1-150-939 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

Can't Get Away!, 1884. Mr Punch holds a handkerchief to his nose as Father Thames tells him his worries. Despite sporadic efforts to cleanse the capital's river, it was still in a terrible condition and this is reflected in the appearance of Father Thames, burdened as he is with broken baskets and the occasional old boot. At the back of the cartoon, a sewage pipe allows the contamination to continue.