Sketches for cartoons in Punch Magazine including 'A Good Day for Ireland', 1860s

John Leech (1817 - 1864)

RA Collection: Art

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The drawing on the recto of this sheet is a sketch for one of John Leech's cartoons for Punch magazine satirising Irish nationalists. A version of the cartoon was published under the title 'A Great Time for Ireland' in 1861. At this date the magazine was very supportive of the British establishment and took a particularly hard line against calls for Irish independence. This was reflected in the frequent publication of derogatory images of the Irish, both in written descriptions and cartoons.

In many of his Punch cartoons, John Leech employed racist and negative national stereotypes. This example portrays Irish nationalists as monkeys in tail coats. Leech frequently identified such figures as members of the 'Young Ireland' party, as here, referring to a nationalist group founded in 1842. This cartoon shows a 'Mr G.O'Rilla' seated at a desk reading a paper. The published version was accompanied by an extract from an article from the Irish paper The Nation (founded by members of 'Young Ireland'), discussing the possibility that Britain would become embroiled in the American Civil War. The author expressed the hope that 'England' would be defeated as punishment for its ill-treatment of the Irish and that this would in turn lead to the establishment of an independent Ireland. Leech's response was to show Mr G. O'Rilla "exulting in the insult to the British Flag" and to call for "the brute" to be "extinguished at once". In the published version the wording was changed to read 'Shouldn't he be extinguished at once?'.

On the verso of the sheet is another sketch for one of Leech's Punch cartoons, published in 1862 (Punch 42, VIII). This scene was entitled 'Jones has an Equestrian Portrait for his Carte de Visite'. It is one of a number of cartoons by Leech on the theme of the contemporary vogue for photographic 'cartes' making fun of the sitters' pretensions. In this case, the man on horseback on the left refuses to dismount from his horse, therefore having an 'equestrian portrait' taken for his carte. The photographer prepares to take the shot while a group of children gather to watch.

Further reading:

Roy Douglas, Liam Harte and Jim O'Hara, Drawing Conclusions: a Cartoon History of Anglo-Irish Relations, 1798-1998 , 1998

M. H. Spielmann, The History of "Punch" , London 1895