Hutted Histories: Winning with Laughter: How Britain's Cartoonists Helped Win the First World War with Luci Gosling

Winning with Laughter - Cartoonists & the First World War

It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words but during the First World War magazine illustrations were worth even more, not only conveying the news to anxious families at home and soldiers in battle, but also entertaining and lifting the spirits of a nation at war.

In this talk, Luci Gosling will be considering the importance of cartoons and illustration in boosting morale, will highlight some of the key artists working during the period, and discusses the role of drawing for the ordinary soldier.

Lucinda Gosling is a writer, historian, researcher, speaker and curator with a special interest in the social and cultural history of the early twentieth century. As Head of Sales & Research at historical image specialist Mary Evans Picture Library, Luci is regularly inspired by discoveries in the archive at work. Her published books span a range of subjects including debutantes, royal coronations, First World War cartoons, high society, holidays, Great War knitting, feminist art and the history of an iconic theatrical landmark, the London Hippodrome. She has contributed to Tatler, History Today, Country Life, Majesty, Illustration and The Simple Things, and has lectured or taken part in panel discussions at venues around the country including the London Transport Museum, Tate Britain, the Guildhall Library, Fashion & Textile Museum, the National Archives and the Western Front Association. Luci's first book, 'Brushes & Bayonets' was published in 2008 and is an overview of the impact and importance of cartoons and illustration during the First World War. Her most recent, 'John Hassall - The Life & Art of the Poster King' (2021) also includes a chapter on Hassall's activity and artistic contributions during the Great War period.