1-150-194 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'The Aristocratic Fate at Cremorne', 1858. 'Terrific Descent Amidst Showers of Water-Works'. Here Punch pokes fun at the aristocratic ladies who had arranged a major fete in Cremorne Gardens. Intended to be the social event of the year, sadly the weather took a hand and the rain came down in torrents throughout the day. The lady in the cartoon is walking a social tightrope and represents the 2,000 members of the upper classes who attended the fete and became as wet as if they had been sprayed with watering-cans. Her little crown shows her to be one of the social elite, and despite the conditions, she is dressed in her finest. From Punch, or the London Charivari, July 17, 1858.