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Serial journalism and the transformation of English graphic satire, 1830-36

Pound, Richard John; (2002) Serial journalism and the transformation of English graphic satire, 1830-36. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London). Green open access

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Abstract

The years 1830-36 were decisive ones for the development of English graphic satire. They witnessed the rapid decline of the single sheet caricature print (as epitomised by the work of Gillray and Rowlandson), and the gradual absorption of satirical images by the periodical press. This trend would reach its culmination in 1841 with the birth of Punch - the archetypal Victorian satirical periodical. Therein was established a markedly different mode of satirical commentary, which eschewed the coarseness, vulgarity and physical exaggeration of Georgian caricature, replacing it with a restrained and broadly realistic form of illustration directly related to the wider growth of pictorial magazines and visual culture in the nineteenth century. This study examines the transformation of graphic satire in the 1830s in relation to the growth of the periodical press, the various formats in which it was disseminated and the new reproductive technologies on which it relied. By focussing on the most important satirical publications of the period (such as Figaro in London and The Looking Glass), it demonstrates how the conventions of serial journalism were adopted as their primary focus, in contrast to the individually-issued, large-format, images which dominated the earlier period. It argues that the reduced scale and simplified graphic conventions of periodical-based caricature (alongside a new reliance on supporting texts to explain images) had a reductive effect on graphic satire as an art form. An increasing homogenisation of the format, content and style of satirical images, as well as a corresponding diminution of individual artistic identity, were all characteristic of the period. These phenomena can all be related to contemporary developments in periodical literature, which was reliant upon continuity of format, repetition of content and journalistic anonymity. Collectively, these factors effected a fundamental transformation in the nature of satirical imagery, bridging the gap between the decline of one tradition and the rise of the other.

Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Qualification: Ph.D
Title: Serial journalism and the transformation of English graphic satire, 1830-36
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language: English
Additional information: Thesis digitised by ProQuest.
Keywords: Language, literature and linguistics; Communication and the arts; Graphic satire
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10100100
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