With the early 19th century, British society discovered an interest in the printed word. Books, magazines and journals became part of everyday life. Decorative illustrations developed into a branch of the applied visual arts, providing a visual accompaniment to text. One particular form of illustration is caricature. James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson are considered the founders of this art form, which makes reference to society and politics. A caricature is often accompanied by criticism, which is hidden or openly demonstrated in the fine lithographs. In the early days of British caricatures, cruel and satirical elements are often present. The illustrator John Leech turned away from this traditional form of representation. The artist found his inspiration on the streets of London. His first works were humorous character studies that Leech collected in vibrant London. Among the facets of bourgeois city life, the artist found individual characters. Empathic and warm-hearted, Leech reveals the qualities of character. Gentle and never malicious, Leech developed sympathetic images of the people of the time.
John Leech achieved a high profile through his work for the British satirical magazine Punch. The humorous magazine was aimed at the general middle-class audience. Punch stood for verbal and graphic satire and humorous social criticism. Leech took on the issues that preoccupied British society. Strongly represented were a hostile attitude against Americanism and anti-Semitic prejudices. The illustrator created a critical yet humorous cartoon series about the Crimean War and was able to influence public attitudes regarding heroism and warfare. Leech changed the view of the role of the British in the world and was an advocate of acceptable social reform. John Leech reached the readership with his cartoons. Reasons for this may be the high artistic value of the lithographs and the lack of crudeness that other artists used to make their points.
The sympathetic characters that John Leech developed helped the illustrator to get a special collaboration. Leech was commissioned to do the illustrations for Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. The story about the grouchy and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas were perfect for the artist. Leech produced four etchings and his depictions of the ghosts remain the most famous Dickens illustrations to this day. A close friendship developed between the Leech and Dickens families. John's wife Anne was unusually involved in her husband's professional life for the time. Anne Leech sat as a model for young women's drawings and supported her husband's artistic endeavors. Rising living costs drove John Leech to take on more commissions than he could handle. He painted and did portraits beyond his strength. Leech became sensitive to the sounds of the city and lost his taste for music. The dedicated artist succumbed to the effects of a heart attack at the age of 47.
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.jpg "Much Above That Sort of Thing by John Leech")
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.jpg "Scene from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Rising Generation by John Leech")
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.jpg "Curius Dentatus Refusing the Magnificent Gift Offered by the Samnite Ambassadors by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Currency Question; or, the Stock Exchange out for the Day by John Leech")
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.jpg "Terrific Combat between Richard Coeur de Lion and Saladin, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Scrooge")
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.jpg "The Ghost, from")
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.jpg "A Picnic in the Drawing Room, a Capital Thing for a Wet Day by John Leech")
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.jpg "Close of the Hunting Season, mending the Gaps by John Leech")
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.jpg "Mr J S Rarey, the American Horse-Tamer by John Leech")
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.jpg "Epsom Races, the Return from The Derby by John Leech")
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.jpg "John Leech: English illustrator best known for his humour cartoons in the satirical magazine Punch by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Odious Odo by John Leech")
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.jpg "Canute Reproving His Courtiers by John Leech")
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.jpg "Take away that Bauble, Cromwell dissolving the Long Parliament, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Bacon, Ye Great Moral Philosopher by John Leech")
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.jpg "A Bit of Animated Nature, The Protectionist Cuckoo in the Hedge Sparrow")
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.jpg "An old gentleman anxious that his wife should possess some trifle from the Great Exhibition of 1851, purchases (amongst other things) the stuffed elephant and the model of the dodo, drawn for Punch by John Leech")
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.jpg "King John out for an airing, c1860 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Gilbert a Becket, Thomas a Becket by John Leech")
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.jpg "Marriage of Henry VI with Margaret of Anjou, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Roman Man-of-War, from a Scarce Medal by John Leech")
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.jpg "Cardinal Campeggio and Mr. Sampson. I Can Hear Nothing Now, Mr. Sampson by John Leech")
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.jpg "Marius in the Ruins of Carthage, 1852 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi by John Leech")
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.jpg "Hamilton Tighe, from")
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.jpg "The Housewarming, from")
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.jpg "The Battle of the Boyne, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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 1843 - (MeisterDrucke-57203).jpg "Mr Fezziwig")
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.jpg "Volunteer Movement, Jones and Family Go Under Canvas by John Leech")
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.jpg "How the Chartist Procession Might Have Looked, 1848 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Hanno Announcing to the Mercenaries the Emptiness of the Public Coffers by John Leech")
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.jpg "Unpleasant Position of King Harold, c1860 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Caesar looking for the Pearls for which Britain was celebrated by John Leech")
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.jpg "Queen Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Hannibal Requesting the Cretan Priests to Become His Bankers by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Battle of Bosworth Field: A Scene from the Great Drama of History, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "A Substitute for the Sea Side, or the Serpentine as it Might Be by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Love Box door was opened, out came the hounds with a cry, 1865 by Hablot Knight Browne")
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.jpg "The Pious Public House, Where You May Get Adulterated Beer and Gin by John Leech")
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.jpg "Queen Philippa interceding with Edward III for the Six Burgesses of Calais, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Romans Walking off with the Sabine Women by John Leech")
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.jpg "Richard thinks it high time he managed his own affairs, c1860 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Miss De Glancey Captivates the Earl by John Leech")
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.jpg "Cartoon Commenting on the Watering-Down of Milk by John Leech")
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.jpg "Hannibal Leads the Ambassadors on a Fatiguing Walk Around Carthage by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Last Cider Cup by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Landing of Julius Caesar, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Marriage of His Majesty Henry III and Eleanor of Provence by John Leech")
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.jpg "Cicero throws up his Brief, like a Gentleman by John Leech")
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.jpg "A Son and Heir by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Black Mousquetaire, from")
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.jpg "The Pike is a voracious fish and bites readily in the Winter months-Old Gentleman, 1830-64 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Unseemly conduct of Henry, Prince of Wales, c1860 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Superbus, the upstart, 1852 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Terence reading his Play to Caecilius, 1852 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Cardriver plying for Hire by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Fish Dinner by John Leech")
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.jpg "Juvenile Party, From Punch, 1864, 1923 by John Leech")
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.jpg "King Henry VIII by John Leech")
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.jpg "That")
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.jpg "Juvenile: I say Charley, that")
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.jpg "Edward the Black Prince, Conducting His Prisoner by John Leech")
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.jpg "King Edward Introducing His Son as Prince of Wales to His Newly Acquired Subjects by John Leech")
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.jpg "Hercules takes a Draper")
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.jpg "Hannibal Crossing the Alps by John Leech")
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.jpg "Hannibal Disguising Himself, 1852 by John Leech")
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.jpg "King John threatening to cut off the Noses of the Bishops by John Leech")
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.jpg "Horatius Cocles Defending the Bridge by John Leech")
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.jpg "Tarquinius Superbus has the Sibylline Books valued by John Leech")
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.jpg "Titus Oates in the Pillary, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Lord Mayor arresting a suspicious Twelfth-Night Character by John Leech")
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.jpg "Henry VIII and His Queen")
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.jpg "Higgledy-Piggledy or a Domestic Republic by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Landing of William the Conqueror, from The Comic History of England, pub. 1864 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Captain Spurrier Cut Down by Romford by John Leech")
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.jpg "A Substitute for the Seaside; or, The Serpentine as it Might Be by John Leech")
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.jpg "Self-Possession of Fabricius, the Ambassador, under Rather Trying Circumstances by John Leech")
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.jpg "Roman Patrician by John Leech")
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.jpg "Evening Party - Time of Charles II by John Leech")
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.jpg "Embarkation of Henry V at Southampton, AD 1415, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Henry VIII meeting Francis I, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Edward II and his Favourite, Piers Gaveston by John Leech")
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.jpg "Blondel, the Minstrel, Under the Walls of Richard")
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.jpg "Original Beefeater, 1897 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Queen Eleanor and Fair Rosamond, c. 1860 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Roman Bull and Priest of the period by John Leech")
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.jpg "Northumberland Making a Speech by John Leech")
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.jpg "Hannibal crossing the Alps by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Auto-da-Fe, from")
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.jpg "His Excellency Q. Fabius Offering Peace or War to the Carthaginian Senate by John Leech")
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.jpg "Valiant feat of Young Mithridates, 1852 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Canute Performing on His Favourite Instrument by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Citadel Saved by the Cackling of the Geese by John Leech")
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.jpg "English Archer of the Period from Such a Rare Old Print by John Leech")
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.jpg "Tib Gracchus canvassing, 1852 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Aesculapius by John Leech")
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.jpg "Miss Fabia, the Younger, Astonished at the Patrician")
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.jpg "The Queen")
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