Attacks the avaricious legal and political institutions associated with
patents through a tale of a medieval 'wight', Childe Johnson, who tries to
secure a patent while fighting the monsters connected with those institutions.
Describes how the 'fairy, hight Invention, gave her CHILDE a
certain treasure' to protect with 'A magic scroll—a talisman—a
thing yclept a Patent', and how Johnson was attacked by such 'monsters' as
'foul vultures' at the
Court of
ChanceryCourt of Chancery
CloseView the register entry >>. Other beasts that impede his progress include 'rapacious
birds' from the 'Ravens' Patent Nest' in
Lincoln's InnLincoln's Inn
CloseView the register entry >>,
the 'hawk and wolf of Government', 'Griffins grim and savage' of 'Signet's
Haunt' and, again, the 'Patent Ravens' that, 'with bill, and stamp, and docket,
/ Engrossings, fees, and recipes, come picking at his pocket'. Proudly
proclaims that Childe, despite 'Monster, Ogre, Cockatrice, and Dragon, / Has
got Patent Talisman' and hopes the latter possession never fails him 'Gainst
wiles of legal conjurers'. Illustrations show Childe, with medieval armour and
sword, attacking legal 'vultures', and finally grasping a patent at the feet of
a fairy.
Medical Treatment, Religious Authority, Periodicals
Boasts that 'Punch [...] is allowed to be the very best of physic'
and is 'infinitely superior [...] to the Roman Pretender's [Edward B PuseyPusey, Edward Bouverie
(1800–82)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>]
prescription of a bishop'.
Medical Practitioners, Medical Treatment, Commerce, Quackery
Responding to an attack on medical practitioners and their extortionate fees
by a correspondent in
The TimesThe Times
(1777–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >>,
blames the public for making medical practitioners 'dwarfish, sycophantic,
ridiculously nimble and consequential'. Attacking patients for their 'squeamish
imbecile flunkeyism' towards medical practitioners, advises the correspondent
to dismiss the 'agreeable' practitioner (since a doctor and his physic should
be 'disagreeable'), to pay only for 'necessary attendance', and to learn enough
medicine to be able to judge when doctors are really necessary.
Argues that the
Great
ExhibitionGreat Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (1851)
CloseView the register entry >> should display paintings of 'the
INDUSTRIOUS' as well as their productions. Asks whether it is
shameful 'to disclose the condition of those whom we have to thank' for 'all
manner of articles of comfort and luxury'.
Adulteration, Chemistry, Commerce, Alchemy, Cultural Geography,
Race
Subtitled 'To the Grocer', insists on the 'Great [...] villany of the
Chinese', and claims that 'certain books of the working chemist' show that the
'roguery of the Englishman [...] may outblush the pale face of the Tartar
trickster'. Sympathises with the 'Chinaman' for adulterating tea-leaves but,
quoting
Jöns J
BerzeliusBerzelius, Jöns Jacob
(1779–1848)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, attacks the avaricious Christian grocers of England for
perpetrating the same crime. Analyses the alarming ways in which grocers
adulterate such foodstuffs as coffee and honey and invites his imaginary
congregation of 'adulterate' grocers to partake of their own dubious goods.
Sanitation, Public Health, Chemistry, Education,
Putrefaction
Anticipating that foreign visitors to the
Great
ExhibitionGreat Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (1851)
CloseView the register entry >> will have a great thirst for beer, identifies and
condemns the gruesome contents of the 'brewage' drunk by
Londoners—'diluted sewage'. Describes how a mechanic broke his pledge to
renounce fermented liquor. On being found drunk, he claimed that he had heard
'a learn'd Professor' give a lecture 'On Chemistry' at 'our Institute', in
which he identified putrefaction with fermentation. In consequence, he was
convinced that London water was a 'fermented drink' and decided that he would
'rather break the pledge with malt and hops' than with 'slush and slops'.
Invention, Progress, Military Technology, Light, Technology,
Steam-power, Aeronautics
Observes that the 'inventions actually produced and perfected by men of
genius are by no means as numerous as their plans'. Explores the effects on
existing technologies, and on those with interests in such technologies, of
such new inventions as
Samuel A
Warner'sWarner, Samuel Alfred
(1793/4–1853)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> 'long range' device, balloons, and steam-carriages. Argues
for the 'pace of improvement' of invention to be 'as a slow as scarcely to be
felt'.
Ornithology, Societies, Taxonomy, Analogy, Human Species
Reports on first meeting of the
Philoperisteron SocietyPhiloperisteron Society
CloseView the register entry >>, a society
for cultivating 'every variety of Pigeon', and a similar meeting at the same
time attended by people who, as Punch implies, can be classified like
pigeons: 'Baldheads', 'Beards', 'Carriers', and 'Trumpeters'. The illustration
shows pigeons dressed in tailcoats at a social gathering.
Zoology, Monstrosities, Cultural Geography, Exhibitions
Shows a black figure sitting on a giraffe (apparently on its way to the
Great
ExhibitionGreat Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (1851)
CloseView the register entry >>) while a boy looks on and asks, 'Please, sir, shall I
hold your horse?'.
Written in a style to represent a yokel, points out that when
Benjamin
DisraeliDisraeli, Benjamin, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield
(1804–81)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> spoke of 'the theory of
M.
LIEBNITZLeibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm
(1646–1716)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>' regarding 'mineral manure', he meant
't'other feller whose neam begin wi' LIE, as taches us to cure
the poorness of the land by givn of physick—LIE-BIGLiebig, Justus von
(1803–73)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>'.
Asks Punch to explain Disraeli's advice to 'apply more capital to the
land', thinking that the statesman means flinging sieved money over the
fields.
Discusses the complaint of a wooden-legged correspondent who proposes to
solve the problem of walking through the vast lengths of the
Great
ExhibitionGreat Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (1851)
CloseView the register entry >> by having a 'Moving Panorama of the
Crystal
PalaceCrystal Palace
CloseView the register entry >>', whose attractions include a 'Professor of all the Arts and
Sciences' lecturing on the 'history and rise of the various products of the
earth as they respectively appear on the canvas'.
Announces discovering 'a piece of sculpture' that 'smacks of Popery' but
which shows a Bull being sat upon by the 'British Lion'. The illustration
depicts the putative archaeological find.
Quackery, Medical Practitioners, Medical Treatment
Wonders why 'advertising doctors' tend to promise to cure 'a bad leg of so
many years standing' and what the world would say to such comparable promises
as curing noses and eyes 'of twenty years running'.
Criticises vegetarians' belief in the 'grand union between the market-garden
and the moral and mental attributes', by denying that a man whose life is
dominated by vegetables 'can attain to any very high degree of intellectual
culture'. Concludes that the whole system is an absurdity but stands 'open to
correction'.
Complains about the stopping and 'eccentric strikings' of the St James'
clock. Notes that this 'horological outrage' has been caused by 'a paltry plan
of economy'.
Announces the progress of 'a new system of theology, and mental and moral
philosophy' which generally derives from the mouths of 'nervous and epileptic
youths' and hysterical women—mesmerism. Explains that the discourse of
the sleeper, is usually incoherent, but that 'useful information' regarding the
'constitution of the mind' can be obtained by touching the sleeper's head and
thus exciting his phrenological faculties. Points out that different
mesmerisers produce 'contradictory wonders' and notes the extraordinary power
of vision possessed by mesmerized subjects. Warns that the 'doctors of the
epileptic Church' will not quell public incredulity until they perform such
feats as 'causing a patient to read Punch with the crown [...] in the
Royal
College of SurgeonsRoyal College of Surgeons
CloseView the register entry >>'.
Physiology, Education, Government, Public Health, Sanitation,
Crime
Upholding the need for a 'College for Statesmen', suggests that the college
should teach physiology to show the effect of that science on 'sanitary
enactments or fiscal measures affecting the public health, and on criminal
legislation'.
Announcing a 'great discovery' made by the
Society
of ApothecariesWorshipful Society of Apothecaries of London
CloseView the register entry >>, explains how the society was established to supply
medicine to the public and to regulate the education of medical practitioners,
an 'arrangement' which is considered 'rather inferior'. Condemns the society
for not valuing the chemical teaching skills of a 'Provincial Professor',
however eminent he is in Europe, unless he lectures at a medical school. Claims
that the society has discovered a 'principle' in London air 'essential' to the
study of chemistry 'by which alone any sort of air can be analysed'. Adds that
the atmosphere near London hospitals and medical schools contains significant
quantities of an 'element which brings into play certain delicate affinities'
rendering it 'impracticable' for students to study chemistry anywhere but at
those medical establishments. Advises students to study chemistry before
embarking on a medical education in London.
Reports on the composition and structure of the earth as represented by
Wyld's Great
GlobeWyld's Great Globe, Leicester Square CloseView the register entry >>, a structure still under construction. The report includes
such observations as that the 'primary strata of the earth consisted of oyster
shells, old marrow-bones, lobster claws and broken bricks', the 'shape of the
Earth partakes very much of the appearance of a lady's powder-box', and the
Earth 'is as stationary [...] as any other London nuisance can be'. Notes that
the principal deposits of the earth will be 'money paid at the door'.
Anaesthesia, Medical Treatment, Government, Commerce, Crime
Concerns 'Special Constable Punch's' charging of two lads,
thinly-veiled representations of
Robert PeelPeel, Sir Robert, 2nd Baronet
(1788–1850)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and
Lord John
RussellRussell, Lord John, 1st Earl Russell
(1792–1878)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> (the Prime Minister), for mugging John Bull with a
chloroform-soaked cloth marked 'Repeal of the Window Tax'.
Reports on a new orrery at the Haymarket that will feature thirteen new
moons. Warns that the orrery stands little chance of attracting the public that
have a great appetite for such novelties as comets.
Laments the 'extraordinary power of deglutition' shared by members of
genteel society and their appetite for the new 'Electro-Biology'. Describes Mr
Punch's visit to 'an exhibition of this so-called "science"' in which 'very
suspicious and unprepossessing' individuals' were, under the influence of
Dr DarlingDarling, Dr
(fl. 1850)
PU1/20/15/6 CloseView the register entry >>,
rendered unable to remember their location and 'induced to mistake' pure water
for such liquids as champagne. Wryly reports that in a test of the phenomenon,
the stiff arm of an electro-biologised 'patient' proved weaker than that of a
'compact and muscular gentleman'.
Claims that, 'Some individuals, with a rather large development of the bumps
of "cautiousness" anticipate disturbances in consequence' of 'socialist
foreigners' visiting the
Great
ExhibitionGreat Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (1851)
CloseView the register entry >>.
Invites an electrobiologist to deal with the question of where the subjects
being treated derive their knowledge of English from, enabling them to respond
to practictioners' questions, if, as is claimed, they have been deprived of
their power of memory.
Exhibitions, Invention, Technology, Domestic Economy, Music
Describes briefly some of the items on display at Mr Punch's counter at the
Great
ExhibitionGreat Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (1851)
CloseView the register entry >>, most of which attempt to solve problems encountered in
the home. Examples include 'A Latch Key' enabling the late-returning husband to
turn back the clocks in the house by three hours, and a 'Verdi Ear Protector',
enabling a 'young lady' to 'sit out' one of
Giuseppe F F
Verdi'sVerdi, Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco
(1813–1901)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> operas 'without hearing any of the noise'.
Claims evidence for the rotation of the earth which, dismissing such
technical questions such as 'latitude or longitude', is based on his
observation of a ceiling after drinking 'brandy-and-water'.
Punch, 20 (1851), 192.
The Nose of the Hippopotamus Put Out of Joint by the Young
Elephant
Shows a crowd of women and young children around a young elephant dressed as
a young woman. In the background a black figure reassures the hippopotamus that
the elephant is ugly.
Thinks that the oxy-hydrogen and electric lights on display at the
Great
ExhibitionGreat Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (1851)
CloseView the register entry >> cannot surpass the brilliancy of a candle at Rochester
Cathedral which 'has been made by a gradual process of accretion'—a
reference to a dispute concerning the use of the cathedral's trusts.
Exhibitions, Agriculture, Invention, Technology, Steam-power,
Political Economy
Written in a yokel-style, presents the narrator's doubts about the
agricultural use of some of the objects on show at 'your
Palace of
CrystalCrystal Palace
CloseView the register entry >>'. Argues that 'minerals, and physic, and chymical drugs
[...] wun't affoord no relief to the land', and that 'gurt big steam-engines
for fairings and toys, / Which I dare say amuses the Manchester boys' will only
'screw up the prices of grain'. Yearns for the 'Fair as was held [...] in the
old turnpike-days afore railways was know'd' and thinks the 'wicked inventions
for grindun the earth [...] be nought wurth'.
Contends that electro-biology is not new because the 'effects of gazing on
coin' have been known for ages. Noting how 'susceptible subjects' can make a
'solemn vote' when offered money, argues that the St Albans election is an
example of 'Electro (Elective) Bribery and Corruption'.
Repudiates a
Bow StreetBow Street Magistrates' Court
CloseView the register entry >>
magistrate's claims that London medical students are the 'most disorderly class
with whom the Police and the Magistrates has to deal'. Insists that the
magistrate has confused medical students with 'youthful visitors' to
Exeter HallExeter Hall, Strand CloseView the register entry >>, and
hopes medical students will 'spare no amount of money, noise, and beer' in
publicly restoring their reputation.
Noting that 'Certain insects are coloured by their food', suggests that
John Gould'sGould, John
(1804–81)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>
hummingbirds at the
Zoological Society GardensZoological Society of London —Gardens
CloseView the register entry >>
must have eaten coloured jewels to produce their magnificent colours. Thinks
the birds are greater marvels than the hippopotamus and baby elephant on
display at the gardens.
Exhibitions, Morality, Manufactories, Political Economy, Gender,
Class
Noting the various morals that 'grow out of' the
Great
ExhibitionGreat Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (1851)
CloseView the register entry >>, presents 'a sample' of the morals drawn by different
sections of the population. These include the 'Protectionist' and 'Free
Trader', who claim the moral of the exhibition to be the 'humbug' and virtues
of free trade respectively; the wife, who believes the moral to be to 'Get the
men to take you to see that stupid machinery'; and the artisan who wonders 'how
they'd get on without us?—Or we without them, for that matter'.
Presents the items of 'ennobling dogmata' announced by
Pope Pius IXPius IX, Pope
(1792–1878)
CBD CloseView the register entry >>. These
include such ridiculous astronomical claims as 'the earth does not move,
and—under the present Pontiff—never shall' and the 'Moon is
made of green cheese'.
Complains about the cost of postage on letters from the United Kingdom to
'foreign parts' and describes several solutions to this problem. These include
the 'truly marvellous time and space annihilator', the 'Snail Telegraph' of
M. BenoitBenoit, M
(fl. 1851)
PU1/20/23/2 CloseView the register entry >> and
M. AllixAllix, M.
(fl. 1850)
http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/aig/staff/toby/writing/Skeptic/pd26.html
CloseView the register entry >>, a telegraph
exploiting the strong mutual magnetic sympathy felt by snails, even when
separated by the Atlantic ocean. Reports
William
Gregory'sGregory, William
(1803–58)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> analysis of the phenomenon, but adds that Mr Punch could
not make snails sympathise with each other when only six inches apart.
Discusses one of the
Great
Exhibition'sGreat Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (1851)
CloseView the register entry >> 'wonders'—'a Bed that upsets itself by machinery
at a certain hour'. The illustration depicts this invention in action.
Homeopathy, Medical Treatment, Quackery, Methodology,
Surgery
Explains that Mr Punch has received gifts (including some sticking plaster
labelled 'Arnica Plaster' and a book
'Arnica and Rhus, with Directions for their Use, in
Mechanical Injuries, and in other Affections'Anon. 1852. Arnica, Rhus, and Calendula: With Directions
for their Use in Mechanical Injuries and Other Affections, London: W.
Headland
CloseView the register entry >>) from a clergyman 'for
the benefit of the
Hahnemann HospitalLondon Homeopathic Hospital
CloseView the register entry >>'. These have
been sent to Mr Punch 'to enable him to satisfy himself, experimentally, of the
truth of homeopathy'. Points out that Mr Punch's constitution is so sound that
he does not see how 'Arnica Plaster' can be better than common court-plaster in
treating wounds. Points out that Mr Punch is not prepared to take the trouble
to conduct a thorough comparison of different plasters, but adds that neither
were homeopathic practitioners—who 'pretend to be scientific men' and
followers of 'Inductive philosophy', whatever may be thought of the pretence'.
Proceeds to consider the book accompanying the plaster. Explains that Mr Punch
accepts the claim of homeopathic practitioners that they do profess to be able
to treat 'dislocations and fractures', but that he does not think their
treatment works for any disease. Draws attention to extracts in the book which
appear to show how homeopathic remedies still depend on surgery and are
ultimately chimerical.
Describes the principal circles in high society in terms of their
'geometry'. For example, 'An Illustrious Circle is a Circle having for centre a
royal duke, and for radii peers and nobles of high rank'.
Reports that the Lord Mayor of London (John MusgroveMusgrove, John
(fl. 1850)
http://www.steeljam.dircon.co.uk/lordmayorchrono.htm CloseView the register entry >>) recently gave a conversazione
that featured displays of the feet of spiders, flies, and frogs, and of human
skin, magnified by microscopes. Praises the mayor for showing 'such an
intelligent preference for science in the abstract' but worries that the
customisation of such a scientific duty might lead to such consequences as a
'PROFESSOR
OWENOwen, Richard
(1804–92)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> chief magistrate' becoming the 'best exponent
of the dainty', or 'LORD MAYOR
ERASMUS
WILSONWilson, Sir William James Erasmus
(1809–84)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> being called upon to display human skin. An
adjoining paragraph, entitled 'Another Account', suggests that the display is
not new to the Greenwich Pensioners, since whilst the mayor magnifies the legs
of only spiders and flies, the pensioners magnify the full-blooded native
cockroach.
Adulteration, Medical Practitioners, Public Health
Reports on
Thomas Wakley'sWakley, Thomas
(1795–1862)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
investigations revealing that coffee consists of such substances as 'chicory,
corn, and potatoes'. Extracts from
Coffee and its
AdulterationsAnon. 1851. Adulteration of Coffee: A Verbatim Report of
the Proceedings of a Public Meeting [...] to Which is Appended, Comments on the
Subject from 'The Times', 'Chronicle', and 'The Lancet', London: T.M.
Inchbold
CloseView the register entry >> reveal the alarming amount of chicory and corn in
various types of coffee. Suggests that this information will allow people to
see through labels in grocers' shop windows. Discusses the possible
consequences of the fact that tradesmen have defended their use of chicory in
coffee by arguing that the public are so accustomed to it that they would be
indignant if it were removed.