Punch’s Dream of Things Egyptian: So of Khedive, and Needle, and Canal. Wood engraving by Swain from a drawing by John Tenniel from Punch’s Almanacks Second Series, 1862-1880 [Click on image to enlarge it.]
In his easy chair (at bottom left) Mr. Punch dreams of bringing together Britannia and Egypt, who appear as female figures at the picture’s bottom center at the base of Cleopatra’s needle. At the far right we see Disraeli, now Lord Beaconsfield, wearing a crown that slips down, showing that it is too big for him, as he looks at a sphinx (on wheels) bearing his own face!
Above him on the right side we see Darwin trying to explain evolutionary theory to an Egyptian figure, who holds a scroll or book bearing the words, “Races of Man” while a monkey (chimpanzee?) and an ibis stand at their feel. In the top right-hand corner a figure (John Hanning Speke?) peers through papyrus reeds at the source of the Nile. At the left above the dreaming Mr. Punch appear figures involved with financing the Suez Canal.
Details and related material
- Disraeli and the Disraeli-sphinx
- Darwin
- Discovering the source of the Nile
- English Egyptomania
- Punch has some fun with the fashion for things Egyptian (1854)
- Punch has some fun with the fashion for things Egyptian (1878)
[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Internet Archive and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. — George P. Landow. ]
Last modified 8 December 2017