Punch (magazine)

Punch, or The London Charivari

Cover of the first Punch, or The London Charivari, depicts Punch hanging a caricatured Devil, 1841 (see gallery below for enlarged detail).
Categories	Politics, culture, humour and satire
Frequency	Weekly
Founder	Henry Mayhew Ebenezer Landells
Founded	1841
First issue	17 July 1841
Final issue	2002
Country	United Kingdom
Based in	London
Language	English
Website	www.punch.co.uk

Punch, or The London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and wood-engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 1850s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration. Artists at Punch included John Tenniel who, from 1850, was the chief cartoon artist at the magazine for over 50 years. The editors took the anarchic puppet Mr Punch, of Punch and Judy, as their mascot—the character appears in many magazine covers—with the character also an inspiration for the magazine's name.

With its satire of the contemporary, social, and political scene, Punch became a household name in Victorian Britain. Sales of 40,000 copies a week by 1850 rose above 100,000 by 1910. After the 1940s, when its circulation peaked, it went into a long decline, closing in 1992. It was revived in 1996, but closed again in 2002.