The Pick of Punch

London: The Folio Society, 1999. Near Fine. Slipcase. Second printing. The book appears unread. Tight and square with solid hinges, sharp tips, and clean gold cloth that is blocked with multiple black cartoons. Faint soiling to the spine. The textblock is clean with no writing, bookplate or markings and not BCE, ex-library, or remaindered. The slipcase is near fine with a few light scuffs. 272 pages.

Punch was a satirical and humous magazine produced in London from 1841 to 2002 (with a break from 1992-1996). It was immensely popular for a century until it started a fatal decline in the 1950s. The editors poked fun at everyone from politicians to actors, and social mores to sport. It was particularly famous for its humorous cartoons, which accompanied many articles.

Miles Kington has gone to a great deal of trouble to pick out what he believes are the 67 best skits, accompanied by 57 black and white cartoons. Many articles in Punch are very specific to the time in which they were published, and a knowledge of current affairs of a century or more ago was necessary to understand them. The selection mainly avoids this trap, and is very readable, usually with a gentle smile upon the lips mixed with the occasional guffaw, by anyone in the 21st. century.