With the early 19th century, British society discovered an interest in the printed word. Books, magazines and journals became part of everyday life. Decorative illustrations developed into a branch of the applied visual arts, providing a visual accompaniment to text. One particular form of illustration is caricature. James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson are considered the founders of this art form, which makes reference to society and politics. A caricature is often accompanied by criticism, which is hidden or openly demonstrated in the fine lithographs. In the early days of British caricatures, cruel and satirical elements are often present. The illustrator John Leech turned away from this traditional form of representation. The artist found his inspiration on the streets of London. His first works were humorous character studies that Leech collected in vibrant London. Among the facets of bourgeois city life, the artist found individual characters. Empathic and warm-hearted, Leech reveals the qualities of character. Gentle and never malicious, Leech developed sympathetic images of the people of the time.
John Leech achieved a high profile through his work for the British satirical magazine Punch. The humorous magazine was aimed at the general middle-class audience. Punch stood for verbal and graphic satire and humorous social criticism. Leech took on the issues that preoccupied British society. Strongly represented were a hostile attitude against Americanism and anti-Semitic prejudices. The illustrator created a critical yet humorous cartoon series about the Crimean War and was able to influence public attitudes regarding heroism and warfare. Leech changed the view of the role of the British in the world and was an advocate of acceptable social reform. John Leech reached the readership with his cartoons. Reasons for this may be the high artistic value of the lithographs and the lack of crudeness that other artists used to make their points.
The sympathetic characters that John Leech developed helped the illustrator to get a special collaboration. Leech was commissioned to do the illustrations for Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. The story about the grouchy and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas were perfect for the artist. Leech produced four etchings and his depictions of the ghosts remain the most famous Dickens illustrations to this day. A close friendship developed between the Leech and Dickens families. John's wife Anne was unusually involved in her husband's professional life for the time. Anne Leech sat as a model for young women's drawings and supported her husband's artistic endeavors. Rising living costs drove John Leech to take on more commissions than he could handle. He painted and did portraits beyond his strength. Leech became sensitive to the sounds of the city and lost his taste for music. The dedicated artist succumbed to the effects of a heart attack at the age of 47.
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.jpg "Scene from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Rising Generation by John Leech")
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.jpg "Curius Dentatus Refusing the Magnificent Gift Offered by the Samnite Ambassadors by John Leech")
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.jpg "Much Above That Sort of Thing by John Leech")
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.jpg "Fancy Dress Ball by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Black Mousquetaire, from")
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_for_Char_-_(MeisterDrucke-1470815).jpg "Marley")
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.jpg "Scrooge")
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.jpg "Oh My Goodness! It")
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.jpg "Good Queen Bess, 1897 by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Currency Question; or, the Stock Exchange out for the Day by John Leech")
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.jpg "Discovery of the Laws of Gravitation by Isaac Newton by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Confession of the old woman clothed in grey, from")
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.jpg "Art-Progress by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Housewarming, from")
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.jpg "The Kill, on The Cat & Custard Pot Day by John Leech")
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.jpg "Funeral Pile of Sulla by John Leech")
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.jpg "Cold out of Doors, and Cold In-Doors, or Tom Smithers")
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.jpg "The Great Social Evil, Punch by John Leech")
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 1843 - (MeisterDrucke-57203).jpg "Mr Fezziwig")
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.jpg "The Battle of the Boyne, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "William the Conqueror inspecting the Volunteers previous to the Invasion of England, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Flight of Gaius Gracchus by John Leech")
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.jpg "Mr Fezziwig")
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.jpg "Fashions for 1844 by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Royal Oak. The Penderell family have no idea where Charles is!!!, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Henry VIII meeting Francis I, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Quiet Street, a Sketch from a Study Window by John Leech")
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.jpg "How the Chartist Procession Might Have Looked, 1848 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Henry VIII Monk-Hunting, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Roman Man-of-War, from a Scarce Medal by John Leech")
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.jpg "Blondel, the Minstrel, Under the Walls of Richard")
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.jpg "Marius in His Old Age, 1852 by John Leech")
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.jpg "In the Foreground of the Tableau May Be Observed a Patrician Looking Very Black at the Triumph of the General by John Leech")
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.jpg "Evening Party - Time of Charles the Second, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Mithridates, His Rash Act by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Battle of Bosworth, A Scene in the Great Drama of History by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Rising Generation by John Leech")
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.jpg "A Clerical Weathercock by John Leech")
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.jpg "Archimedes Taking a Warm Bath (1852) by John Leech")
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.jpg "A Substitute for the Sea Side, or the Serpentine as it Might Be by John Leech")
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.jpg "Mr J S Rarey, the American Horse-Tamer by John Leech")
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.jpg "Henry Tudor, Esq. by John Leech")
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.jpg "Cavalier and Roundhead by John Leech")
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.jpg "Her Majesty")
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.jpg "A Prize Baby Show, Materfamilias Rewarding a Successful Candidate by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Ghost, from")
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.jpg "The Love Box door was opened, out came the hounds with a cry, 1865 by Hablot Knight Browne")
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.jpg "Mr Briggs Contemplating a Day")
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.jpg "Epsom Races, the Return from The Derby by John Leech")
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.jpg "King Edward Introducing His Son as Prince of Wales to His Newly Acquired Subjects by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Pious Public House, Where You May Get Adulterated Beer and Gin by John Leech")
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.jpg "Scipio Aemilianus Cramming Himself for a Speech After a Hearty Supper by John Leech")
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.jpg "A Christmas Carol: Mr. Fezziwig")
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.jpg "Cloelia and Her Companions Escaping from the Etruscan Camp, 1852 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Miss Fabia, the Younger, Astonished at the Patrician")
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.jpg "Little Jack Ingoldsby entering the cellar, from")
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.jpg "Higgledy-Piggledy, or a Domestic Republic by John Leech")
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.jpg "Henry")
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.jpg "Henry VIII and his Queen Out-a-Maying, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Awful Apparition! by John Leech")
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.jpg "Roman Patrician by John Leech")
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.jpg "William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, c1860 by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Ghost of Christmas Present Appearing to Scrooge. Illustration by John Leech for Charles Dickens")
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.jpg "Henry inspecting his Troops before the Battle of Agincourt by John Leech")
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.jpg "John Leech by John Leech")
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.jpg "The Wedding-Party at Mrs Byers")
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.jpg "Bacchanalian Group, from a Very Old Vase by John Leech")
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.jpg "Caesar Looking for the Pearls for which Britain was Formerly Celebrated by John Leech")
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.jpg "Rash Act of Gaius Gracchus, 1852 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Flee, English! Dead is Edmond! by John Leech")
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.jpg "King John Signing Magna Carta, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "A Picnic in the Drawing Room, a Capital Thing for a Wet Day by John Leech")
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.jpg "Marriage of Henry the Sixth and Margaret of Anjou by John Leech")
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.jpg "Scipio Aemilianus Cramming Himself for a Speech After a Hearty Supper, 1852 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Guy Fawkes before and after the Torture by John Leech")
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.jpg "Fresh as a Four Year Old. Went Off Like a Shot by John Leech")
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.jpg "Close of the Hunting Season, mending the Gaps by John Leech")
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.jpg "Cicero Denouncing Cataline, 1850s by John Leech")
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.jpg "King James Disposing of Baronetcies by John Leech")
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.jpg "Harry, the English Apollo by John Leech")
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.jpg "Flight of Rookwood by John Leech")
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.jpg "William III out Hunting by John Leech")
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.jpg "Mithridates, His Rash Act by John Leech")
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.jpg "Marriage of Henry VI with Margaret of Anjou, from The Comic History of England by John Leech")
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.jpg "Unseemly Conduct of Henry, Prince of Wales by John Leech")
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.jpg "Discovery of Guido Fawkes by Suffolk and Mounteagle by John Leech")
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.jpg "Tarquinius Superbus Makes Himself King by John Leech")
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.jpg "Origin of the Order of the Garter by John Leech")
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.jpg "Hyde Park as it Will Be by John Leech")
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.jpg "Edward IV, Meeting Elizabeth Woodville by John Leech")
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.jpg "A Bit of Animated Nature, The Protectionist Cuckoo in the Hedge Sparrow")
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.jpg "A Consultation about the State of Turkey. Punch, September 17, 1853 by John Leech")
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.jpg "Eight Hours at the Sea-Side by John Leech")
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.jpg "Virginia Carried Off by a Minion in the Pay of Appius by John Leech")
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.jpg "Foxhunters regaling in the Good Old Times by John Leech")
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