1938: The View from the Ivory Tower
The two academics have never heard of the Hollywood mogul and can therefore see no meaning to the word star other than that recognised by astronomy.
1938: Finding the Right Words
The little girl knows what she is holding but she doesn’t know the correct word for it. I remember an occasion when my son, at a very young age, noticed an unpleasant smell. What he said was ‘I don’t like my nose’. Quite reasonable under the circumstances and he was instantly understood.
1938: Tall, Dark but not a Stranger (Alas)
Although interest in occult revelations is still present today in forms such as Mystic Meg it is not nearly as widespread as it was pre-1939. As this cartoon attests this activity could be up market as well as down market. The elaborate atmosphere depicted here suggests a particularly well-heeled clientele.
This punter is not pleased at being offered a meeting with her husband. She would not be here if the thought of meeting him was attractive to her.
1938: Consulting a More Modern Kind of Guru
Another form of getting exotic guidance was the growing interest in psychiatry though this was necessarily an activity confined to those with substantial incomes. The cartoon suggests some sort of dominance of the practitioner over the client and that the client likes this although she is complaining.
An anorak reaction to the wording here is to identify Mr Prober as a Jungian analyst since the Freudians talked about the unconscious and the Jungians always used the term subconscious. I am not at all sure that the anorak is justified in detecting this degree of precision. The cartoonist is probably rather vague about such things. After all, Mr Prober’s brass plate proclaims that he is a psychologist – not the same thing at all. (His ‘qualification’ contains a little joke.)
1938: A Non-Burglar Achieves his Objective
It doesn’t matter what year we are looking at in Punch there always seems to be at least one burglary joke. This one is fairly sophisticated. The enterprising salesman has broken into the man’s house and hidden under the bed in order to show how easy it is to do this. It looks as though his sale is in the bag.
1938: Cinema as a Metaphor for Life
The comparison is no longer with, say, Madame Bovary. Now Greta Garbo had become a touchstone for human emotions.
1938: A Picture of Contemporary Life
This drawing is one of a series which simply comment on life at the time. There is no question of praise or blame here. It is just presented as a record of a current pre-occupation.
We note that every participant at this séance is female. Presumably this is also a piece of accurate reporting.
1938: ‘What I like is What Everyone Likes’
The ‘joke’ here is that the host assumes that his tastes are shared by everyone else. I think that we can take it that the colonel would not be thrilled by either of the books on offer.
It clearly is an old-fashioned household. The guest is taking a candle to light his way to his bedroom.
1938: Farmers Visiting Town
There would have been many contrasts between life on the farm and life in the city. The most striking instance would surely have been the complete absence of any need to respond to the rhythms of nature.
1938: The Importance of Regular Exercise
Isobel understands the principle of regular exercise but is rather hazy about its practical implications.
1938: An Unsuccessful Appeal
He can’t be won round by expecting him to compete with a Goody Two-Shoes.
He seems to be happily creating his own imaginary world whereas today his equivalent will be glued to a screen.
1938: Are You Important?
I don’t think autograph collecting is in fashion any more. I remember a time when it was but I have no idea when it stopped being so. With hindsight it does seem a pretty pointless activity. Nowadays there are so many other ‘social’ hobbies available.
The man being addressed by the hesitant schoolgirl is certainly dressed like someone important down to his spats. His wife seems to be pondering the point and I suspect that she will decide that he isn’t. He, of course, resents being asked the question.
1936: Doctor on Call
This artist specialises in cartoons that tell a story in a few frames.
Here we are reminded of a time when every GP was obliged to take calls at any time of the night and respond to them. As we see here it may well be an unnecessary interruption to his sleep. Most medical practices now ‘outsource’ this obligation to stand-ins whose competence is not always first class.
Whilst looking for a birthday card for my sister yesterday, I noticed that W H Smith has a range of Punch cartoon cards.
It’s not just the select few in this thread who appreciate Punch humour, obviously
1938: Scandinavian Film Star Contemplates Her Future
I imagine here that it is Greta Garbo who is in the artist’s mind. Her famous ‘I want to be alone’ was surely an early objection to the already developing cinematic celebrity culture.
1938: How’s Business
There seem to be two different interpretations of this joke.
The first is that everyone says that business is ‘awful’ when they are doing quite well really. So here the questioner is glad to note that his friend is also achieving success.
The second explanation is that business really is awful but at least they are both in the same boat.
My own inclination is that the first is the more likely explanation.
This is my opportunity to give an old Jewish joke yet another airing. It goes like this:
“How’s the wife?”
“She’s fine.”
“How are the children?”
“They’re fine too. But you don’t ask how my business is faring”
“All right then. How is business?”
“Don’t ask.”
1938: Shipwrecked in the South Pacific
The man ‘amazingly’ doesn’t speak English. So he must be addressed as one speaks to a foreigner. That surely must do the trick. After all, English and French ‘must’ cover all the possibilities.
1938: Ignoring the Obvious
There is no need here for analysis or examination of the underlying issues raised by this joke. We clearly aren’t expected to believe this degree of ignorance.
1938: The Age of Chivalry is Dead
George Belcher habitually takes us into scenes usually ignored by the other Punch cartoonists. These are ordinary people accurately displayed. They are neither glamorised nor trivialised. Look at the women’s feet – they tell a story by themselves.
This scene is realistically portrayed and is entirely plausible.
1938: Is Schubert the problem, or is it the Performer?