Dunedin Punch was published by Robert and Thomas Redmayne in Dunedin. The first issue appeared 27 May 1865; the last 6 January 1866. There were 41 issues in total.]]> Robert and Thomas Redmayne, publishers ]]> Periodical]]> Dunedin Punch of weather in Dunedin.]]> Robert and Thomas Redmayne, publishers]]> Periodical]]> Robert and Thomas Redmayne, publishers]]> Periodical]]> Mary Shelley]]> Book]]> Mary Shelley]]> Book]]> Frankenstein to the 3rd edition, first illustrated edition of 1831.]]> Drawn by Theodore von Holst and engraved by William Chevalier]]> Book]]> Science-Gossip (1865-1893, 1894-1902) was a popular science magazine, aimed at the educated lay reader. Its first editor was the botanist Mordecai Cubitt Cooke, and the journal purported to be ‘a medium of interchange and gossip’ regarding discoveries, developments, and the scientific world. In 1871, a review of the magazine in the scientific journal Nature noted that Science-Gossip was perceived as a scientific equivalent to Notes and Queries: ‘The two resemble each other, indeed, in many particulars, and in none more than in the very unequal value which attaches to the articles contained in their pages’.

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Mordecai Cubitt Cooke, editor]]> Periodical]]>
Household Words (1850-1859) was ‘conducted’ and founded by Charles Dickens in collaboration with his publishers, Bradbury & Evans. The publication featured articles dealing with social reform, emigration, and the British Empire, alongside novels in serial form. Works by Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Reade, and Dickens’s own Hard Times appeared over the years. Sales sat at around 40,000 copies per week (it was priced at tuppence per issue), although readership could triple for special holiday editions, and this figure does not account for the many working readers who would band together to buy a shared copy. All articles were published anonymously, yet the identities of featured novelists tended to be an open secret.

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Charles Dickens]]> Periodical]]>
At the time of this portrait, James Anthony Froude (1818-1894) was celebrated for his popular history of the English Reformation. In later years, he became a travel writer, a controversial biographer of his friend Thomas Carlyle, and a notorious champion of the British Empire.

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Adriano Cecioni]]> Periodical]]>
‘[I]t is Mr. Ruskin's great misfortune’, writes Vanity Fair, ‘to be an incurable poet and artist in a materialistic and money-grubbing generation’. John Ruskin (1819-1900) was the pre-eminent British art critic of the nineteenth century. An early admirer of Turner and the Pre-Raphaelites, his ideas influenced Oscar Wilde, William Morris, and Mahatma Gandhi.

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Adriano Cecioni]]> Periodical]]>
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) is given the title ‘A Feminine Philosopher’, which reflects both his support of women’s suffrage and his public persona as a sensitive man. The accompanying text describes Mill as ‘a man of vast intellect and tender feelings’.

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Spy, that is, Sir Leslie Ward]]> Periodical]]>
Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine was founded by the bookseller John Bell as a monthly magazine for women. Noted for its vibrant fashion plates, the journal also published serial fiction and articles on politics, science, and the theatre. Notable writers including Jane Porter and Mary Shelley contributed work, but readers were also encouraged to submit articles of their own for publication.]]> Founder John Bell]]> Periodical]]> Leisure Hour: A Family Journal of Instruction and Recreation (1852-1905) was a weekly periodical published by the Religious Tract Society. Committed to providing the public with appropriate, moral reading for the Sabbath, the Leisure Hour was usually sold on a Saturday. The contents included religious poetry and stories from the Bible, along with articles detailing the work of missionaries, and fiction that upheld the RTS’s values. The publication was priced at a penny, making it accessible to working-class readers. It occasionally included colour plates, as is exemplified here by the rather startling image of a young man having his head measured by a phrenologist. Contributors included Margaret Oliphant, Frances Browne, and Mary and William Howitt.]]> Religious Tract Society]]> Periodical]]> Pierce Egan’s Life in London began in July 1821 as a monthly publication. It followed the high and low adventures of three young men about town: Tom, Jerry, and Logic. The series was an instant success and inspired a number of theatrical versions (and yes, the animated cat and mouse take their names from Egan’s characters). The dazzling illustrations, by artist brothers Isaac and George Cruikshank, were central to the work’s popularity. George Cruikshank would become one of the century’s most successful commercial artists, illustrating some of Charles Dickens’s early writings, including Oliver Twist.

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Pierce Egan]]> Periodicals]]>
ILN, 6 January 1855.]]> Henry Ingram, founder]]> Periodical]]> Illustrated London News (1842-2003) transformed the reporting of current affairs, politics, and world events. It was the world’s first illustrated weekly newspaper, visibly different from its competitors. The ILN initially featured a large number of wood engravings; photographic reproductions began to appear in the 1890s.]]> Henry Ingram, founder]]> Periodical]]> Illustrated London News appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. It was timed to report on the young Queen Victoria's first masquerade ball. It cost sixpence, and the first issue sold 26,000 copies.]]> Herbert Ingram, founder]]> Periodical]]> ILN. This is part of a supplement on the Duke, his life and death.]]> Henry Ingram, founder]]> Periodical]]> Henry Ingram, founder]]> Periodical]]> ILN’s reputation was confirmed by its reports and photographs from the Crimean War in 1855, when sales reached more than 200,000 copies a week. This issue carries folk milling about on board ship.]]> Henry Ingram, founder]]> Periodicals]]> 2018 is the bicentennial of the publication of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. Though the novel received limited attention when it first appeared, several theatrical adaptations in the 1820s brought it a larger audience. In 1831, it was republished in the Standard Novels series, with a frontispiece that offered an early vision of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. In the following decades, journals like Punch regularly turned to Mary Shelley’s story when commenting on current events. In doing so, they made Frankenstein a familiar representative for figures whose dangerous creations escape their control.

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Richard Rothwell]]> Painting (reproduction)]]>
Morning Herald established Melbourne Punch in 1855. Its first appearance was on 2 August 1855. In 1924 it was acquired by the Herald and Weekly Times, and in 1929 merged with Table Talk. It thus disappeared.]]> Frederick Sinnett and Edgar Ray, founders]]> Periodical]]> Otago Punch was a continuation of Dunedin Punch. It was printed by Charles Francis and published at the Office of the Proprietors between 1866-1867. There were some 26 issues. In 1888, another reiteration appeared in Dunedin: New Zealand Punch, which was a distinguished production and the last in the succession.]]> Charles Francis, printer
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Punch cartoons of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny led to a surge in the magazine's popularity. This image may also have pushed reader numbers up. It was a staple read for many in British drawing rooms. After closure in 1992, and a strt up in 1996, Punch finally closed in 2002 after 161 years of publication.]]> Sir Francis Burnand, editor]]> Periodical]]> Punch, or the London Charivari (1841-1992, revived 1996-2002) was founded by a group that included social reformer Henry Mayhew, engraver Ebenezer Landells, and journalist Mark Lemon. It quickly became known for its lively political and social satire. Early circulation figures were modest at around 6000, but by 1860 they had risen to 40,000 copies each week. Contributors included Richard Doyle, William Makepeace Thackeray, John Tenniel, and George du Maurier. Punch was a great supporter of the 1851 Great Exhibition at Hyde Park and is credited as the originator of the name, ‘The Crystal Palace’.]]> [Henry Mayhew, et al.]]]> Periodicals]]>