Bring a touch of Victorian wit to your wall with this charming framed print titled The Power of Imagination. Featuring a humorous medical scene with a young patient, a stern doctor, and a concerned maid, this delightful illustration showcases the dry humour of the period. Likely sourced from a publication like Punch, this piece is beautifully mounted and ready to hang – perfect for vintage collectors, medical enthusiasts, or lovers of historical cartoons.This vintage framed print is a classic example of late 19th- to early 20th-century British satirical or humorous illustration, often found in publications such as Punch magazine.
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"THE POWER OF IMAGINATION"
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Caption:
Street Arab (to Doctor, who has just been taking his temperature):
“Ah, Sir! That done me a lot o' good, Sir!”
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This piece features a humorous cartoon of a young "street Arab" (a common Victorian-era term for a homeless or orphaned child), lying in bed with a doctor seated beside him and a nurse or housemaid observing. The scene satirizes the faith placed in medical authority—or perhaps the placebo effect—through the child's statement that just having his temperature taken has made him feel better.
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The illustration style, colouring method (hand-tinted or early chromolithography), and subject matter suggest it originates from the late Victorian or Edwardian period, circa 1880–1910.
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Context & Cultural Notes:
Street Arabs: This was a common trope in Victorian satire, depicting destitute children in urban London. Such characters were often romanticized or used to highlight social issues, albeit often with patronizing humour.
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Medical Satire: Cartoons from this period often poked fun at doctors, quackery, or the over-confidence of modern medicine.
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Punch Magazine Style: The framing and font style are strongly reminiscent of illustrations published in Punch, or The London Charivari—a British weekly magazine of humour and satire.
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Matting: Dark green mount with a narrow cream edge.
Frame: Wood with a thin gold inner trim; classic vintage frame design.
Back: Paper backing with aged tape and string hanging wire – typical of mid-to-late 20th-century framing updates, suggesting it may have been reframed decades after publication.
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The framed size is around 30cm x 25cm, with the visible image being approximately 15cm x 10cm.
