Mr Punch finds a place in history

The shows are as central to British seaside fun as fish and chips and donkey rides – and now a wealth of Punch and Judy memorabilia has been saved for the nation.

The archive of rare books, scripts, music covers, prints and drawings, lantern slides, newspaper cuttings and research notes on the old-fashioned puppet show has been acquired by London's Victoria and Albert Museum and includes a watercolour sketch depicting a show from 1852, created for a later oil painting by Charles James Lewis in 1858 and half a stereoscopic photograph of a show from about 1860.

Related topics: