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Hist 301: Historian's Craft (Benes, Spring 2024)

Punch

In 1915, Punch was one of the most popular weekly publications in the UK. 
It's circulation surpassed 100,000 subscribers in 1910, hitting 175,000 by WW2, with readers ranging from the Royal Family all the way down.

Attached are scans from the 1915 Summer issues of Punch, the bound copies of which are on the top floor of the library in the main stacks.

In groups, please look at the pictures on pages 101, 139, 145, and 181.

In your groups, please explain:

  • what is going on in these pictures?
  • what is the unifying theme?
  • what might we take away from these images when viewed collectively?
  • what context do we need?

Punch (Again!)

Here is a poem from the same issue. 

What context clues does it provide?

How does it make us reassess our earlier interpretation?

Sometime Context is even harder to understand