It is the purpose of this thesis, by analysing the context of public health reform in the nineteenth century, to reconsider the methods, both verbal and visual, by which Punch proselytised reform. Drawing on a range of primary data, this thesis uses a thematic case study to undertake a systematic re-examination of Punch's distinctive stylistic form from 1841 to 1858. This will also assist in identifying how the `character' of the magazine evolved. Case study chapters will focus specifically on the campaigns surrounding the removal of Smithfield Market and the amelioration of the polluted River Thames, providing a point of comparison from which to study the growth of a range of shared motifs developed for discussing reform and social change. Taking a chronological approach, it will be argued that from the close of the 1840st here was a simultaneous shift in both the organisation of the Punch `brotherhood' and in scientific understandings of the cause of disease and pollution. From 1849 the problems of how to communicate the need for reform begin to be resolved due to the increased profile the topic of public health received in the public sphere, particularly through periodicals like Punch. This change is evident from an analysis of the references logged in the Punch Database on Public Health (Appendix Two)
