Doctors in satirical prints and cartoons

Abstract

n newspapers and periodicals, artistic expressions of political and social events are presented to us daily in various forms, from caricatures of prominent people to line drawings and thumbnail sketches that depict a particular situation. In 18th and 19th century London, such satirical prints were very much in vogue. Satire was the language of the day, and no level of society was spared. Prints were the only pictorial records of life at that time, and the print shops were extremely popular. They provided amusement, but also powerful social and political criticism. In those times, society, politics, and economics were changing rapidly, and scientific knowledge was emerging. Managerial and professional classes were rising in power and status. Tall poppies were there to be cut down, and the caricaturists were always willing to do this with their pens. The first publication in the United Kingdom of Punch, in 1841, and the British version of Vanity Fair, in 1868, saw the emergence of illustrated journalism.