Postcard, Bruce Bairnsfather cartoon There goes our blinkin' parapet again, Britain, 1916-1919
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1916-1919
The cartoons of Captain Bruce Bairnsfather (who had been injured at Ypres) were published in the popular tabloid magazine The Bystander and were enormously popular with the troops for their satirical unromantic view of life in the trenches.
In 1916 The Bystander published a collection of the cartoons in a book, Fragments from France, which was hugely successful, selling out in several editions and running to a series of sequels. "There goes our blinkin' parapet again" is from the first book in the series. Postcard in portrait format. On the front: Bruce Bairnsfather cartoon in monochrome showing his popular character Old Bill and a comrade sheltering in a dugout as a shell blows up the sandbags reinforcing their trench, signed within the image and lettered beneath the image with the caption, "There goes our blinkin' parapet again." and with the publisher's copyright.
On the back: postcard template printed in black, handwritten correspondence in black ink, V&A Museum stamp in dark blue ink and numbered in pencil.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Letterpress and half tone letterpress on card
- Dimensions
- Height: 13.5 cm; Width: 8.5 cm
Technical characteristics
- Maker recorded
- Bairnsfather, Bruce; The Bystander
- Place recorded
- Britain, Britain
Design
- Marks and inscriptions
- 'Bruce Bairnsfather'; '"BYSTANDER" COPYRIGHT'; '"There goes our blinkin' parapet again."'; '"Bystander's" Fragments from France. Series I. / The Address only to be here. / Printed in England.'; (V&A Museum stamp); 'B1.4'; '2. / V&A'; 'I have some chilblains / am going to try / the remedy you / told me about. / How do you like / these pictures / from Bairnsfather's / "Fragments from / France?" / I hope you will / have a very happy / Christmas & a better / new Year. / Kindest Regards / M. Cooper / Miss M. F. Kash / 186 Moorhouse Ave, / Sydenham / Christchurch / New Zealand.'
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London collection record for this single object (sentences kept verbatim apart from removed sale or rarity wording); how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Candidate id
- vam-O1175972
- Museum object name
- Postcard
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum object number
- E.403-2008
- Museum system number
- O1175972
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.