Mark Tapley Junior

William Ralston

Wood engraving by Joseph Swain of pen and ink drawing.

3½ x 2 inches

Punch , 14 February 1871, p.44.

Ralston’s world of small interiors, domestic mishaps, mild generational tension and misbehaving servants is part of a familiar genre. Never challenging, as such, his humour highlights what he sees as the absurdities of the middle-class home. As in the art of John Leech, he empowers the original readers to laugh at themselves without engaging in malice or self-deprecation.

  • Punch

    • Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke.

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