A Comic Empire: The Global Expansion of 'Punch' as a Model Publication, 1841-1936

Abstract

In what follows ... I seek to examine the extent and nature of the 'empire' of 'Punch' in its entirety, considering recent and forthcoming analyses of that magazine as an important transcultural and transnational phenomenon. In addition, I seek to add to understandings of the way transnational press interactions (perhaps epitomized by 'Punch') established and maintained complex webs of contact and communication that bound the British Empire - and the 'British World' - together (something pioneered by Simon J. Potter, 2007, 2003a and b). It does not need to be stressed that this article represents only the first stages of a much larger project ... and so many of its conclusions remain tentative. Yet, given the recent international and transnational focus upon 'Punch' as a worldwide phenomenon (Harder and Mittler, 2013), it is hoped that this brief foray will further assist scholars in drawing-together the significance of the 'London Charivari' as a touchstone for comic art on a global scale, and not merely to isolated national traditions.