FAMOUS DINING TABLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22741, 29 November 1935, Page 6

FAMOUS DINING TABLE

OFFICES OF PUNCH (From Ouh Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail J LONDON, November 0. The building in which this is written rests on the grounds in which the Whitefriars Monastery once stood. A stone's throw away is the office of Punch. It is a comparatively new building, and it rests on ihe site ot' the old building which housed the Punch stall' from early days until 1930. In the waiting room of the new offices is a plan drawn by Mr E. V. Lucas showing that the Punch office stands on the site which was originally occupied by the preaching nave of VVhitefriars Moujistery. This is only one of a number of interesting items which may be seen in the waiting room, or in the dining room, where the editor and his staff meet once a week to decide on the principal cartoons for the following issue of the paper. Up to a few years ago the official weekly meal was a dinner. Now, however, it has been changed to a lunch. The historic table around which the party meets has a rough, unpolished deal top Round in its congested form, it may be extended by means of extra leaves. In recent years the old table has been fortified by an edging of oak and new legs 01 oak, but the unpolished deal top remains On it are the carved initials of thp editors and the principal artists and writers for the journal during the past 90 years. Mark Lemon's initials are there at the head of the table, and those of Shirley Brooks, Tom Taylor, P. Burnand, and Owen Seaman. " W.M.T.," at another place, indicates where Thackeray used to sit. John Leech carved his initials in 1854, and added a curly worm in a bottle, as an extra symbol of his name. George Du Maurier's initials and those of other men who have made the journal famous can be seen on the table top, some boldly carved, others more modestly. Around the top of the room are photographs of the principal members of the staff since the foundation. Beneath this portrait gallery are the originals of famous drawings that have appeared in the journal. Each artist of the staff is expected to present one of his original drawings for this gallery. On the mantelpiece are manuscripts of interest. There is a copy of the original prospectus written out after a meeting at which it was decided to start a humorous journal. A heading "Fun" is crossed ous, and " Punch" is substituted. The prospectus begins: "This guffawgraph is intended to form a refuge for destitute wit, an asylum for the thousands of orphan jokes." There has been much discussion on the subject of the origin of the name Punch The general opinion seems to be that it is a play on the word used for the famous drink, in which many ingredients go to make up a pleasant concoction. It is thought that the well-known figure of Punch, of the Punch and Judy show, was an afterthought. One thing in the name is definite. The secondarv title, "The London Charivari," was adopted to indi cate what type of paper it was, for at the time a Paris Charivari was popular, and the London public knew something about it. The word implies "back chat.*' In using the name of a foreign predecessor the founders of Punch demonstrated a humility which soon proved unnecessary.