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y separately published work icon Adelaide Punch periodical  
Alternative title: Rattlesnake or Adelaide Punch
Issue Details: First known date: 1868... 1868 Adelaide Punch
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Modelled closely on the English Punch, in 1868 William Roberts and William Fawcett published their local [South Australian] version. The illustrations were by Tom Carrington, previously of the Melbourne Punch. This incarnation however, lasted only 12 issues. In 1878 it was revived by Caleb Dalwood under the title Rattlesnake or Adelaide Punch. Dalwood was a nephew to the Frearson brothers of the Illustrated Adelaide News (and other titles) and seems to have also contributed illustrations to his uncles' newspapers as "C. Penstone". With the third issue, the Rattlesnake was renamed Adelaide Punch and William Henry East joined Dalwood as partner in the paper...

'Although intended to be published weekly, early issues were intermittent, and East left the partnership after a short time. In July 1878 Adelaide Punch passed to Scrymgour & Sons, a large firm of Adelaide printers. Dalwood continued to contribute cartoons to Frearson's weekly and Frearson's monthly through the following year, and also contributed cartoons to Adelaide Punch until 1880... The main cartoons in this period are signed "WJK" (William John Kennedy), but the editorship is unclear until December, when J. C. F. (Joseph) Johnson took over as owner and editor. Joseph Johnson had been the drama critic for the Register, and also wrote on mining and viticulture for that newspaper. "WJK" remained the artist of the main cartoons until early 1880."

'Johnson, an accomplished writer, was also an able artist and contributed the "side pictures' for Adelaide Punch. In 1882 he sold the paper due to the press of his "other business." ...The new owner of Adelaide Punch was Edward Derrington of the Port Adelaide News. In early 1884 the paper was sold again, being taken over by its chief cartoonist, Herbert Woodhouse, with Harry O'Donnell as a partner in the paper for a short time. Woodhouse had begun drawing the side pictures for Adelaide Punch in 1881 and by 1884 seems to have been contributing almost all the cartoons. Other cartoonists had previously included "A.E." or A. Esam, "H. R.", E. Dale and "Dane".

'In October 1884 Adelaide Punch ceased, being sold by Woodhouse to its rival, the Lantern.'

Source: SA Memory, http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/
Sighted: 30/01/2013

Notes

  • For further information, see SA Memory: http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=90&c=3629

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1868
Notes:
Further publisher and printer details pending.
      Adelaide, South Australia,: 1878 .
      Printed by Scrymgour
      Note/s:
      • Printed by Scrymgour & Sons beginning in July 1878. (Scrymgour & Sons was based at 89 King William Street in the early 1880s.)

Works about this Work

The Satirical Press of Colonial Australia : A Migrant and Minority Enterprise Richard Scully , 2020 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Transnational Voices of Australia’s Migrant and Minority Press 2020; (p. 19-36)

'This chapter re-assesses the colonial Australian versions of the London Punch, making a case for their importance as essentially migrant and minority publications. Founded as a means of maintaining a sense of Britishness, and as a direct link to the culture of Metropolitan London, these magazines were staffed overwhelmingly by migrants (from Britain and elsewhere), directed to a predominantly migrant readership, and filled their pages with migration-themed jokes, cartoons, and pieces of doggerel. The everyday worries of a stranger in a strange land could be soothed by reference to the humour of the local satirical magazine, and a sense of shared community built through regular recourse to the pages of Melbourne Punch, Sydney Punch, Tasmanian Punch, Ballarat Punch, Adelaide Punch, Queensland Punch, or even Ipswich Punch.'

Source: Abstract.

The Satirical Press of Colonial Australia : A Migrant and Minority Enterprise Richard Scully , 2020 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Transnational Voices of Australia’s Migrant and Minority Press 2020; (p. 19-36)

'This chapter re-assesses the colonial Australian versions of the London Punch, making a case for their importance as essentially migrant and minority publications. Founded as a means of maintaining a sense of Britishness, and as a direct link to the culture of Metropolitan London, these magazines were staffed overwhelmingly by migrants (from Britain and elsewhere), directed to a predominantly migrant readership, and filled their pages with migration-themed jokes, cartoons, and pieces of doggerel. The everyday worries of a stranger in a strange land could be soothed by reference to the humour of the local satirical magazine, and a sense of shared community built through regular recourse to the pages of Melbourne Punch, Sydney Punch, Tasmanian Punch, Ballarat Punch, Adelaide Punch, Queensland Punch, or even Ipswich Punch.'

Source: Abstract.

PeriodicalNewspaper Details

Frequency:
  • Fortnightly, December 1868 - February 1869 and 24 January 1878 - 17 August 1878
  • Weekly, 31 August 1878 - October 1884
Range:
Vol. 1, no. 1 (5 December 1868) - v. 1, no. 12 (1 April 1869) ; [new series] v. 1, no. 1 (24 January 1878) - 17 October 1884.
Mergers:
Incorporated into Lantern on 25 October 1884.
Supplement:
Adelaide Punch Almanac
Size:
28cm.
Price:
6d.
Graphics:
Illustrated
Note:
From December 1878 to December 1883, an annual Christmas supplement was issued with title: Adelaide Punch Almanac.
Note:
Not published May 1869 - December 1877.
Note:
The first two issues of 1878 were titled Rattlesnake or Adelaide Punch; the next issue reverted to the title Adelaide Punch.
Last amended 19 Feb 2013 16:39:11
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