“The New Alchemy” from “Fun” (1876)

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The New Alchemy

John Gordon Thomson, artist

Dalziel Brothers, engravers

Fun (28 June 1876)

“A Transmutation of the baser metals into extra double refines treble gilt gold.”

Education in Victorian Britain

First Fruit of the School Board. (an 1873 Fun cartoon

Courtesy of the Suzy Covey Comic Book Collection in the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida.

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Disraeli, here portrayed as an alchemist, uses a bellows to turn up the heat on the School Board a few years after universal primary and secondary education has come into being. The sketches at his back show the “base metal” of a lower class boy, who says “Oi doant knoa nuthin,” and the “refined gold” of a young cap-and-gowned boy wearing spectacles. Thompson’s cartoon, which implies that members of the lower classes are essentially un-educatable, seems odd coming from this generally liberal-leaning artist.

Last modified 18 June 2019