1-150-356 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'The Haunted Lady, Or The Ghost In the Looking-Glass', 1863. Madame La Modiste says: We Would Not Have Disappointed Your Ladyship, At Any Sacrifice, And The Robe Finished à Marveille. Here, Punch makes the point in one of the journal's most powerful cartoons, that behind every beautiful gown is a story of distress, terrible need, physical deprivation and, ultimately, death. The lady on the left is the dressmaker to the young lady admiring herself in the mirror. Work was generally handed out to the needlewomen, and a sad representative of those working in the trade is pictured, dead, in the mirror. The plight of Britain's growing army of needlewoman had long been a matter of public concern. The pay was generally so low that needlewomen, often lacking in education, and unsupported by family, were faced with the stark choice between starvation and prostitution. From Punch, or the London Charivari, July 4, 1863.