1935: Dressed Overall
[INDENT]As a sign of celebration, ships in harbour may be ‘dressed overall’ by stringing International Code flags (arranged at random) from stemhead to masthead, from masthead to masthead (if the vessel has more than one mast) and then down to the Taff rail.[/INDENT] Wikipedia
The skipper of the tramp steamer also feels in a jubilee mood.
1935: Taking Some (Though Not All) of the Credit
The village postman is not averse to a bit of praise (flattery perhaps) though we all know that he took no part in designing the 1935 jubilee postage stamps.
1935: Blatant Snobbery
‘His Grace’, although an infant is already a duke, having inherited his title at an extremely young age. The snobbish children’s nurse and her assistant revel in the status conferred upon them by their young charge’s elevated status.
1935: An Outpost of Empire
Very few Punch cartoons reflect the widespread British Empire (as it was still called) which then still continued to hold sway.
Here Nobby and his comrades are on the North West Frontier. Today the ground on which they are standing is on the border between Pakistan’s Tribal Areas and Afghanistan. They were meant to be keeping a watchful eye on the Pathans now known as Pashtuns.
At this moment I assume that they are off duty since neither smoking nor moping about are consistent with guard duty. No doubt they are holding on to their rifles so that they don’t ‘go missing’.
I think that the artist is some kind of latter day Rudyard Kipling who, though a civilian, used to socialise with the Tommies (and not the officers) in India and wrote about them in a sympathetic way.
1935: All In It Together
The butler tells the footman that they both are participating in the reflected glory of their employer’s elevation.
In reality I would imagine that such news would already be known within the household.
1935: They All Know What is Worth Looking At
It is clear that the object of interest is well aware of her attractiveness and so are the other ladies although they do not share in the gentlemen’s pleasure at this fact.
Popping in to say that I enjoy your daily Punch Cartoons. The talented art work on them were amazing compared to todays efforts.
Thank you Mr Magoo
Thanks. It’s nice to be appreciated!
They certainly did draw well.
By the way board members should feel free to comment on issues raised by the jokes. Let’s have your input!
1935: Confidence
It seems that Daddy is known to be an incompetent fielder. His body language shows that he has no more confidence in his own ability than his wife has.
1935: Elementary Education
This is one of several George Belcher cartoons showing girls attending an elementary school in conversation with their teachers. At first sight it looks as though Miss Brown is being caricatured but on further thought I rather suspect that her forbidding and down-trodden appearance is an accurate representation.
There will now be a break in my daily postings from Punch. I expect to resume in a week’s time.
Ah memories. Most school teachers were forbidding in those days …and respected for it 
Normal service has now been resumed…
1935: A Scientific Experiment at the Seaside
At the cost of an extra penny the young woman on the scales has demonstrated that the machine is quite incapable of reading her character accurately. No doubt the weight has been accurately measured but the rest is just a fraud.
1935: Pacifism Up To a Point
This cartoon mocks the genuine pacifism of the people desperate to get on the last bus. When it comes to it they can be quite aggressive in their own way.
Pacifism was a big issue in the mid 1930s. Faced with Germany’s rapid rearming there was not much appetite here to follow suit. Winston Churchill was not at all popular when he demanded that Britain should do so. Indeed he was in danger of being deselected as Conservative MP for Epping.
The reason was not for any love for Hitler but because of a vivid memory of the horrors of the Great War. Whereas Hitler could promise his people revenge for the defeat of 1918 the general mood in Britain was ‘never again’.
With hindsight this was a big mistake. The country was ill prepared when eventually even Neville Chamberlain realised that war could not be avoided. During World War Two there was much condemnation of ‘appeasement’ but I think that the pacifists of 1935 were well intentioned though ultimately wrong.
1935: A Light-Hearted View of Children’s Pocket Money
The cartoonist surely doesn’t expect us to take any of this literally. There is though just a hint of the tension that the subject might arouse in a financially secure household.
I wonder what might have been thought an appropriate amount in those far-off days. Could it have been six old pennies? I rather think you could have bought quite a lot of sweets and things for that amount.
1935: Speaking in Different Languages
If this is a joke then it is in decidedly poor taste. I am quite surprised to see it at all in Punch in 1935. The Great Depression was causing misery to millions of people. The well-fed cigar-smoking businessman is accosted by one of the many long-term unemployed at a time when there was very little indeed by way of welfare available. The rich man’s question is phrased in terms of company accounts, which would be meaningless to the unfortunate man asking for a handout.
No doubt the well-off individual is the butt of the joke but it hardly counts as humour.
1935: Playing at Being Grown Ups
Many of the jokes about children playing at being grownups reveal something about the parents of the young actors. This one shows how children sometimes get something wrong while acting out their games. ‘Better late then never’ makes sense but ‘better late than early’ clearly does not.
I have a vague impression that educationalists and child psychologists regard this kind of role playing to be really beneficial for the children’s intellectual development.
1935: Harnessing the New Innovation
Belisha beacons were still new in 1935. We are being treated here to an excellent portrayal of a busy city street. The survival of horse-drawn vehicles is quite authentic.
The word ‘belisha’ is no longer in general use. The crossings are now called ‘zebra crossings’. They had been named after the high-profile Minister of Transport in the 1930s called Leslie Hore-Belisha.
1935: Force of Habit
Here George Belcher treats us to an example of a frequently appearing joke where in a fit of absent-mindedness the reader of the lesson in church lapses into an idiom from his profession. (What today would certainly be called his day job.)
1935: Joining the Club!
Because they are now both members of an exclusive golf club they are both lugging a set of irons around with them. But it seems that that it is bridge that they really want to play. So why did they join the golf club? I suppose the reason is that the golf club is well appointed and there is no equally spacious organisation for people who just want to play bridge.
That’s my theory anyway.
1935: Poor Excuse
This is not a burglary joke but a would-be burglary joke. I doubt whether the magistrate would fall for this excuse. On the other hand perhaps the rozzer will just let him off with a warning since no offence had yet been committed.
