http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/accouustic_zps8d0d0c30.jpg
1960: Tourists!
They are obviously Americans and they seem to regard the pistol fight as quite normal.
Furthermore the speaker is quite correct. The builders of ancient amphitheatres did indeed understand acoustics.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/athletics_zpsc530b77a.jpg
1960: Speech Day
Ah yes, it all come back to me. Masters in their academic gowns with their distinctive coloured hoods. Prizes and speeches. The tradition was very elitist. I wonder if it still goes on.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/drink_zpsff22893c.jpg
1960: Drink is the Curse of the Working Classes
Temperance! There is not much talk of it these days. Minimum pricing for booze doesn’t have the same ring as taking the pledge.
One wag declared that work is the curse of the drinking classes
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/horses_zps6f6ae38c.jpg
1960: Horses for Courses
Oh dear. Definitely politically incorrect.
The artist thelwell specialised in drawings of little girls and their ponies / horses. This one reminds us of the ‘get your man’ genre which is rarely told these days. Even when it does get an airing it is generally told with caveats.
How very true!
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/stare_zpsb3d76881.jpg
1960: Still Coming to Terms with the Box
In my opinion TV was a major factor leading to the eventual demise of Punch. It amuses me to see all those cartoons which dwell on what was still a new focus of interest.
The lay-out of this room suggests a transitional state. The TV set is not –yet – occupying centre stage. The tea drinking two are in just as prominent a position. That was about to change.
We don’t see a coffee table or maybe a rack holding some current magazines. What would it contain? Obviously there would be a copy of Punch. There would certainly also be the Radio Times, not yet covering television very much more prominently than radio. The Listener could have been in there and also a ‘quality’ women’s magazine. The Spectator or the New Statesman? Much less likely.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/Margate_zpse9214336.jpg
1960: Freebies 66 Years Ago
This joke is based on a mistaken view of how this perk worked. Yes, some MPs regularly enjoyed these taxpayer-funded jaunts to exotic locations on a ‘fact finding’ quest. I think that they still do. However there has never been a question of spouses coming too.
Incidentally I have a personal experience which supports this traditional view of the MP’s attire. In 1946 I attended, as a precocious schoolboy, a meeting addressed by our local MP. He was dressed like that, though there was no bow tie. Incidentally he was a Labour Party MP.
Happy Birthday Punch.
Punch was founded on 17 July 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells, on an initial investment of £25. It was jointly edited by Mayhew and Mark Lemon.
Very interesting. I also know that an early contributor was William Makepeace Thackeray.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Stately_zps25a246b9.jpg
1960: The Stately Home Industry
By 1960 the stately home business was gathering momentum. It was a life-saving transformation for hard up aristocrats who would otherwise have had to give up their ancestral piles. The joke here is that a mere member of the public is able to invade the space occupied by the titled owner of the building. It certainly couldn’t happen now and I very much doubt that it would have been possible in 1960. It’s just a joke.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/OldBanger_zps9cd10869.jpg
1960: A Modest Sales Proposal
In 1960 there were many old bangers on the road. (I bought one myself just a year later.) The whole scene reminds me of the time. The garage is very much a work place – nothing glossy at all. The car is clearly pre-war. The customer is fairly scruffy – note the elbow patches. The garage owner doesn’t even suggest getting a new car.
A consumer boom was just around the corner which would mean that the garage would have to ‘modernise’ or go out of business. The customer would get his next car on hire purchase.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/secretary_zps845b93de.jpg
1960: A Harbinger of the Swinging Sixties
I think 1963 saw the start of the Swinging Sixties. It is not surprising that there were some early indications of this major trend. This joke conveys some of the cynicism that went with the ‘letting it all hang out’ zeitgeist.
‘Anton’ is having ironic fun here. She doesn’t really think that the bikini-clad woman is really a perfect secretary. Can she type? Does she know shorthand? Can she keep a diary for his appointments? Does she know whose calls should be put through to him and whose calls should be fended off? No, she can do none of these things.
But she is so ‘perfect’ a secretary that she accompanies him on holiday…
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/Noah_zps441ade90.jpg
1960: Disembarkation from the Ark
Having arrived at Mount Ararat one of Noah’s sons is responsible for counting out all the species that were on board and under board. The tortoises are the last to walk down the gang plank.
This is a charming cartoon in the tradition of linking a modern concept with historical, mythical or biblical scenarios.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/hammer_zps504ee6da.jpg
1960: Tourist Ignorance
I don’t suppose anyone is expected to have actually been as ignorant.
However, I do have a vaguely similar experience to relate. In Rome in 1963 we went on a tour of the catacombs. Visitors were segregated according to which language they spoke and we were joined by lots of Americans. When invited to ask any questions they might have one lady said ‘how much did it cost to be buried in the catacombs?’
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/hunting_zps690c4acd.jpg
1960: Another thelwell cartoon
Once again we see a cartoon depicting a small girl and an overweight pony.
Right up to the 1920s and 1930s almost every Punch cartoon reflected the concerns of the upper middle classes. By 1960 this was clearly no longer the case. Jokes like this one show that this tradition was not entirely dead. Even so, it rather looks as though thelwell has downplayed this by depicting a far from grand scene. Perhaps they are aspiring to be upper middle class?
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/CricketTV_zps1a1e74b1.jpg
1960: Still Bothered by TV
Punch’s contributors appear often to have been bothered by the growing attraction of TV. Their instinct was correct because it was a major factor in the loss of readership leading to its eventual close down.
1960: Scoring Points
I think that I have identified five different examples of the way in which the lady on the right has outsmarted the lady on the left. What are they and can you come up with any more?
I can only see three: a real horse, a bikini and that fancy hat. What have I missed?
… the horse on the right has a harness and reins 
Here are my five:
Real Horse
Bikini
Posher Bathing Cap
Riding Crop
Superior Posture
The horse seems to have a superior posture too!
