2009/33

Farmer Palmer,

This is a pen and ink cartoon drawing by Simon Thorp. It depicts Farmer Palmer and his son Jethro, two of Thorp's characters who are caricatures of anti-farming stereotypes. It shows Farmer Palmer and Jethro at a demonstration, much like the 1998 Countryside March that brought 250,000 to London to protest against an amalgam of grievances, inlcuding anti-hunt legislation, which affected the rural community. Thorp produced Farmer Palmer cartoons for Viz magazine, but a faint inscription on the back of this drawing reads '... Daily Star, 19/09/99', suggesting that this was commissioned as an illustration for the newspaper.

Black ink on white card.

MERL OLIB database note – 'Farmer Palmer first appeared at the start of the 1990s, the creation of cartoonist Simon Thorp (1965-) who was behind a gallery of some of the comic's other stalwart characters including Eight Ace, Finbarr Saunders and Student Grant. He had been producing work for Viz since the mid-1980s, shortly before it hit the bigtime. From small beginnings in 1979, a cottage industry run from a suburban bedroom in Newcastle, Viz was selling more than 1 million copies per issue by 1990, putting it in the same league as The Radio Times and Reader's Digest and turning it into an anarchic institution in its own right. It thrived on original humorous content that was outrageously crude, puerile and offensive and in so doing developed a readership profile far wider than might have been predicted. Dog shooting ('Ee wuz wurryin moy sheep') Farmer Palmer and his dim-witted son Jethro are way over the top caricatures of just about every anti-farming stereotype that our culture can come up with. This example of original Simon Thorp artwork from the end of the century features Farmer Palmer and Jethro getting enthusiastically involved in a demonstration. This was the era of the Countryside March of 1998 that brought 250,000 people noisily to the streets of London to protest against an amalgam of grievances - including anti-hunt legislation - affecting the rural community.', MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'Pen + ink drawing by Simon Thorp of Farmer Palmer + his son Jethro of a demonstration - of the 1998 Countryside March type. Indistinct lettering on the back reads... 'Daily Star, 19/09/99' suggesting this this was commissioned as an illustration in the newspaper rather than actually used in the Viz comic strip. // ... Purchased as part of the Collecting 20th c Rural Culture project. // References // '25 Years of Viz' by William Cook, 2004.', Collecting 20thc Rural Culture blog [Thursday, 6 August 2009] – ''Oi! Get orf moy laand!' // Following a suggestion made at the recent Social History Curators Group conference, we are happy to oblige with these two new acquisitions relating to the Viz character Farmer Palmer. The first is a mug dating from 1993 complete with its original box. // Farmer Palmer first appeared at the start of the 1990s, the creation of cartoonist Simon Thorp (1965-) who was behind a gallery of some of the comic's other stalwart characters including Eight Ace, Finbarr Saunders and Student Grant. He had been producing work for Viz since the mid-1980s, shortly before it hit the bigtime. From small beginnings in 1979, a cottage industry run from a suburban befroom in Newcastle, Viz was selling more than 1 million copies per issue by 1990, putting it in the same league as The Radio Times and Reader's Digest and turning it into an anarchic institution in its own right. It thrived on original humorous content that was outrageously crude, peurile and offensive and in doing so developed a readership profile far wider than might have been predicted. // Dog shooting ('Ee wuz wurryin moy sheep') Farmer Palmer and his dim-witted son Jethro are way over the top caricatures of just about every anti-farming stereotype that our culture can come up with - that's why they're funny and important for this project // Our second item is a piece of original Simon Thorp artwork from the end of the century featuring Farmer Palmer and Jethro getting enthusiastically involved in a demonstration. This was the era of the Countryside March of 1998 that brought 250,000 people noisily to the streets of London to protest against an amalgam of grievances - including anti-hunt legislation - affecting the rural community. // Farmer Palmer is still going strong today, although Viz circulation has long since retreated from its earlier highs...'

1999-09-19 - 1999-09-19

Cartoon, Drawing

Paper, card, Ink