Barorjee Nowrosjee
Cartoons from the Hindi Punch: Being the Political and Social History of the Country during the year told in humorous cartoons, &c. [6 Volumes]
Barjorjee Nowrosjee, Cartoons from the Hindi Punch for 1910: Being the Political and Social History of the country during the year told in humorous cartoons & C., Bombay: Barjorjee Nowrosjee at the "Hindi Punch" office, Bombay Samachar Press, Frere Road, Fort, 1910
6 volumes [Volumes for the years 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1911 and 1913]
Uniformly bound in half leather with maroon cloth with title and volume number embossed on spine in gilt (each)
28 x 22.5 x 1.6 cm (each)
1905 Volume: Title page + Preface to the 6th publication + 3 unpaginated pages related to "Opinions of the press on the fifth publication of the cartoons from the Hindi Punch (For 1904) in English, Hindi and Marathi + 20 unpaginated advertisements pages in English and Gujarati in the beginning + 114 pages including 72 single full page cartoon with the caption in English, pages 9-10, 19-20, 45-46, 51-52, 61-62, 81-82, 91-92, have double spread cartoons including captions in English + pages 97-114 are Gujarati translation of the English captions + 50 unpaginated pages of advertisements in English and Gujarati at the end.
1906 Volume: Title page + Preface to the 7th publication + 5 unpaginated pages related to "Opinions of the press on the sixth publication of the cartoons from the Hindi Punch (For 1905) in English, Hindi and Marathi + 32 unpaginated advertisements pages in English and Gujarati in the beginning + 90 pages including 78 single full page cartoon with the caption in English, pages 9-10, 33-34, 45-46, 63-64, 73-74, have double spread cartoons including captions in English + pages 91-110 are Gujarati translation of the English captions + 32 unpaginated pages of advertisements in English and Gujarati at the end
1907 Volume: Title page + Preface to the 8th publication + 6 unpaginated pages related to "Opinions of the press on the seventh publication of the cartoons from the Hindi Punch (For 1906) in English, Hindi and Marathi + 24 unpaginated advertisements pages in English and Gujarati in the beginning + 102 pages including 84 single full page cartoon with the caption in English, pages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 15-16, 25-26, 35-36, 81-82, 87-88, 93-94, have double spread cartoons including captions in English + pages 103-126 are Gujarati translation of the English captions + 44 unpaginated pages of advertisements in English and Gujarati at the end.
1908 Volume: Preface to the 9th publication + 6 unpaginated pages related to "Opinions of the press on the eighth publication of the cartoons from the Hindi Punch (For 1907) in English, Hindi and Marathi + 38 unpaginated advertisements pages in English and Gujarati in the beginning + 90 pages including 74 single full page cartoon with the caption in English, pages 9-10, 15-16, 37-38, 43-44, 59-60, 71-72, 77-78, 81-82, have double spread cartoons including captions in English + pages 91-105 are Gujarati translation of the English captions + 34 unpaginated pages of advertisements in English and Gujarati at the end.
1911 Volume: Title page + 6 unpaginated pages related to "Opinions of the press on the eleventh publication of the cartoons from the Hindi Punch (For 1910) in English, Hindi and Marathi + 36 unpaginated advertisements pages in English and Gujarati in the beginning + 100 pages including 80 single full page cartoon with the caption in English, pages 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 15-16, 27-28, 57-58, 69-70, 77-78, 97-98, have double spread cartoons including captions in English + pages 101-114 are Gujarati translation of the English captions + 32 unpaginated pages of advertisements in English and Gujarati at the end.
1913 Volume: Title page + frontispiece + preface to the 14th publication + 7 unpaginated pages related to "Opinions of the press on the eleventh publication of the cartoons from the Hindi Punch (For 1912) in English, Hindi and Marathi + 34 unpaginated advertisements pages in English and Gujarati in the beginning + 100 pages including 94 single full page cartoon with the caption in English, pages 5-6, 15-16, 73-74, 83-84, have double spread cartoons including captions in English + pages 101-115 are Gujarati translation of the English captions + 38 unpaginated pages of advertisements in English and Gujarati at the end.
Henry Mayhew's Punch magazine, which debuted in London in 1841, had become a forerunner in the field of satirical and comedic writing. The publication coincided with an era of increased English language education in India, which resulted in a considerable readership among the English-speaking population of the country. Punch, which was readily adaptable to Indian contexts due to its alluring format and content, underwent significant local adaptations in numerous regional languages. Eventually, the colonial populace employed Punch as a method of political resistance. Over seventy publications, including the Parsee Punch and Hindi Punch, originated in the years following the inception of Awadh Punch. These publications catered to distinct readerships who frequently interpreted identical social conditions in unique ways.
The regional Punches frequently adopted divergent positions, which led to a fragmented perception of India that ran counter to the nationalist discourse advocating for a unified nation propelled by comparable aspirations and motivations. The discord and fragmentation that ensued probably precipitated the publications' decline in prominence. However, these regional Punches served as precursors to political satire and artistic expression in the nation.
The Parsi or The Hindi Punch (1878-1930) by Barjorjee Nowrosjee of Bombay was one of the longest-running English language comic and cartoon publications produced by an Indian. It was published by Barjorjee Nowrosjee at the Hindi Punch office, located at the Bombay Samachar Press on Frere Road in Fort, Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The Bombay Samachar Press was established in 1822 and is one of the oldest continuously published newspapers in Asia.
When the Indian National Congress was created in 1885, Barjorjee Nowrosjee was a supporter. The Hindi Punch's favourite personification of India was Panchoba, an Indian counterpart of Mr Punch, and its graphic style frequently resembled that of its English parent magazine.
Punch, a British-run magazine established in Calcutta, and Hindi Punch, an Indian newspaper based in Bombay and published in Gujarati and English, were basically publications that circulated within the imperial public sphere that linked Britain with her colonies. These journals straddled the line between colonial imitation and colonial parody by investigating how parody, inversion, and caricature, in both visual and verbal forms, played a significant part in Indian reactions to their image in the British press. The illustrated newspaper Hindi Punch was expressly in dialogue with British Punch and the Anglo-Indian monthly Indian Charivari. Hindi Punch employed parody to respond to racist drawings in these periodicals and to counternarrative current political events.
Barjorjee Nowrosjee was an editor and proprietor of the Parsee Punch, an illustrated Anglo-Gujarati comic weekly which appeared in four sheets, published at the Apyakhatir Press. This became the Hindi Punch in 1888. A selection of cartoons, sketches, and caricatures from Hindi Punch were published as a monthly, under the title Pickings from the Hindi Punch. The monthly periodical had witty and critical comments on social mores, endorsed reformist ideas, supported the national movement, and caricatured important international events. It was at its best when reporting on the public health scene in Bombay. It spared no one in power and called for the urgent attention of the authorities to sanitary matters. Yet it gave praise on occasions, particularly commending the work of Indian doctors during the plague epidemic of 1896-1897.
Overall, it presented a humorous commentary on the political and social events of the year, offering insights into the prevailing sentiments and opinions of the time. Also providing a fascinating glimpse into the political and social landscape of India during the early 20th century, as seen through the eyes of one of its most talented cartoonists.
While in the case of the British Punch a complete print run is easily available in many American and British libraries, the same does not hold true for the colonial versions of Punch like The Oudh Punch, Hindi Punch and Hindu Punch which are not easily available and are rare and scarce.
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