MARCONI OCTOPUS 1913 Leonard Raven-Hill PUNCH CARTOON PAGE

Original 10 3/4 inch x 8 inch Wood Engraved Cartoon page titled THE MARCONI OCTOPUS from Punch, June 18, 1913.

Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi (1874 – 1937) was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system.
The Marconi Scandal 1912-13 led many to draw unfavourable conclusions about corruption in British politics. It is believed that Lloyd George’s role in the scandal brought it to press and public attention. The scandal centred mostly around three Liberal ministers; Rufus Isaacs, Alexander Murray and David Lloyd George, who allegedly profited from an impending government tender.
In 1912 a lucrative tender was accepted by the Post Office which instructed the English Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company to develop, build and maintain a series of wireless transmitting and receiving stations across the British Empire.
Godfrey Isaacs; managing director of the English Marconi Company, was also the brother of Attorney General Rufus Isaacs. Under the influence of his brother, Rufus bought shares in the company’s American subsidiary at a favourable price. He allegedly informed the Chancellor of the Exchequer; David Lloyd George and the Liberal Party’s Chief Whip; Alexander Murray of the contract, which led both to purchase their own shares in the American Marconi. Murray also bought shares on behalf of the Liberal Party.

The cartoon is by Leonard Raven-Hill (1867 - 1942). An English artist, illustrator and cartoonist. He was born in Bath and educated at Bristol Grammar School and the Devon county school. He studied art at the Lambeth School of Art and then in Paris under MM. Bougereau and Aimé Morot. He began to exhibit at the Salon in 1887 but moved back to London when he was appointed as the art editor of Pick-Me-Up. He also continued to work as a painter and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1889. In 1893 he founded, with Arnold Golsworthy, the humorous and artistic monthly The Butterfly (1893–94, revived in 1899-1900) but began his most prominent association with a publication when his drawings appeared in Punch in December 1895. By 1901 he had joined the staff of Punch as the junior political cartoonist. He contributed to many other illustrated magazines including The Daily Graphic, Daily Chronicle, The Strand Magazine, The Sketch, Pall Mall Gazette and Windsor Magazine.

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.

The page is in very good condition. Reverse side blank.