PUNCH 1881 Vols 80 and 81 bound as one book

Two volumes (80 and 81) bound as one book. Vol 80: 8 Jan 1881 - 2 July 1881 pp 1-312. Vol 81: 9 July 1881 - 31 Dec 1881 pp 1-312. Including prelim pages and Punch\'s Almanack for 1881. Marbled boards, half leather. Book shows signs of wear but binding still tight and firm. New front endpapers. Some foxing on prelim pp and back end paper. The magazine pages are in Very Good condition. Punch magazine was a (sometimes harsh) humorous satirical review of society and politics in Britain. Numerous cartoons, sketches, poems, articles reflect the social and political life of the Empire. Punch was gently scornful of the British Army\'s poor showing against the Boers in the first Boer War of 1881. The British were defeated in this war and had again to acknowledge the independence of the Transvaal State. Volume 80: p126 Comment on poor marksmanship of the British p127 Cartoon - Gladstone as Hamlet p149 Cartoon - Laing\'s Nek/Victorious Boer p211 Cartoon - A Boer offers to teach the English the skill of musketry.