forbes Benignus (1810–74) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> (probably Winslow 1860 Winslow, Forbes Benignus 1860. On Obscure Diseases of the Brain, and Disorders of the Mind: Their Incipient Symptoms, Pathology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prophylaxis, London: John Churchill
Close   View the register entry >>) which presents cases of the 'beneficial results of accidents', in particular that of an 'Idiot' who, after receiving 'a violent blow on the head, became a practising Barrister'. Adds that Mr Punch is now going to be 'very careful' about indulging in 'his favourite practise of giving idiots a rap on the head'.

Genre:

News-Commentary

Subjects:

Narcotics, Crime, Medical Practitioners, Measurement

    Discusses a case of a 'poor young man' who was indicted for killing his mother after he mistakenly gave her an overdose of 'hydrocyanic acid' that she was taking to relieve her sickness. Insists that there was no proof that he had 'given an excessive dose' and is adamant that this is a case of 'culpable negligence'. Goes on to question why members of the court found it so amusing to hear a discussion between the judge and a surgeon witness about the difference between a 'minim' and 'drop' measures of prussic acid.

Genre:

Essay, Drollery

Subjects:

Medical Treatment, Magnetism, Invention

    Discusses the 'patent magnetic brushes and combs'. Explains that there is a magnet 'enclosed within the back of the brush', which is supposed to treat greying and thinning hair and other symptoms, including headaches. Adds that the brush works by leeching the oxide of iron out of the blood and drawing it into grey hair, which is deficient in iron. Ridicules this idea by suggesting that readers try to attract black hairs with a magnet. Following the success of the 'magnetic brush', suggests the 'magnetic nightcap', consisting of a network of 'magnetic steel wire' which gives the wearer all-night exposure to the magnetic fluid. Stresses the need to keep the cap in a iron casket during the day to prevent the loss of magnetism. Boasts that symptoms such as headache and neuralgia are better treated with the cap than the brush, and that the cap is accordingly 'invaluable to the gourmand and votary of Bacchus'.

Genre:

News-Commentary

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Illustrators:

[Trident], pseud.  [H R Howard] Howard, Henry R (fl. 1853) Spielmann 1895
Close   View the register entry >> Spielmann, Marion Harry Alexander 1895. The History of "Punch", London: Cassell
Close   View the register entry >>

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Charlatanry, Experiment, Light, Instruments, Belief, Proof

    Incorporating into his title the name of the notorious medium, Daniel D Home Home, Daniel Dunglas (1833–86) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >>, the author denies the claim of 'Giles Scroggins's Journal, or the Spiritual Magazine Spiritual Magazine (1860–77) Waterloo Directory
Close   View the register entry >>' that 'alleged spiritual manifestations' are real. Reports that one of Mr Punch's reliable friends attended a séance given by a 'low American' and by two female mediums, the latter being deemed 'rank impostors'. Denies the Spiritual Magazine's claim that Mr Punch is 'impugning what he knows to be the truth'. Insisting that the spiritualist periodical 'may believe that it believes in [spirit manifestations] when it really only wishes to believe them', argues that 'Spiritualists [...] do not seem to know what scientific demonstration is' because 'if they knew, they would not expect their miracles to be believed by any but the most ignorant of the vulgar [...] until performed before competent observers, and subjected [...] to the test of crucial experiment'. The illustration shows a wizard peering through a telescope at the hub of a stone wheel, evidently from a windmill near the top of the picture.

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Military Technology, War, Commerce

    Discusses John Bright's Bright, John (1811–89) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> criticism of the government's proposal to fortify English dockyards, criticism founded on Joseph Whitworth's Whitworth, Sir Joseph, 1st Baronet (1803–87) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> guarantee that he can fire a shell six miles. Punch agrees that it would be pointless fortifying arsenals with 'defences that some shell may explode next year', but stresses that should a new shell not be invented, then the dockyards will be at risk by being unfortified. Likens Bright's argument to that of not washing your hands because they will be 'dirty again' tomorrow.

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Phrenology, Politics

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Engineering, Transport, Commerce

People mentioned:

Ferdinand, vicomte de Lesseps Lesseps, Ferdinand, vicomte de (1805–94) CBD
Close   View the register entry >>

Institutions mentioned:

Suez Canal Company Suez Canal Company
Close   View the register entry >>

Genre:

Illustration, Drollery

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Illustrators:

J L, pseud.  [John Leech] Leech, John (1817–64) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> Spielmann, Marion Harry Alexander 1895. The History of "Punch", London: Cassell
Close   View the register entry >>

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Domestic Economy

    Shows a housemaid standing in a drawing room, in which a table, a broom, dust-pan, and gloves, levitate above the floor. The caption notes how the housemaid is now greeted by a table that plays an accordion and wants to shake hands. Punch emphasizes that these feats, the stock phenomena of domestic spiritualist séances, can now happen in broad daylight.

Genre:

Announcement, Drollery

Subjects:

Astronomy

Publications cited:

Morrison 1860 Morrison, Richard James 1860. Astronomy in a Nutshell; or, The Leading Problems of the Solar System Solved by Simple Proportion Only, on the Theory of Magnetic Attraction, London: [n. pub.]
Close   View the register entry >>

Genre:

Announcement, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism

See also:

[Robert Bell], 'Stranger than Fiction', Cornhill Magazine, 2 (1860), 211–24

Genre:

Song, Satire

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Charlatanry, Proof, Miracles, Belief

    Deeming Daniel D Home's Home, Daniel Dunglas (1833–86) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> 'flying exploits' to have outdone those of Robert Paltock's Paltock, Robert (1697–1767) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> fictional character Peter Wilkins, this song describes some of the dubious feats performed by the medium, ending with the verse 'HOME, HOME, great HOME—/ There's no case like HOME'. Among the phenomena described are his 'lift from the spirits', a self-playing accordion, and dancing tables, but the writer also emphasizes the suspicious circumstances under which these phenomena are produced. For example, notes that the accordion will only play 'if you won't look too hard at the works hid within', that 'you musn't peep under the [séance] table', and that the phenomena only occur in the house of Home's friend. Concludes by noting that people will regard spirits as signalling the 'new age of miracles [...] if only they'll consent to be kept in the dark'. The illustration shows a woman with a goose's face (to signify her credulity), being crowned with a wreath carried by spirit hands.

See also:

[Robert Bell], 'Stranger than Fiction', Cornhill Magazine, 2 (1860), 211–24

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Astronomy, Politics, Government

    Considers the appointment of the Roman Catholic, Mr Turnbull Turnbull, Mr (fl. 1860) PU1/39/7/4
Close   View the register entry >>, to the office of 'Calenderer of Foreign Parts in the State Paper Office' to be 'the most astounding phenomenon Mr Punch has witnessed since DONATI's Donati, Giovan Battista (1826–73) DSB
Close   View the register entry >> comet'.

Genre:

Poetry, Drollery

Subjects:

Medical Practitioners, Medical Treatment, Politics

    Describes the illnesses of Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid Abd-ul-Medjid, Sultan of Turkey (1823–61) CBD
Close   View the register entry >> of Turkey and Pope Pius IX Pius IX, Pope (1792–1878) CBD
Close   View the register entry >> who are being treated by the same French doctor (Emperor Napoleon III Napoleon III, Emperor of France (originally Louis Napoléon (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte)) (1808–73) CBD
Close   View the register entry >>) who tells his patients that 'both must be bled, / And take more steel, by which he swears, / Exhibited with lead'. The pope and sultan agree that neither the medicine nor the doctor will help them, and Punch ends by hoping that they could both 'break up quietly, / And leave the world in peace'. The poem is an allegory reflecting the dire situations of the Vatican and the Ottoman Empire, and Napoleon's involvement in both.

Genre:

Illustration, Drollery

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Medical Treatment, Medical Practitioners, Politics

    Following Anon, 'Another Rap at the Rappers', Punch, 39 (1860), 90, depicts Emperor Napoleon III Napoleon III, Emperor of France (originally Louis Napoléon (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte)) (1808–73) CBD
Close   View the register entry >> as a military doctor who spoons gruel to Pope Pius IX Pius IX, Pope (1792–1878) CBD
Close   View the register entry >> and Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid Abd-ul-Medjid, Sultan of Turkey (1823–61) CBD
Close   View the register entry >> of the Ottoman Empire, both of whom are represented as sick patients sitting on easy chairs. The pope tells the sultan that they share the same 'French Doctor' whose 'course of steel' has not been particularly effective.

Genre:

Serial, Essay, Drollery

Relevant illustrations:

wdct. [3]

Subjects:

Military Technology, War

    Discusses the types of armour used during the reign of King Edward III Edward III, King of England and Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine (1312–77) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >>, notably the increasing use of iron plate in making the armour worn by soldiers. Draws attention to the use of spiked gauntlets and to the first use of cannon (in the Battle of Crécy, 1346), a weapon that 'would now be thought mere popguns' and 'very weak compared with Armstrong's Armstrong, Sir William George, Baron Armstrong of Cragside (1810–1900) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >>'. Adds that when these early cannons burst, they 'often caused more damage to their own side than the enemy', and that the Battle of Crécy was won by the superior skill of the English archers. (68) Illustrations show the armour worn by 'William of Wimbledon', the gauntlet of 'Sir Thomas de la Marche', and an artilleryman igniting a cannon during the time of Edward III.

Genre:

Notes, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Miracle, Display, Religion

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Mental Illness, Government

    Following the claim in the new Report from the Select Committee on Lunatics Report from the Select Committee on Lunatics: Report from the Select Committee on Lunatics, Together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence, and Appendix, House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, Session 1860 (495), 22, ???–???
Close   View the register entry >> that one in every 600 persons 'is cracked', seeks the cracked proportion amongst the 654 members of Parliament Houses of Parliament
Close   View the register entry >>.

Genre:

Notes, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Politics

Genre:

Notes, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Miracle, Supernaturalism, Language

    Argues that the confusion between Daniel D Home Home, Daniel Dunglas (1833–86) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> and David Hume Hume, David (1711–76) DSB
Close   View the register entry >> 'probably originated in the miracle-mongering gentleman's connection with RAP[P]IN'—a punning reference to the 'spirit-rapping' phenomena produced by Home and to the French historian and contemporary of Hume, Paul de Rapin Rapin, Paul de (1661–1725) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >>.

Genre:

Regular Feature, Reportage, Drollery

Subjects:

Nutrition, Government, Spiritualism

    Discusses a House of Commons House of Commons
Close   View the register entry >> debate on a 'Bill imposing New Duties on Spirits', which it suggests that Daniel D Home Home, Daniel Dunglas (1833–86) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> and 'other Mediums' would 'do well to peruse' (72).

Genre:

Essay, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Charlatanry, Machinery, Proof

    Describes the existence of some 'unfashionable' people who regard 'the so-called "manifestations" of MR. HOME Home, Daniel Dunglas (1833–86) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> and other Spirit-rappers' to be 'merely the machinations of a conjuror', but thinks that this not a 'fair' opinion. Emphasizes the dubious conditions under which the 'spirit tricksters [...] do their chief tricks' including darkness, the presence of believers, and the exclusion of 'Sceptics like Mr. Punch'. Draws attention to spiritualists' fear of having their 'clumsy machinery' detected and denies that mediums can be likened to conjurors such as Robert Houdin Houdin, Robert (1805–71) CBD
Close   View the register entry >>, Ludwig Döbler Döbler, Ludwig (1801–64) WBI
Close   View the register entry >>, and Wiljalba Frikell Frikell, Wiljalba (1818–1903) RLIN
Close   View the register entry >>.

Genre:

Notes, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Commerce

Genre:

Illustration, Satire

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Mechanics, Music

    Shows a drawing room in which disembodied white 'spirit' hands have attached themselves to various objects and have animated them: for example, a bottle plays a piano using 'spirit' hands, disembodied hands dance with chairs, play musical instruments, and turn the piano music.

Genre:

Notes

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Miracle, Cultural Geography, Progress, Belief

People mentioned:

James E Tennent Tennent, Sir James Emerson, 1st Baronet (1804–69) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >>

    Opens by anticipating ridicule for the 'fearfully appalling facts' which the author is about to describe, facts which 'sceptics will regard as merely optical delusions' and therefore as inconsequential. Attacks scepticism as 'the common characteristic of the English people' and those 'too lazy to submit to be converted' by 'savans and philosophers' whom the public regard as 'charlatans and quacks' but who have detected 'novel wonders'. Confesses to believing in 'all the mysteries of spirit-rapping' and the 'science' of table-turning, and that, since coming to 'years of gin-discretion', he has had 'almost daily acquaintance with spirits'. Proceeds to relate an account of his 'last spiritual intercourse' in which he described how a dead bloater that he was about to eat, suddenly wagged its tail under the apparent influence of spirits. Having asked his friend to act as his medium with the fish, the fish raised itself up on its tail, told its life story, and then sang. Ends by denying his friend's accusation that he was suffering from an earlier debauch and from hallucination. The illustration shows a man starting at a dinner plate, above which floats a speaking fish.

Genre:

Letter, Spoof

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Faith, Zoology, Animal Behaviour, Charlatanry, Belief

    Expresses no surprise at Mr Punch's scepticism towards 'the mysteries of Spirit-rapping', but attacks him for adopting a position of 'lazy disbelief' towards spiritualism, for turning 'a deaf ear to the truths which are rapped out of our tables', and for regarding the raising of a 'spiritual enthusiast' to the ceiling as the 'height of imposition'. Admits that Mr Punch does not cram his scepticism 'down the public throat', because in articles describing the 'spirit-conversation of the Bloater and the Rapper' (see Audi Alteram Partem, ''Is There any Sperrits Present?'', Punch, 39 (1860), 101–02), he gave readers 'some knowledge of the wonders that are working, and gave them a fair chance of conversion to our faith'. Attempts to convince Mr Punch that the fish in the article can talk, sing, fly, and swim. In support of these claims, the author refers to the recently deceased 'Talking Fish', and the testimony of James E Tennent Tennent, Sir James Emerson, 1st Baronet (1804–69) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> (also a noted séance-goer) and Dr Adams Adams, Dr (fl. 1860) PU1/39/9/1
Close   View the register entry >> in favour of singing fish. She considers this testimony by 'naturalists' to be 'quite as strange as the tales of the supernaturalists'. Questions why Mr Punch believes in the singing fish of Ceylon reported by these naturalists, but not those in England, adding that William Shakespeare Shakespeare, William (1564–1616) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> supported the existence of the fish by speaking of 'calling spirits from the "vasty deep"'. Concludes by telling Mr Punch that if he persists in doubting whether a 'herring can be heard by a person who is under the influence of spirits' then she will box his ears.

Genre:

Poetry, Drollery

Subjects:

Animal Behaviour, Spiritualism, Commerce, Magic

Genre:

Song, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Miracle, Race

    This song, written from the perspective of a black person, is a response to the spiritualistic feats of Daniel D Home Home, Daniel Dunglas (1833–86) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >>. He reveals how he learnt 'de dodge' of teaching the table to 'jump Jim Crow' by moving 'de knee beneath', and that 'De spirit-hand' is made of 'Of wax or wood [...] And by phosph'rus light displayed'. Expresses grave reservations about the medium's alleged 'floatin' in de air', especially because witnesses 'dowse de gas' and observe the phenomenon in the darkness. Concludes by anticipating that if a child were to take a 'spirit lamp' to the 'Spirit-movin' sight' he would cast 'some light upon de subject'.

Genre:

Notes, Drollery

Subjects:

Steamships, Gender

Institutions mentioned:

SS Great Eastern SS Great Eastern
Close   View the register entry >>

Genre:

Reportage, Spoof

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Language, Commerce

Genre:

Regular Feature, Reportage, Drollery

Subjects:

Military Technology, Government

People mentioned:

William G Armstrong Armstrong, Sir William George, Baron Armstrong of Cragside (1810–1900) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >>

Genre:

Notes, Drollery

Subjects:

Human Development, Education, Progress, Engineers

People mentioned:

George Stephenson Stephenson, George (1781–1848) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >>

Publications cited:

Smiles 1859 Smiles, Samuel 1859. Self-Help: With Illustrations of Character and Conduct, London: John Murray
Close   View the register entry >>

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Steamships, Engineering, Technology, Commerce, Nutrition, Analogy

    Speculates on the uses of a 'gridiron' which is being prepared for the reception of the SS Great Eastern SS Great Eastern
Close   View the register entry >>. Plays on the culinary meaning of the word: for example, hopes that the ship will not be 'hauled over the coals again' and thinks it might be used to give shareholders of the enterprise a chance to see 'their stake slowly done'.

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Statistics, Amusement, Mathematics, Machinery, Music

    Argues that England has so many actors that 'MR. BABBAGE's Babbage, Charles (1792–1871) DSB
Close   View the register entry >> calculating machine would certainly be brought to a stand-still, as effectually as though an Italian organ-grinder was standing away outside, if called upon to give an account of them all'.

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Heat, Physics

Genre:

Announcement, Spoof

Subjects:

Agriculture, Horticulture, Commerce

    Announces that following the publication of Jerrold 1860 Jerrold, Thomas Serle 1860. The Garden that Paid the Rent, 3rd edn, London: Chapman & Hall
Close   View the register entry >>, Coulton 1859 Coulton, Miss 1859. Our Farm of Four Acres and the Money we Made By it, 6th edn, London: Chapman and Hall
Close   View the register entry >>, and Coulton 1860 Coulton, Miss 1860. From Hay-Time to Hopping, London: Chapman and Hall
Close   View the register entry >>, the agriculturalist John J Mechi Mechi, John Joseph (1802–80) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> is to publish 'an agricultural treatise entitled, From Crops to Strops'.

Genre:

Essay, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Domestic Economy, Mental Illness, Psychology, Mechanics, Observation

    Argues that, given the extraordinary movements of furniture caused by spirits, 'great pains should be taken to avoid the chance of accidents resulting from its [i.e. furniture] getting into an excited state'. Noting the observations of 'living witnesses', who use their eyes but not their 'common sense [...] to test the "truths" to which they testify', expresses concern about the effect of leaving a family in the presence of 'strange furniture'. To secure the 'peace of mind of parents', suggests that furniture dealers will have to make sure their wares are 'warranted as sound and safe from spirits'. Adds that 'while the Spirit mania lasts', precautions will also have to be taken with bedroom furniture which will also need to be certified as free from spirits.

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Railways, Commerce, Accidents

    Laments a report revealing that a 'certain Railway company' pays its lawyers an extortionate salary. Notes that owing to 'the numerous Railway collisions', railways are 'always running to law' and have been more profitable to lawyers than engineers. Proceeds to attack the way in which a lawyer's financial interest in a railway line continues long after 'the Engineer finished his line'. Concludes by contending that 'Railways were established in this country for the special emolument of Lawyers and Directors'.

Genre:

Poetry, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Supernaturalism

Genre:

Reportage, Drollery

Subjects:

Display, Physical Geography, Religion

    Reports that the Wyld's Great Globe Wyld's Great Globe, Leicester Square
Close   View the register entry >> might be converted into a palace for Pope Pius IX Pius IX, Pope (1792–1878) CBD
Close   View the register entry >>.

Genre:

Letter, Spoof

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Charlatanry, Steamships, Progress, Belief

    Draws attention to the abuse which Mr Punch has received in the Spiritual Magazine Spiritual Magazine (1860–77) Waterloo Directory
Close   View the register entry >> for 'deriding and denying the wonderful facts of Spiritualism!'. Notes that the conflict between the 'Spiritualist and the Scoffer' was anticipated in the nursery rhyme, 'High diddle diddle'. Insists that the rhyme is a 'covert' attack on spiritualism: for example, it interprets 'The Cat and the Fiddle, / The Cow jumped over the Moon' as 'ribaldry' meaning: 'the alleged fact of spirit-fiddling is as improbable as the legendary relation that a certain ruminant quadruped overleapt the satellite of this planet'. Concludes by assuring Mr Punch that he 'will live to believe in Spiritualism [...] as DR. LARDNER Lardner, Dionysius (1793–1859) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> lived to see the Atlantic crossed by steamers'. (101)

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Engineering, Transport, Efficiency

    Discusses the slow progress made by Ferdinand, vicomte de Lesseps Lesseps, Ferdinand, vicomte de (1805–94) CBD
Close   View the register entry >> in his construction of the Suez Canal Suez Canal
Close   View the register entry >>, the slow rate being all the more difficult to comprehend since a large boring machine is being used. Wishes Lesseps would 'bore quietly' and 'not disturb the peace of Europe as though all the mountains in the world were in labour', and describes the opinion of Henry J Temple (3rd Viscount Palmerston) Temple, Henry John, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784–1865) ODNB
Close   View the register entry >> that the canal should be 'Cut'.

Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Heroism, Navigation, Discovery

    Discusses the attempt by some descendants of James Cook Cook, James (1728–79) DSB
Close   View the register entry >> to raise money for a monument to 'that distinguished man'. Argues that Cook needs no monument since every inhabitant and animal in the South Sea islands 'is a figure in COOK's monument', and any other monument will 'fall far below this'.

Genre:

Reportage, Spoof

Subjects:

Medical Treatment, Medical Practitioners, Politics

    Describes the change of air recommended to the King Ferdinand II Ferdinand II, King of the Two Sicilies (1810–59) CBD
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