A cartoon published to celebrate the 1858 Atlantic cable’s initial success
captures the kind of transatlantic immediacy celebrated in the popular press at
this time.
The image depicts a transatlantic handshake, where Brother Jonathan, emblem
of New England, grasps the hand of Britain’s John Bull across the figuratively
diminished gulf of the Atlantic ocean. On paper, the distance between these
transatlantic representatives has been reduced to arm’s length, and the image’s
visual dismissal of a vast geographical distance is corroborated by a speech
bubble that contains Brother Jonathan’s pledge of unifying “Friendship”
across the ocean.
Who shared this example?
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Dorothy Butchard
Dr Dorothy Butchard is Assistant Professor in Contemporary Literature and Digital Cultures at the University of Birmingham. Dorothy’s research explores how fiction, poetry, creative media and digital works respond to technological change and its effects on wellbeing and community. She is academic theme lead for Imagining Wellbeing in the Centre for Urban Wellbeing, co-director of University…
