satirical Victorian illustration from 1877 by George du Maurier, “An Illustration of Darwinism”

---

Caption: An Illustration of use, an organ dwindles; with use it increases. For instance, the organ of a grinder who, in the struggle for existence, relies entirely on his instrument, is invariably larger than that of the grinder who, in addition uses a monkey. Most of our readers must have noticed this satirical Victorian illustration from 1877 by George du Maurier, “An Illustration of Darwinism” offering a satirical view of Darwin’s theory of evolution which became widely accepted in the 1870s. Originally appeared in Punch magazine in 1877. George du Maurier became a member of the staff of the British satirical magazine Punch in 1865, drawing two cartoons a week. His most common targets were the affected manners of Victorian society, the bourgeoisie and members of Britain's growing Middle Class in particular.

---

Size: 5484px × 4240px
Photo credit: © still light / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1870s, 1877, aged, amusing, antique, cartoon, cartoon”, century, century”, comment”, darwinism, drawing, du, england”, engraving, grinder, historical, history, history”, humor, humorous, humour, illustration”, image”, irony, maurier”, nostalgia, organ, parody, picture, print, satire, sketch, victorian, vintage, wit, “, “19th, “engraved, “george, “nineteenth, “social, “victorian