Mr. Punch in the Arts: A Mr. Punch Scrap, 1890

Scrap
German, 1890
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Scraps were quite the popular thing in the Victorian era. Scraps were simply that—pieces of paper upon which images were printed. At first, scraps were printed in black and white, and, later, colored by hand. Later, scraps were printed in color.
Scraps were used for a variety of purposes—purely decorative. They were often glued onto albums or cards, but their main use was in the art of decoupage. Multiple scraps were glue to an object to make a pattern which was then varnished over. This was often employed in the making of elaborate and colorful folding screens for the home.

Here, we see a scrap of Mr. Punch looking quite cute if not a little distorted. This scrap is the work of a German printing company, Siegmund Hildesheimer & Co., and dates to 1890. Still brilliantly colored, this scrap was a gift to the V&A from the Britih Theatre Museum Association.