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Picture of the day archives
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2010 December
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Picture of the day
"Our New 'First Lord' at Sea", an 1877
editorial cartoon
from
Punch
mocking the appointment of
William Henry Smith
(right) as
First Lord of the Admiralty
, the governor of the
Royal Navy
of the
United Kingdom
. Smith had been a household name thanks to the
W H Smith
chain of booksellers and newsagents, and he had been a
Member of Parliament
for the previous ten years, but he had no naval or even military experience whatsoever. The following year,
Gilbert and Sullivan
's
H.M.S. Pinafore
would
satirise
him on similar grounds, and he became known as "Pinafore Smith" throughout the course of his three years in the post.
Artist:
John Tenniel
; Restoration:
Adam Cuerden
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