And then there was by far the most important and valuable draughtsman of the quartette [of early Punch cartoonists] — William Newman. He had a greater sense of beauty and a more refined touch than most of his colleagues; and though he did not shine as a satirist, he was always well in the spirit of Punch. - Marion Spielmann, p. 413
His cartooning style was going out of fashion in Britain, where periodicals were becoming more dignified as they adapted to the tastes of a growing middle-class. During the winter of 1860, however, underemployed but with a wife and,by now, seven children all under the age of 15, he was thrown a lifeline. He was offered the position of chief cartoonist for a new humor magazine, to be called Momus [and published in America]. - Jane E. Brown and Richard Samuel West, p. 158
Biographical material
Works
- Title-page for the first Punch (1841)
- Dirty Father Thames for Punch (1848)
- "Water! Water! Everywhere..." for Punch (1849)
- Introduction to his plates for A Day's Ride by Charles Lever, as first published in Harper's Weekly
Links to related material
Bibliography
Brown, Jane E., and Richard Samuel West. "William Newman (1817—1870): A Victorian Cartoonist in London and New York." American Periodicals, 17, 2: "Periodical Comics and Cartoons." (Ohio State University Press, 2007), 143-183. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20770984.
Garvey, Dana M. "William Newman: A Victorian Cartoonist in London and New York." (Review) Victorian Periodicals Review, 42(4): 417-418. DOI:10.1353/vpr.0.0097
Lever, Charles. A Day's Ride: A Life's Romance. Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization. Illustrated by William Newman. Vols. IV-V (13 April 1860 through 23 March 1861) in thirty-five weekly parts. Only a dozen of these weekly instalments were illustrated: p. 541 (one), 549 (two), 573, 589, 605, 621, 637, 649, 661, 678, 701, and 714.
Lever, Charles James. A Day's Ride; A Life's Romance. http://www.gutenberg.org//files/32692/32692-h/32692-h.htm
Spielmann, M. H. Chapter VII, "Cartoons — Cartoonists and Their Work." The History of "Punch". London: Cassell, 1895. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23881/23881-h/23881-h.htm
Created 16 May 2022