s of "The Field," "The
Army and Navy Gazette," printers of the "Family Herald" and "London
Journal," of the "Daily News," the "English Encyclopedia," and other
huge undertakings. With the advent of the younger generation came some
of those technical alterations and improvements which have brought the
production of _Punch_ abreast of the times; but the older traditions, in
particular that great institution of the _Punch_ Dinner, have been
reverently and lovingly retained in all their admirable features.

[Illustration: THOMAS AGNEW. JOHN HENRY AGNEW.
SIR WILLIAM AGNEW, BART. PHILIP L. AGNEW. W. LAWRENCE BRADBURY.

(_From Photographs by A. Bassano, Limited._)]

It is not surprising that after the striking success of the experiment
the Almanac became a permanent annual institution. Into so important a
publication did it develop, commercially speaking, that a special
"Almanac Dinner" has up to recent years always been considered
necessary, at which its chief contents are arranged, just as at the
ordinary weekly Dinner. Hine, Kenny Meadows, and others assisted in the
production of the first two or three Almanacs; but after that, and for
many years, practically the whole of the illustrative work usually fell
on the broad and entirely competent shoulders of John Leech, especially
after Doyle's secession. From time to time experiments have been made in
the direction of novelty. Thus in 1848, in consequence of the great
popularity of the issue, a luxurious edition was prepared, at the price
of five shillings for the coloured and half that sum for the uncoloured
copies, wherein, it was claimed, "full effect is given to the artists'
designs." It was certainly an imposing affair, with meadows of margin,
and printed on one side only of the thick paper; and it now commands a
price in the bookshops of five or six times its original cost.

Humour for private as well as for public consumption has always been a
rule in the _Punch_ circle; and in 1865, a year in which influenza colds
were extremely prevalent, this pleasing faculty was given full scope.
Most of the Staff that Christmas were afflicted with severe colds; so
with amiable consideration the copies of the Almanac provided for them
and for some of the chief contributors were printed upon linen--lest
their supply of handkerchiefs should run short. They were charming and
cheerful in appearance, being handsomely bound and stitched with red,
and presented unusual advantages in the