1-150-421 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'The Demon Butcher, or the Real Rinderpest', 1865. The demon butcher, with his hair styled into the shape of horns, stands in front of the animal carcasses declaring the price of beef. His customer is so startled she drops her basket and key. Next to the butcher is a pile of money. Earlier in the year, there had been an outbreak of Cattle Plague, or Rinderpest. It had started in the dairies of Lambeth and Islington and had spread rapidly despite all measures for containment. By the middle of October, some 14,000 head of cattle had had to be slaughtered. This increased to more than 21,000 by mid November, and again to 50,000 by the end of the year. This cartoon depicts the widespread belief that the epidemic had been made as an excuse for needlessly raising the cost of beef. From Punch, or the London Charivari, November 18, 1865.