‘Larks in Season’: The Comic Almanack (1835–54)
By the 1830s, the almanac was one of few print genres to have found a broad readership across all classes of society. Differing kinds of almanacs provided either general information linked to the agricultural, ecclesiastical, or parliamentary year or else spectacularly inventive predictions. Early-V...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2016-11-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/cve/2881 |
| _version_ | 1819016991282823168 |
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| author | Brian Maidment |
| author_facet | Brian Maidment |
| author_sort | Brian Maidment |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | By the 1830s, the almanac was one of few print genres to have found a broad readership across all classes of society. Differing kinds of almanacs provided either general information linked to the agricultural, ecclesiastical, or parliamentary year or else spectacularly inventive predictions. Early-Victorian print culture attempted to stamp out superstitious predictive almanacs and establish the genre as an authoritative source of information. One response to such reformist impulses was the comic or travesty almanac, and this essay centrally forms a study of the longest lasting and most successful satirical almanac, The Comic Almanack, which ran from 1835 until 1854. With a list of contributors that included Thackeray, Horace Mayhew, and Gilbert à Beckett and centrally dependent on both etched and wood engraved illustrations by George Cruikshank and H. G. Hine, The Comic Almanack both parodied and celebrated the almanac tradition. In particular, it showed a sustained interest in the visual potential of the graphic and typographical patterning of the almanac form. The Comic Almanack formed one of several travesty almanacs that enlivened print culture in the 1830s and that fostered a wide variety of early-Victorian parodies of supposedly authoritative and informative print genres. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T02:56:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-999f4f5379114a1298086770e41fdc1f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T02:56:25Z |
| publishDate | 2016-11-01 |
| publisher | Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| spelling | doaj.art-999f4f5379114a1298086770e41fdc1f2022-12-21T19:18:19ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492016-11-0110.4000/cve.2881‘Larks in Season’: The Comic Almanack (1835–54)Brian MaidmentBy the 1830s, the almanac was one of few print genres to have found a broad readership across all classes of society. Differing kinds of almanacs provided either general information linked to the agricultural, ecclesiastical, or parliamentary year or else spectacularly inventive predictions. Early-Victorian print culture attempted to stamp out superstitious predictive almanacs and establish the genre as an authoritative source of information. One response to such reformist impulses was the comic or travesty almanac, and this essay centrally forms a study of the longest lasting and most successful satirical almanac, The Comic Almanack, which ran from 1835 until 1854. With a list of contributors that included Thackeray, Horace Mayhew, and Gilbert à Beckett and centrally dependent on both etched and wood engraved illustrations by George Cruikshank and H. G. Hine, The Comic Almanack both parodied and celebrated the almanac tradition. In particular, it showed a sustained interest in the visual potential of the graphic and typographical patterning of the almanac form. The Comic Almanack formed one of several travesty almanacs that enlivened print culture in the 1830s and that fostered a wide variety of early-Victorian parodies of supposedly authoritative and informative print genres.http://journals.openedition.org/cve/2881almanacparodytravestyillustrationCruikshank (George)à Beckett (Gilbert) |
| spellingShingle | Brian Maidment ‘Larks in Season’: The Comic Almanack (1835–54) Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens almanac parody travesty illustration Cruikshank (George) à Beckett (Gilbert) |
| title | ‘Larks in Season’: The Comic Almanack (1835–54) |
| title_full | ‘Larks in Season’: The Comic Almanack (1835–54) |
| title_fullStr | ‘Larks in Season’: The Comic Almanack (1835–54) |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Larks in Season’: The Comic Almanack (1835–54) |
| title_short | ‘Larks in Season’: The Comic Almanack (1835–54) |
| title_sort | larks in season the comic almanack 1835 54 |
| topic | almanac parody travesty illustration Cruikshank (George) à Beckett (Gilbert) |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/cve/2881 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT brianmaidment larksinseasonthecomicalmanack183554 |