Edwardian Comic Papers

Plot

Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901. She gave her name to an era that produced an Empire and the industrial revolution; an age of invention and innovation that launched Britain into a new century of unparalleled prosperity, peace and expansion. By any standard it was a hard act to follow.

And yet her son and heir did follow it and very creditably at that. King Edward VII came to the throne with a soiled reputation amid fears that he was not up to the job. But such was his success, ruling over a United Kingdom that was entering a new century and undergoing a transition and consolidation in almost every walk of life, that his short reign has since been looked back on as a golden age with its own unique accomplishments and achievements.

Much has been written about Edward and the few short years that he ruled, but little has been said about one particular aspect of that remarkable decade: the marvellous and quite stunning comic papers that were the regular reading of Edwardian households. As well as outstanding examples of graphic art they also provide a unique insight into Edwardian society.