Object of the Day: A Scrap of Mr. Punch Riding a Cat

Click image to enlarge.

I live in a house full of Punchinellos, so, you can consider me the Jane Goodall of the slapstick set. It's a whole "Puppets in the Mist" scenario.

Aside from their penchant for sausages and for general mischief-making, your average Mr. Punch is prone to chattering, bouts of glee, and, a peculiar desire to see which animals are ridable.

Here, we see a Victorian scrap--technically once cut from a magazine. It depicts our Mr. Punch dressed as a jockey and, riding a cat, as one does.

I bought a huge lot of ephemera just to get this scrap.

Whoever cut this out had a steady hand and a lot of patience. Mr. Punch looks quite content with himself, yes? Frankly, knowing Punchinellos as I do, I can say with considerable certainty that Mr. Punch would very much enjoy riding a giant cat. But, wouldn't we all?

Click image to enlarge.

Object of the Day: Mr. Punch and Pretty Polly Scraps

Click on image to climb inside those comfy wooden shoes, too.
Not really.  But, you'll get a bigger image.  

I found these two tucked into a pile of trade cards. They, I think, were once a part of a trade card themselves, but, now, they’re best called scraps. So, who have we here? Well, certainly the chap is Mr. Punch or, more accurately a child dressed as Mr. Punch. Who’s his companion? A girl, rather uncomfortably dressed in a Commedia dell’Arte-inspired costume. Sure, they could be Pulcinella and Columbine, but I prefer to think of them as Punch and Pretty Polly. 

Now, as children dressed in Venetian Carnival costume tend to do, they’re standing in wooden shoes and toasting one another with champagne. Yeah, I don’t know. It’s a sort of multi-cultural mishmash. It’s a little bit Dutch, a little Italian, a little French—and, typically American. 

So, what’s this all about? On the reverse—when you put the two shoes side by side—you seem the remnants of an old ink stamp, torn away by being glued into an album. It seems these two little folks were once part of a trade card advertising for a Newark, new Jersey-based toy shop. 

And, that explains a lot.

Object of the Day: A Scrap of Mr. Punch Riding a Cat

Object of the Day: A Scrap of Mr. Punch Riding a Cat

Click image to enlarge.

I live in a house full of Punchinellos, so, you can consider me the Jane Goodall of the slapstick set. It's a whole "Puppets in the Mist" scenario.

Aside from their penchant for sausages and for general mischief-making, your average Mr. Punch is prone to chattering, bouts of glee, and, a peculiar desire to see which animals are ridable.

Here, we see a Victorian scrap--technically once cut from a magazine. It depicts our Mr. Punch dressed as a jockey and, riding a cat, as one does.

I bought a huge lot of ephemera just to get this scrap.

Whoever cut this out had a steady hand and a lot of patience. Mr. Punch looks quite content with himself, yes? Frankly, knowing Punchinellos as I do, I can say with considerable certainty that Mr. Punch would very much enjoy riding a giant cat. But, wouldn't we all?

Click image to enlarge.

Object of the Day: A Punch Valentine

Click image to enlarge

On this fine St. Valentine's Day, let's look at a favorite from my own collection.

This gorgeous Victorian valentine of paper lace and appliqué is part of my growing collection of antique ephemera.  It features an applied plaque which reads “Accept My Valentine” below an applied scrap of a scene of a boy and a girl with a dog.  The girl holds a doll while the boy is helping Mr. Punch—who oddly looks like a human child—ride the dog like a horse.

Object of the Day: A Scrap of Joey the Clown

A young man goes to see his doctor to report that he is overcome by a terrible sadness and doesn't think anything will assist him. 

The doctor says, "Why not do something happy, like going to see Grimaldi the clown?". 

The young man answers, with a knowing look, "Ah, but Doctor", he says, "I am Grimaldi." 

                                    --Popular English Joke, circa 1820 

Joseph Grimaldi
John Cawse, pre-1862

Here’s Joey. Readers of this site are familiar with Joey the Clown as a puppet figure who acts as Mr. Punch’s friend, and sometimes, the master of ceremonies of the show. Joey even serves occasionally as Punch’s conscience, but, mostly, he revels in tormenting and egging on Old Red Nose.

But, why is the famed puppet clown so named? Joey, in the Punch and Judy tradition, is an homage to the original Joey the Clown—the pantomime creation of performer Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) who is credited as the creator of the “white face” clown which is the archetype for all modern clowning.

Grimaldi entered the theatrical world at the age of three—the son of a performer and his mistress. Within a few years, he was wowing audience with his acrobatic performances and comic antics. Truly, Joseph Grimaldi was the father of clowning as we know it, and, certainly, one of the most important figures in the development of Pantomime.

Joseph Grimaldi was also the first “sad clown.” His life was, in large part tragic. After his father’s passing, he dealt with terrible poverty. Later, the loss of his first wife in childbirth clouded Grimaldi’s life and led him to alcoholism. A popular joke of the 1820s—see above—makes the depression of the man behind Joey quite clear.

And, so, because of this, Red Skelton made a second career scaring generations of people with paintings of sobbing clowns.

Nevertheless, Grimaldi’s later years were marked by more sorrow as he lost the ability to walk due to the torture he’d inflicted upon himself with his often-dangerous physical comedy. He was forced to retire, and, upon doing so, quickly became impoverished. Benefits were held in his honor, but it didn’t help. As his own son died from alcoholism, Joseph Grimaldi died as well. His last wish was to be decapitated before burial because of a lifelong fear of being buried alive. Well, that would have done the trick.

But, clowns are fun! Yes? 

Click image to enlarge.

This scrap from the 1860s-1890s is teeny tiny. It was stuck in with a bunch of ephemera which I recently bought and, at first, I almost didn’t notice it. If he’s not Joey the Clown, he’s certainly one of the many who were inspired by Grimaldi—complete with Joey’s trademark wig and makeup. I like to think he’s Joey, at least. And, so, we devote today’s Punch-Friday to Mr. Punch’s friend and sometimes tormentor, Joey the Clown, and his creator, Joseph Grimaldi.

Scrap of the Day: The Music Hall Masher, 1890

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome scrap from 1890 was colored by hand and depicts a blonde female music hall performer, dressed in masculine garb--wearing a small grey bowler hat, and a monocle in her left eye. She is smoking a cigarette and holding a cane by her face. The scrap is titled “Pantomime Masher” and was printed by Siegmund Hildesheimer & Co.

The woman depicted here is the celebrated music hall male impersonator Vesta Tilley.

Scrap of the Day: An Antique Pantomime Scene, 1890

Scrap
Cut-out, 1890
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We’ve looked at several Victorian scraps over the past year. I have a fondness for these carefully cut-out images and am always glad to see them. To me, it’s miraculous that they’ve survived because someone took the time to preserve them—a century ago.


Scraps first appeared in the early Nineteenth Century as black and white engravings which were later colored by hand. By the 1820s, they had begun to be more elaborate, sometimes embossed. By the 1830’s scraps began to be printed in color and coated with a gelatin or gum layer to give them a gloss finish and help keep them sturdy. Scraps were meant to be cut out by adults or children and stuck into albums, on to screens or boxes, or used for decorating greetings cards.

Here, we see a scrap that is in the form of a decorative letter R that is composed of characters that were popular in Nineteenth Century pantomime - the Clown, Harlequin and Pantaloon. The scene depicted here is a version of a trick invented in the 1814 pantomime that Harlequin Whittington described in The Morning Post of December 27, 1814, “Much mirth was effected not by Harlequin, but by the Clown, who forces a mop-stick through a cheese, to make a wheel, and placing this between his hands, he plies several cheeses on his back, and using his legs as the handles of the barrow, fairly wheels the load of the stage.”

Of course, we see the resemblance of the clown to Joseph Grimaldi.  Whether or not he's meant to be the clown who inspired Mr. Punch's white-faced friend, we can't tell, but there's certainly an influence.

Here's a version of the same scene as it would have appeared before being cut out.

Object of the Day: A Victorian Scrap of a Handsome Canine

Click image to enlarge

As we’ve reached another Gratuitous Bertie Dog Picture day, I thought we’d look at dog-related items today. Let’s start with this scrap. I’m always intrigued by scraps which remain untouched. Victorian hands cut out these colorful pieces of paper to use for a variety of purposes. They’d be collected in books, they’d be decoupaged onto a variety of objects, they’d be glued into cards. So, when I find one , or I’m given one , that’s survived for over a century without being glued into or onto something else, I find myself wondering why.

I like to think this sweet-eyed doggy was saved because he was special. Perhaps the cutter-outer set him aside for a particular occasion or person. Perhaps he or she couldn’t stand the thought of giving him away. Or, perhaps, he represented a particular beloved pet.

Of course, we’ll never know. But, he is very handsome, and, now he’s here with his ephemeral brethren where he seems quite content.

Object of the Day, Caption Contest: An Odd Portrait Scrap

Our Nineteenth Century counterparts were scissors-happy. They enjoyed cutting pictures out of publications, they enjoyed assembling pages of scraps and collecting cards. Most were creative and visual and reveled in surrounding themselves with pleasing images. In large part, that’s why I like them.

I’m not sure from where this woman came. The reverse of the page is not printed. The image has obviously been cut out from something else.

No matter…she rather looks as if she somehow liberated herself. She’s got a mischievous look on her face, and, clearly is nothing but trouble.

We’ve not had a caption contest for quite awhile. So, let’s do.

What do you think this lass is about? What’s she thinking? What would she say?

Answers in the comments, please.

Object of the Day: Grimaldi or Joey the Clown or...

Click on image to feed the baby.

Joseph Grimaldi (known as “Joey the Clown”), credited as the original white-faced clown, was mimicked and copied by many of his contemporaries. His then-unsual makeup and wig are no considered standard clowning attire, but, then, he was all new. The image of the white-faced clown quickly became a popular artistic theme during Grimaldi’s day. Unless specifically indicated, it’s difficult to tell if these images are actually of Grimaldi or of his many imitators.

For example, I recently came across this antique scrap amongst a lot of trade cards in my collection. If this isn’t Grimaldi, he’s a pretty close approximation. He even appears to be wearing “Joey’s” specific costume.

My question is this, however—Why the baby? Who gives their baby to a clown to be fed with a giant, comic spoon? It troubles me, especially when you consider that “Joey the Clown” became a character in the Punch and Judy tradition. We know how well it turns out for babies there.

Object of the Day, Caption Contest: Oyster Boy

Click image to get out of your shell.

I suppose this is where Victorian babies came from. No wonder they had a short shelf life overall. Seafood is very perishable.

I wish I had something intelligent to say about the late Nineteenth Century scrap. But, you know as much about it as I do. All we know is what’s visible. Naked baby coming out of an oyster shell. 

And, so, let’s have a caption contest. Answers in the comments section, please.

Object of the Day: Mr. Punch and Pretty Polly Scraps

Click on image to climb inside those comfy wooden shoes, too.
Not really.  But, you'll get a bigger image.  

I found these two tucked into a pile of trade cards. They, I think, were once a part of a trade card themselves, but, now, they’re best called scrapped. So, who have we here? Well, certainly the chap is Mr. Punch or, more accurately a child dressed as Mr. Punch. Who’s his companion? A girl, rather uncomfortably dressed in a Commedia dell’Arte-inspired costume. Sure, they could be Pulcinella and Columbine, but I prefer to think of them as Punch and Pretty Polly. 

Now, as children dressed in Venetian Carnival costume tend to do, they’re standing in wooden shoes and toasting one another with champagne. Yeah, I don’t know. It’s a sort of multi-cultural mishmash. It’s a little bit Dutch, a little Italian, a little French—and, typically American. 

So, what’s this all about? On the reverse—when you put the two shoes side by side—you seem the remnants of an old ink stamp, torn away by being glued into an album. It seems these two little folks were once part of a trade card advertising for a Newark, new Jersey-based toy shop. 

And, that explains a lot.

Object of the Day: A Scrap of Joey the Clown

A young man goes to see his doctor to report that he is overcome by a terrible sadness and doesn't think anything will assist him. 

The doctor says, "Why not do something happy, like going to see Grimaldi the clown?". 

The young man answers, with a knowing look, "Ah, but Doctor", he says, "I am Grimaldi." 

                                    --Popular English Joke, circa 1820 

Joseph Grimaldi
John Cawse, pre-1862

Here’s Joey. Readers of this site are familiar with Joey the Clown as a puppet figure who acts as Mr. Punch’s friend, and sometimes, the master of ceremonies of the show. Joey even serves occasionally as Punch’s conscience, but, mostly, he revels in tormenting and egging on Old Red Nose.

But, why is the famed puppet clown so named? Joey, in the Punch and Judy tradition, is an homage to the original Joey the Clown—the pantomime creation of performer Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) who is credited as the creator of the “white face” clown which is the archetype for all modern clowning.

Grimaldi entered the theatrical world at the age of three—the son of a performer and his mistress. Within a few years, he was wowing audience with his acrobatic performances and comic antics. Truly, Joseph Grimaldi was the father of clowning as we know it, and, certainly, one of the most important figures in the development of Pantomime.

Joseph Grimaldi was also the first “sad clown.” His life was, in large part tragic. After his father’s passing, he dealt with terrible poverty. Later, the loss of his first wife in childbirth clouded Grimaldi’s life and led him to alcoholism. A popular joke of the 1820s—see above—makes the depression of the man behind Joey quite clear.

And, so, because of this, Red Skelton made a second career scaring generations of people with paintings of sobbing clowns.

Nevertheless, Grimaldi’s later years were marked by more sorrow as he lost the ability to walk due to the torture he’d inflicted upon himself with his often-dangerous physical comedy. He was forced to retire, and, upon doing so, quickly became impoverished. Benefits were held in his honor, but it didn’t help. As his own son died from alcoholism, Joseph Grimaldi died as well. His last wish was to be decapitated before burial because of a lifelong fear of being buried alive. Well, that would have done the trick.

But, clowns are fun! Yes? 

Click image to enlarge.

This scrap from the 1860s-1890s is teeny tiny. It was stuck in with a bunch of ephemera which I recently bought and, at first, I almost didn’t notice it. If he’s not Joey the Clown, he’s certainly one of the many who were inspired by Grimaldi—complete with Joey’s trademark wig and makeup. I like to think he’s Joey, at least. And, so, we devote today’s Punch-Friday to Mr. Punch’s friend and sometimes tormentor, Joey the Clown, and his creator, Joseph Grimaldi.

Object of the Day: A Scrap of Mr. Punch Riding a Cat

Click image to enlarge.

I live in a house full of Punchinellos, so, you can consider me the Jane Goodall of the slapstick set. It's a whole "Puppets in the Mist" scenario.

Aside from their penchant for sausages and for general mischief-making, your average Mr. Punch is prone to chattering, bouts of glee, and, a peculiar desire to see which animals are ridable.

Here, we see a Victorian scrap--technically once cut from a magazine. It depicts our Mr. Punch dressed as a jockey and, riding a cat, as one does.

I bought a huge lot of ephemera just to get this scrap.

Whoever cut this out had a steady hand and a lot of patience. Mr. Punch looks quite content with himself, yes? Frankly, knowing Punchinellos as I do, I can say with considerable certainty that Mr. Punch would very much enjoy riding a giant cat. But, wouldn't we all?

Click image to enlarge.

Scrap of the Day: Burlesque and Pantomime, 1890

Burlesque and Pantomime
Hildesheimer & Co., 1890
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This Victorian scrap, dating to about 1890, is a full-color chromolithograph depicting the head of a brunette girl.  She is wearing an Asian-style blue head-dress which is decorated with strings of pearls, rubies and a pink feather.  She is holding a pink, green and white ostrich feather fan up to her face.

The scrap, titled “Burlesque and Pantomime,” was part of a decorative series by the English printer  Siegmund Hildesheimer & Co.  This series showed popular types of fashionable, “society” people.  The scraps were designed to be collected and used on cards or for decorative projects. 

Print of the Day: The Music Hall Topical, 1890

Music Hall Topical
1890
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here’s a very funny scrap which dates to about 1890.  This was produced as part of a series of scraps which depicted caricatures of “fashionable” ladies and gentlemen, especially those involved with the theatre.

Meant to be collected in an album or used to decorate a card or other object, this scrap depicts the “man about town” music hall character, sometimes called a “swell.”  This dandy is sporting a fashionable type of moustache made popular in London in the 1860s and 1870s by Edward Southern who played a character called “Dundreary” in “Our American Cousin.”

With his “Dundreary” moustache, he is shown wearing a white bow tie, a monocle in his right eye, a black top hat, blue gloves, and holding a cane to his face. The title reads,  “Music Hall Topical.”  It was printed by Siegmund Hildesheimer & Co.

Print of the Day: A Scrap of Columbine, 1890

Scrap, 1890
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Scraps, in the early 19th century and well into the Twentieth Century, were enthusiastically collected by people from all walks of life.  These die-cut and often hand-colored and embossed prints were kept in albums or used to adorn a variety of decorative arts.

Scraps depicted a huge range of subjects from popular figures to flowers.  This scrap was one of a set of pantomime characters, with Harlequin and Clown.  It depicts a young female dancer who is almost certainly meant to represent Columbine.  She is shown balancing on her left leg, her left hand held up to her face.  She wears a multicolored tutu, a low-necked white ruff and a wreath of flowers in her chestnut hair.  It dates to about 1890 and was printed by Siegmund Hildesheimer & Co.

Object of the Day: A Scrap from the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary

So, the other night, I had a lovely dream.  I dreamt that I went to the 1911 Coronation.  Not only that, I was a special guest of King George V and Queen Mary.  I rode with them in the gold carriage all the way to Westminster Abbey.  For some reason, Queen Mary was sitting between me and King George.  Queen Mary frowned at me several times and said, “Joseph, is it really necessary to smoosh my gown?  You’re crushing my gown.  You’re ruining it!”

When we arrived at Westminster Abbey, we disembarked the carriage and I discovered that the drivers were Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb from the booze-fueled fourth hour of Today.  Queen Mary warned me that if I stepped on her train, I’d have to wait in the carriage with Kathie Lee and Hoda and I promised that I would be good so I could go into the Abbey.  KLG asked me why I didn’t want to stay with her.

Why do I share this with you?  I suppose as a way of further demonstrating my devotion to Queen Mary and King George V (and, it seems Kathie Lee and Hoda).  My home is filled with antique images of George and Mary (not KLG and Hoda), and here’s one more.

This scrap was produced in 1911 for the coronation.  It depicts the King and Queen, wearing their shimmering Orders and Garter Stars, in a regal wreath.  They are flanked by the Royal Standard and the flag of Britain. 

These die-cut chromolithographs were produced so that the public could collect them an incorporate them into albums or use them for the decoupage projects which were popular at the time. 

I’m always thrilled when scraps survive in this unaltered state and I’m quite pleased to have this one.  It is, apparently, the stuff that dreams are made of.  

Object of the Day: A Punch Valentine

This gorgeous Victorian valentine of paper lace and appliqué is part of my growing collection of antique ephemera.  It features an applied plaque which reads “Accept My Valentine” below an applied scrap of a scene of a boy and a girl with a dog.  The girl holds a doll while the boy is helping Mr. Punch—who oddly looks like a human child—ride the dog like a horse.

Scrap of the Day: The Music Hall Masher, 1890

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome scrap from 1890 was colored by hand and depicts a blonde female music hall performer, dressed in masculine garb--wearing a small grey bowler hat, and a monocle in her left eye. She is smoking a cigarette and holding a cane by her face. The scrap is titled “Pantomime Masher” and was printed by Siegmund Hildesheimer & Co.

The woman depicted here is the celebrated music hall male impersonator Vesta Tilley.