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| Click image to enlarge Punch and Judy at the Seaside, Llandudno R. Barnes for the "Graphic" Britain, 1886 The British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild Collection at The Victoria & Albert Museum |
This 1886 print by R. Barned depicts a seaside crowd watching a Punch & Judy show. By the Nineteenth Century, Mr. Punch and friends were one of the most popular forms of seaside entertainment. This print is housed in the V&A’s British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild Collection and was originally published in the “Graphic Magazine,” on September 10, 1886.The show seen here takes place at Llandudno and the “Professor” depicted is Richard Codman.
Richard Codman began performing his famous Punch & Judy Show in 1850 and quickly became a main attraction at the seafront at Llandudno. Richard was the first “Professor” in the celebrated Codman Family, passing the tradition on to his son. Now, the sixth generation of Codmans is still performing regularly in the same spot in Llandudno.
Check back later for a “Friday Fun” video of the current generation of the Codman family performing with Mr. Punch and his puppet kin.
2 comments:
This illustration is in fact of James Murray and is in Weymouth. The Victoria and Albert have it wrong.
Thanks for the clarification. I'll alert the V&A. This image is cataloged as having come from the British Puppet Theatre Guild. So, it's likely to have had a mistaken attribution for man years prior to the V&A's acquisition in 2008. Though you are anonymous, I wonder if you are a fellow member of the Punch and Judy Fellowship. As a n historian of the art form stuck in the US, I welcome your input on these things. Should you have more information or have a history with Mr. Punch and his puppet friends, I'd like to invite you to continue to sharel
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