Print of the Day: Woodcuts of Mr. Punch and Friends, 19th C.

Wood-cut Print
Nineteenth Century
Unknown Artist
George Speaight Archive at
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here, we see two early Nineteenth-Century illustrations. One depicts Mr. Punch being bitten on the nose by the Dog Toby. The other shows a scene with our Mr. Punch, Dog Toby, Judy and the Baby—apparently, and unusually, in good spirits.

These prints were produced via woodcut, printed with black ink on paper. The work of an unknown artist, the first represents one of the most famous scenes from the Punch & Judy tradition—the introduction of Mr. Punch to his neighbor, Mr. Scaramouche’s dog.  At first, Dog Toby and Punch do not get along, but Mr. Punch is soon charmed by the terrier and takes him as his own pet.