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42-486: John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom , especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of the early 18th century and would come to stand for " English liberty " in opposition to revolutionaries. He was popular through the 18th and 19th centuries until

84-520: A tailcoat with light-coloured breeches and a top hat which, by its shallow crown, indicates its middle-class identity. During the Georgian period his waistcoat is red and/or his tailcoat is royal blue which, together with his buff or white breeches, can thus refer to a greater or lesser extent to the "blue and buff" scheme; this was used by supporters of Whig politics, which was part of what John Arbuthnot wished to deride when he created and designed

126-454: A great potential to political communication capable of enhancing political comprehension and reconceptualization of events, through specific frames of understanding. Mateus' analysis "seems to indicate that the double standard thesis can be actually applied to trans-national contexts. This means that the framing of politics and business may not be limited to one country but may reflect a political world-view occurring in contemporary societies. From

168-862: A large piece of cardboard, or cartone in Italian. Punch humorously appropriated the term to refer to its political cartoons, and the popularity of the Punch cartoons led to the term's widespread use. Artists who published in Punch during the 1840s and 50s included John Leech , Richard Doyle , John Tenniel and Charles Keene . This group became known as "The Punch Brotherhood", which also included Charles Dickens who joined Bradbury and Evans after leaving Chapman and Hall in 1843. Punch authors and artists also contributed to another Bradbury and Evans literary magazine called Once A Week (est.1859), created in response to Dickens' departure from Household Words . The most prolific and influential cartoonist of

210-545: A personification of England named John Bull who was developed from about 1790 in conjunction with other British satirical artists such as Gillray and Rowlandson. The art of the editorial cartoon was further developed with the publication of the British periodical Punch in 1841, founded by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells (an earlier magazine that published cartoons was Monthly Sheet of Caricatures , printed from 1830 and an important influence on Punch ). It

252-467: A pretentious buffoon, while the bulk of his work was dedicated to ridiculing the ambitions of Revolutionary France and Napoleon . The times in which Gillray lived were peculiarly favourable to the growth of a great school of caricature. Party warfare was carried on with great vigour and not a little bitterness; and personalities were freely indulged in on both sides. Gillray's incomparable wit and humour, knowledge of life, fertility of resource, keen sense of

294-567: A sister named Peg (Scotland), and a traditional adversary in Louis Baboon (the House of Bourbon in France). Peg continued in pictorial art beyond the 18th century, but the other figures associated with the original tableau dropped away. John Bull himself continued to frequently appear as a national symbol in posters and cartoons as late as World War I. Bull is usually depicted as a stout man in

336-599: A strong natural feeling. He excels in humour more than in wit; is jolly rather than gay; melancholy rather than morose; can easily be moved to a sudden tear or surprised into a broad laugh; but he loathes sentiment and has no turn for light pleasantry. He is a boon companion, if you allow him to have his humour and to talk about himself; and he will stand by a friend in a quarrel with life and purse, however soundly he may be cudgelled. The cartoon image of stolid, stocky, conservative and well-meaning John Bull, dressed like an English country squire , sometimes explicitly contrasted with

378-553: A useful purpose. Such a cartoon also reflects real life and politics, where a deal is often done on unrelated proposals beyond public scrutiny. A pocket cartoon is a form of cartoon which generally consists of a topical political gag/joke and appears as a single-panel single-column drawing. It was introduced by Osbert Lancaster in 1939 at the Daily Express . A 2005 obituary by The Guardian of its pocket cartoonist David Austin said "Newspaper readers instinctively look to

420-401: Is a common sight in British editorial cartoons of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Singer David Bowie wore a coat in the style of Bull. Washington Irving described him in his chapter entitled "John Bull" from The Sketch Book: ...[A] plain, downright, matter-of-fact fellow, with much less of poetry about him than rich prose. There is little of romance in his nature, but a vast deal of

462-557: Is the only Englishman that seems to have traversed these regions, as man, simply, not as John Bull." [REDACTED] Media related to John Bull at Wikimedia Commons National personification Some personifications in the Western world often took the Latin name of the ancient Roman province . Examples of this type include Britannia , Germania , Hibernia , Hispania , Helvetia and Polonia . Examples of personifications of

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504-902: The Center for the Study of Political Graphics in the United States, and the British Cartoon Archive in the United Kingdom. Editorial cartoons and editorial cartoonists are recognised by a number of awards, for example the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning (for US cartoonists, since 1922) and the British Press Awards ' "Cartoonist of the Year". Political cartoons can usually be found on

546-672: The Goddess of Liberty include Marianne , the Statue of Liberty ( Liberty Enlightening the World ), and many examples of United States coinage. Another ancient model was Roma , a female deity who personified the city of Rome and his dominion over the territories of the Roman Empire . Examples of representations of the everyman or citizenry in addition to the nation itself are Deutscher Michel , John Bull and Uncle Sam . Canada

588-679: The Indian Rebellion and the public outrage that followed, Punch published vengeful illustrations such as Tenniel's Justice and The British Lion's Vengeance on the Bengal Tiger . By the mid-19th century, major political newspapers in many countries featured cartoons designed to express the publisher's opinion on the politics of the day. One of the most successful was Thomas Nast in New York City, who imported realistic German drawing techniques to major political issues in

630-739: The War of the Spanish Succession , John Bull brings a lawsuit against various figures intended to represent the kings of France (Louis Baboon) and Spain (Lord Strutt), as well as institutions both foreign and domestic. The allegory was intended primarily as attack against the Whigs , their foreign policy and their financiers who were profiting from the war. In Arbuthnot's work John Bull personifies England while his sister Peg symbolises his native Scotland . William Hogarth and other British writers made Bull, originally derided, "a heroic archetype of

672-550: The editorial page of many newspapers, although a few (such as Garry Trudeau 's Doonesbury ) are sometimes placed on the regular comic strip page. Most cartoonists use visual metaphors and caricatures to address complicated political situations, and thus sum up a current event with a humorous or emotional picture. Yaakov Kirschen, creator of the Israeli comic strip Dry Bones , says his cartoons are designed to make people laugh, which makes them drop their guard and see things

714-401: The freeborn Englishman ." Later, the figure of Bull was disseminated overseas by illustrators and writers such as American cartoonist Thomas Nast and Irish writer George Bernard Shaw , author of John Bull's Other Island . Starting in the 1760s, Bull was portrayed as an Anglo-Saxon country dweller. He was almost always depicted in a buff-coloured waistcoat and a simple frock coat (in

756-647: The 1750s. The medium began to develop in England in the latter part of the 18th century—especially around the time of the French Revolution —under the direction of its great exponents, James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson , both from London. Gillray explored the use of the medium for lampooning and caricature , and has been referred to as the father of the political cartoon. Calling the king, prime ministers and generals to account, many of Gillray's satires were directed against George III , depicting him as

798-435: The 1850s and 60s was John Tenniel , chief cartoon artist for Punch , who perfected the art of physical caricature and representation to a point that has changed little up to the present day. For over five decades he was a steadfast social witness to the sweeping national changes that occurred during this period alongside his fellow cartoonist John Leech . The magazine loyally captured the general public mood; in 1857, following

840-460: The Egyptian characters who spoke proper French.   Likewise, the musician, playwright and Irish Republican Dominic Behan criticized the British government via the proxy of John Bull in his popular ballad, The Patriot Game : This Ireland of mine has for long been half free, Six counties are under John Bull's tyranny. And still de Valera is greatly to blame For shirking his part in

882-649: The French nickname for English people, les rosbifs , which translates as "the 'Roast Beefs.'" It is also reminiscent of the animal, and for that reason Bull is portrayed as "virile, strong, and stubborn," like a bull. A typical John Bull Englishman is referenced in Margaret Fuller 's Summer on the Lakes, in 1843 in Chapter 2: " Murray's travels I read, and was charmed by their accuracy and clear broad tone. He

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924-467: The character. By the twentieth century, however, his waistcoat nearly always depicts a Union Flag , and his coat is generally dark blue. (Otherwise, however, his clothing still echoes the fashions of the Regency period .) He wears a low topper (sometimes called a John Bull topper) and is often accompanied by a bulldog . John Bull has been used in a variety of different ad campaigns over the years, and

966-494: The conventionalised scrawny, French revolutionary sans-culottes Jacobin , was developed from about 1790 by British satirical artists James Gillray , Thomas Rowlandson and Isaac Cruikshank . (An earlier national personification was Sir Roger de Coverley , from a 1711 edition of The Spectator . ) A more negative portrayal of John Bull occurred in the cartoons drawn by the Egyptian nationalist journalist Yaqub Sanu in his popular underground newspaper Abu-Naddara Zarqa in

1008-641: The double standard standpoint, there are no fundamental differences in the way Canadian political cartoonists and Portuguese political cartoons assess politics and business life". The paper does not tell that all political cartoons are based on this kind of double standard, but suggests that the double standard thesis in Political Cartoons may be a frequent frame among possible others. A political cartoon commonly draws on two unrelated events and brings them together incongruously for humorous effect. The humour can reduce people's political anger and so serves

1050-523: The era of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Nast was most famous for his 160 editorial cartoons attacking the criminal characteristics of Boss Tweed 's political machine in New York City. American art historian Albert Boime argues that: As a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast wielded more influence than any other artist of the 19th century. He not only enthralled a vast audience with boldness and wit, but swayed it time and again to his personal position on

1092-444: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sanu's cartoons depicted John Bull as a coarse, ignorant drunken bully who pushed around ordinary Egyptians while stealing all the wealth of Egypt. Much of Sanu's humor revolved around John Bull's alcoholism, his crass rudeness, his ignorance about practically everything except alcohol, and his inability to properly speak French (the language of the Egyptian elite), which he hilariously mangled unlike

1134-404: The latter part of the 18th century, the political cartoon was pioneered by James Gillray , although his and others in the flourishing English industry were sold as individual prints in print shops. Founded in 1841, the British periodical Punch appropriated the term cartoon to refer to its political cartoons, which led to the term's widespread use. The pictorial satire has been credited as

1176-506: The ludicrous, and beauty of execution, at once gave him the first place among caricaturists. George Cruikshank became the leading cartoonist in the period following Gillray (1820s–40s). His early career was renowned for his social caricatures of English life for popular publications. He gained notoriety with his political prints that attacked the royal family and leading politicians and was bribed in 1820 "not to caricature His Majesty" ( George IV ) "in any immoral situation". His work included

1218-694: The need for unity in the American colonies; The Thinkers Club (1819), a response to the surveillance and censorship of universities in Germany under the Carlsbad Decrees ; and E. H. Shepard 's The Goose-Step (1936), on the rearmament of Germany under Adolf Hitler . The Goose-Step is one of a number of notable cartoons first published in the British Punch magazine. Institutions which archive and document editorial cartoons include

1260-568: The past Navy blue, but more recently with the Union Jack colours). Britannia , or a lion, is sometimes used as an alternative in some editorial cartoons . As a literary figure, John Bull is well-intentioned, frustrated, full of common sense, and entirely of native country stock. Unlike Uncle Sam later, he is not a figure of authority but rather a yeoman who prefers his small beer and domestic peace, possessed of neither patriarchal power nor heroic defiance. John Arbuthnot provided him with

1302-580: The patriot game. Increasingly through the early twentieth century, John Bull became seen as not particularly representative of "the common man," and during the First World War this function was largely taken over by the figure of Tommy Atkins . According to Alison Light , during the interwar years the nation abandoned "formerly heroic...public rhetorics of national destiny" in favour of "an Englishness at once less imperial and more inward-looking, more domestic and more private". Consequently, John Bull

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1344-524: The pocket cartoon to reassure them that the disasters and afflictions besetting them each morning are not final. By taking a sideways look at the news and bringing out the absurd in it, the pocket cartoonist provides, if not exactly a silver lining, then at least a ray of hope." Editorial cartoons sometimes cause controversies. Examples include the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy and Charlie Hebdo shooting (stemming from

1386-639: The precursor to the political cartoons in England: John J. Richetti, in The Cambridge history of English literature, 1660–1780 , states that "English graphic satire really begins with Hogarth's Emblematical Print on the South Sea Scheme ". William Hogarth 's pictures combined social criticism with sequential artistic scenes. A frequent target of his satire was the corruption of early 18th century British politics. An early satirical work

1428-547: The publication of cartoons related to Islam ) and the 2007 Bangladesh cartoon controversy . Libel lawsuits have been rare. In Britain, the first successful lawsuit against a cartoonist in over a century came in 1921 when J.H. Thomas , the leader of the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR), initiated libel proceedings against the magazine of the British Communist Party . Thomas claimed defamation in

1470-476: The son of a rich merchant, who spends all of his money on luxurious living, services from sex workers, and gambling—the character's life ultimately ends in Bethlem Royal Hospital . However, his work was only tangentially politicized and was primarily regarded on its artistic merits. George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend produced some of the first overtly political cartoons and caricatures in

1512-541: The strength of his visual imagination. Both Lincoln and Grant acknowledged his effectiveness in their behalf, and as a crusading civil reformer he helped destroy the corrupt Tweed Ring that swindled New York City of millions of dollars. Indeed, his impact on American public life was formidable enough to profoundly affect the outcome of every presidential election during the period 1864 to 1884. Notable editorial cartoons include Benjamin Franklin 's Join, or Die (1754), on

1554-565: The time of the First World War , when he generally stopped being seen as representative of the "common man". John Bull originated as a satirical character created by John Arbuthnot , a friend of Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope . Bull first appeared in 1712 in Arbuthnot's pamphlet Law is a Bottomless Pit . The same year Arbuthnot published a four-part political narrative The History of John Bull . In this satirical treatment of

1596-625: The way he does. In an interview, he defined his objective as a cartoonist as an attempt to "seduce rather than to offend." Modern political cartooning can be built around traditional visual metaphors and symbols such as Uncle Sam , the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant . One alternative approach is to emphasize the text or the story line, as seen in Doonesbury which tells a linear story in comic strip format. Cartoons have

1638-496: Was an Emblematical Print on the South Sea Scheme ( c.  1721 ), about the disastrous stock market crash of 1720 known as the South Sea Bubble , in which many English people lost a great deal of money. His art often had a strong moralizing element to it, such as in his masterpiece of 1732–33, A Rake's Progress , engraved in 1734. It consisted of eight pictures that depicted the reckless life of Tom Rakewell,

1680-484: Was bought by Bradbury and Evans in 1842, who capitalised on newly evolving mass printing technologies to turn the magazine into a preeminent national institution. The term " cartoon " to refer to comic drawings was coined by the magazine in 1843; the Houses of Parliament were to be decorated with murals, and "carttons" for the mural were displayed for the public; the term "cartoon" then meant a finished preliminary sketch on

1722-642: Was often personified as a young woman in 19th and early 20th century editorial cartoons, called simply "Canada", "Miss Canada", or sometimes "Mother Canada". Editorial cartoons A political cartoon , also known as an editorial cartoon , is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist . They typically combine artistic skill, hyperbole and satire in order to either question authority or draw attention to corruption , political violence and other social ills . Developed in England in

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1764-532: Was replaced by Sidney Strube 's suburban Little Man as the personification of the nation. Some saw John Bull's replacement by the Little Man as symbolic of Britain's post-First World War decline; W. H. Auden 's 1937 poem "Letter to Lord Byron" favourably contrasted John Bull to the Little Man. Auden wrote: John Bull's surname is also reminiscent of the alleged fondness of the English for beef, reflected in

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