Officer caricatures

[IR 134]

Good evening guys,

I came across these two cartoons, published by J.J. Samuels, 371 Strand, W.C.

Although I´m collecting only German related Cartoons  I couldn´t resist to buy these charming cards. Any collector out there who can tell me if there were further cards of this series I have to look for?

 

Gruß Stefan

 

 

[Mervyn Mitton]

These are obviously of known characters from the two Regiments  -  The Honourable Artillery Company and the London Scottish.   They may well have been part of a limited series  -  although these are the first I have seen.    The more usual single caricatures were from the magazine Vanity Fair - which can be quite valuable.   Perhaps one of our members will be able to give us some more info..     Mervyn   

[Trooper_D]

Stefan

Thanks for posting these interesting cards for us to see.

Like Mervyn, I haven't come across this series before. Can you post the reverse of one of them as it can often provide useful information, including dating evidence (as I am sure you already knew). Also, do they have series numbers which might help us?

[Trooper_D]

These are obviously of known characters from the two Regiments  -  The Honourable Artillery Company and the London Scottish.   They may well have been part of a limited series  -  although these are the first I have seen.    The more usual single caricatures were from the magazine Vanity Fair - which can be quite valuable.   Perhaps one of our members will be able to give us some more info..     Mervyn   

​For interest, I am posting here a reproduction of a Vanity Fair caricature as mentioned by Mervyn, that of the Earl of Denbigh, who was Commanding Officer and latterly Colonel-Commandant of the HAC from 1893 to 1933.

In this illustration, Denbigh is wearing the uniform of the then-senior sub-unit, the Horse Artillery (as opposed to the Guards uniform of the infantry battalions of the HAC). From this, we can see that Stefan's caricature captures the spirit of the HAC rather than attempting veracity. Some of the infelicities include the lack of rows of lace (in Royal Horse Artillery style) on the tunic, the wearing of the sword belt over rather than under the tunic and the presence of a cockade on the front of the busby where none should be. The lace on the sleeve and the 'lines' are not quite right, either.

All of that having been said, it doesn't detract from the attractiveness of the card.

 

Edited May 11, 2015 by Trooper_D

[IR 134]

Hi Mervyn and Tropper,

 

thank you very much for your illustrative answers. Attached a scan of the adress side of both cards. Unfortunately no serial numbers or anything.

 

Edited May 12, 2015 by IR 134

[Trooper_D]

Stefan

Thanks for posting this new image of the reverse of one of your postcards.

As you may know - but others may find interesting - correspondents were originally forbidden from writing anything other than the address on the back of postcards. Internet sources seem to agree that, in 1902, Great Britain was the first to allow a message on the reverse of a postcard, provided it didn't interfere with the address. To accommodate this requirement, postcards were printed with divided backs, like yours. Hence we can date it to be post-1902.

I'm not sure this helps much with your original query, though :-(

[IR 134]

Maybe we can narrow down the publishing date to an exact year. According to this Website publisher J.J. Samuels existed only from 1907-1908

[Trooper_D]

Maybe we can narrow down the publishing date to an exact year. According to this Website publisher J.J. Samuels existed only from 1907-1908

​How interesting. Thanks for pointing out such a useful website.

[Jamille]

I have a collection of WW1 cartoons, sketches and caricatures, these are original pen and ink and pencil sketches, many drawn by WW1 RFC pilots.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Jamille

[IR 134]

Got some new cards . Publisher is Cross's Library Folkestone and artist signed Robbie. Anyone know who´s hiding behind him?

 

Gruß Stefan