1-150-212 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'The Great Lozenge-Maker. A Hint to Paterfamilias', 1858. This cartoon indicts the sweet-making industry. At the time, many strange, and possibly noxious ingredients were used in sweets, with no requirement for their details to be given. However, this cartoon was specifically generated by an incident in Bradford in which some 18 people died, and more than 200 became ill, after buying sweets from a confectioner in the town. This confectioner managed to use 12 lbs of arsenic in a preparation of sweets, instead of gypsum. The skeleton is shown grinding energetically at a huge pestle, and is surrounded by barrels of poisonous ingredients. On the shelves are boxes labelled 'Mottoes' and 'Bon Bons for Juvenile Parties' showing that many of the sweets he is preparing will be sold for children's consumption, thus the warning 'A Hint to Paterfamilias'. The first part of the title, 'The Great Lozenge-Maker' is a satirical reflection of the fact that lozenges are usually considered to be medicinal rather than deadly. From Punch, or the London Charivari, November 20, 1858.