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Image of Punch, Judy and Toby

Punch, Judy & Toby

  • Victorian embossed scrap printed by chromolithography
  • 127 x 133mm (5 x 5¼in), circa 1880
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This month is the 350th birthday of Mr Punch and it is being marked by a nationwide celebration of events in Britain.

The first recorded sighting in England of a Punch puppet was made in 1662 by Samuel Pepys in Covent Garden, London which he dutifully noted in his diary on 9 May 1662:

Image of Samuel Pepys Thence to see an
Italian puppet play
that is within the
rayles there, which is
very pretty, the best
that ever I saw, and
great resort of gallants

 

 

This regular feature shows special items from members’ own collections. Submissions by email should include a scan of the item.