Category Archives: Early Parodies

Magazine and newspaper parodies in Britain and the U.S. through 1910.

Portfolio: 10 Parodies from the 1920s

Posted on February 2, 2020 by

In an effort to pick up the posting pace just a bit, I’m introducing a new category called “Portfolio,” which will offer many pictures and few words. Today being palindromic 02/02/2020, it seems appropriate to begin with twenty magazine covers from … Continue reading →

Posted in College Parodies, College: 1890s-1945, The U.S.: 1850-1910 | Leave a comment

“A Word with Punch,” 1847

Posted on February 25, 2019 by

Parody Of: Punch. Title: “A Word with Punch.” Date: November 11, 1847. Parody By: Alfred Bunn. Format: 12-page magazine. Contributors: Albert Smith, Shirley Brooks, George Augustus Sala. Availability: Nowhere online;  held by the British Library and a few other collections. Strange … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain: 1794-1920, Newsstand Parodies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“The Bilioustine,” 1901

Posted on October 23, 2017 by

Parody Of: The Philistine. Title: “The Bilioustine.” By: Bert Leston Taylor. Dates: May and October 1901. Published By: William S. Lord of Evanston, Illinois. Availability: Free online here; print copies findable but pricey. “The Bilioustine” may have been this country’s … Continue reading →

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William Hone’s “A Slap at Slop,” 1821.

Posted on July 27, 2016 by

Parody Of: The New Times (London). Title: “A Slap at Slop.” Parody By: William Hone. Date: 1821. Pages: 4. Contributors: William Hone (writer), George Cruikshank (art). Availability: PDF of pamphlet version online here. William Hone may have been the original pop-culture fanatic. Born in London in 1780, he was drawn to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain: 1794-1920, Early Parodies | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Harvard Lampoon’s very first “Life,” 1896.

Posted on July 16, 2016 by

Parody Of: Life. Title: “Life.” Parody In: Harvard Lampoon. Date: March 26, 1896 (Vol. 31, no. 1), pp. 10-11. Length: 1 page (on 2 Lampoon pages). Contributors: W. Ames ’95, J.P. Welch ’97. Availability: Lampoons from the 1890s turn up periodically (pun) on the web; good luck finding specific issues. “Life, … Continue reading →

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“The New Times,” 1794

Posted on June 12, 2016 by

Parody Of: The Times (London). Title: “The New Times.” Parody By: The Times — and the Tories.  Date: Sept. 6, 1794. Pages: 1. Availability: Reprinted much reduced but still legible in The History of the Times, Volume I: The Thunderer in the Making (London: Times Publishing Co., 1935). The earliest known … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain: 1794-1920, Early Parodies | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment