Joey the Clown plays an unfriendly trick on Punch (1854)

Joey the clown plays an unfriendly trick on punch 1854 illustration

"Lives there a youth who has not yearn'd
To be, at least to dress, like Clown;
And up his trowser-ankles turn'd,
And of his mouth the corners down?
To do clown well - here's a good lesson - con it
Whiten your face, and stick red wafers on it."

Joey was an affectionate nickname for the famous clown, Joseph Grimaldi, who first performed in England in the early 1800s. Traditionally, the clown is the only member of the Punch show that does not get killed.

Other characters associated with Punch puppet plays are the Devil, the Doctor, Mr Jones or Scaramouch (Toby's master), a Servant, a Policeman or Beadle, Hector the Horse, a dragon or crocodile and the Hangman.

Location: The Wonderful Drama of Punch and Judy and their Little Dog Toby, as performed to overflowing balconies at the corner of the street. By Papernose Woodensconce, Esq. (Robert Barabus Brough) with illustrations by "The Owl." London: H. Ingram and Co., Milford House, Milford Lane, Strand. Parker Collection ApQ087.1/1854

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