IT IS 200 years since the first comic was published\u00a0\u2013 and it was created in Glasgow.<\/p>\n
A new exhibition commemorating the milestone anniversary of the Glasgow Looking-Glass is currently on display in the Mitchell Library, and a special event will take place on June 7.<\/p>\n
Susan Taylor, Special Collections librarian, explains: \u201cI love this, because it is another Glasgow first.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a short-lived publication \u2013 only around 16 issues over 1825 and 1826 \u2013 and, being an ephemeral item, in a broadsheet format that was expected to be enjoyed and disposed of rather than kept for posterity, not many have survived.\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan Taylor (Image: Colin Mearns\/Newsquest)<\/p>\n
She adds: \u201cThese factors have contributed to its rarity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glasgow Looking-Glass was a satirical comic which poked fun at the political and social life of Scotland in the 1820s.<\/p>\n
Everything was fair game, from the upper echelons of society to the fashions of the day. The Glasgow Fair, an annual summer celebration where factories closed for two weeks and everyone went on holiday, enjoying shows and rides at Glasgow Green<\/a>, also gets a mention in one of the editions.<\/p>\n Susan with the edition satirising the Glasgow Fair (Image: Colin Mearns\/Newsquest)<\/p>\n It was the brainchild of William Heath, and printed by John Watson, one of Glasgow’s early lithographic printers.<\/p>\n The first edition appeared on June 11, 1825.<\/p>\n It changed its name to the Northern Looking Glass, to reflect its national coverage, and publication ended in June 1826.<\/p>\n While the Glasgow Looking-Glass was short-lived, other similar publications created in the 19th century, like Punch, became celebrated across the country.<\/p>\n Susan hopes the exhibition and event will help bring this fascinating story of a Glasgow innovation to the wider public.<\/p>\n READ NEXT:\u00a0<\/strong>Why a piece of Glasgow musical history can be found 300 miles away<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Glasgow’s Barras psychic who gives readings with cards pays tribute to venue<\/a><\/p>\n