CARTOON - THE LAW OF THE SUSPECT CALUMNY

1918
Overview

This black and white hand drawn cartoon features four women standing near a lamp post. Behind them are three men. The middle man is in a dark uniform. The man on the right is leaning over to talk to him with a hand raised to partially cover what he is saying. A snake with text reading [CALUMNY] written on its body is slithering around the man on the right’s legs
Ben Strange’s signature is in the bottom right corner.

When published the cartoon was published in the Western Mail on 14 April 1918, page 7 it was accompanied with the following caption:
THE LAW OF THE SUSPECT
In several cases which came under my notice, Men had accused innocent girls and it had been established on enquiry that the girls know nothing about the men in question.'

Note: Calumny means - the making of false and defamatory statements about someone in order to damage their reputation; slander.

Historical information

HIGH
The Ben Strange cartoons are historically significant as they depict many key figures linked to the history and development of both Western Australia and Australia. Political figures who regularly appeared in his cartoon’s included John ‘Happy Jack’

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-33-AK1999.67
Material
Year
1918
Primary significance criteria
Artistic or aesthetic significance
Historic significance
Comparative significance criteria
Interpretive capacity
Object’s condition or completeness
Rare or representative
Well provenanced
City of Armadale - History House

City of Armadale - History House

Organisation Details
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