or over 150 years, Punch magazine was renowned for its original and provocative satire. From early cartoons such as John Leech’s anti-establishment “Substance and Shadow” (1843) to its later conservative social commentary, Punch’s pithy observations on both national and international affairs ensured the longevity of its success and confirmed the brand as a cornerstone of the British popular press. The Punch Archive attests to the historical and cultural import of the brand and its evolving publication portfolio through its eclectic range of print culture materials and artefacts. Acquired by the British Library in 2004, it comprises three sub-fonds all of which, to this day, remain largely unknown to both the academic community and the wider public. Among these resources is a full collection of Punch’s Pocket Book (1843-1881), a lavishly illustrated annual which, over a period of forty years, efficiently promoted the brand.
In line with Punch’s Pocket Book Archive, an international digitisation project which proposes to deliver an open-access database based on a full run of these annuals, a symposium entitled “Pictorial Punch – Treasures from the Archive” will take place at the British Library on 7 November 2025. Organised by the Punch’s Pocket Book Archive team with the support of the Archives and Manuscripts Department, the event seeks to explore the breadth and diversity of this unplumbed material, and provide an opportunity for experts and enthusiasts alike to discover and discuss the Archive’s extensive catalogue, as well as other related items within the British Library’s collections.
Possible topics to explore include, but are not limited to:
- Material from the Punch Archive, particularly unexplored items and collections
- Special collections curatorial practices – Approaches, strategies, impact
- Bradbury & Evans / Bradbury, Evans & Agnew publishing house.
- Punch cartoons and cartoonists (19th-20th c.)
- Women and other underrepresented groups in the Archive
- The mechanics of image publishing (from the sketch to the page)
- The Punch brand and extensive range of by-products
- Punch contributors: writers, artists, editors, engravers, photographers
- Digital preservation of nineteenth-century archival material
- Punch’s impact on the print culture of the 19th-20th c.
- Punch responses and versions from around the world
Submission Guidelines: We invite proposals for 20-minute individual papers.
Proposals of 300 words, along with a short biographical note, should be sent to PPBkACaen@gmail.com by May 30, 2025.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent by June 16, 2025.
Confirmed Keynote Speakers: Patrick Leary (Historian of the Victorian Press) and Julia Thomas (Cardiff University)
Created 14 May 2025