Fragments from France Volume 1

The first compilation volume of Fragments from France cartoons was published at the end of January 1916. Priced at 1 shilling it included 43 of Bruce Bairnsfather's cartoons published in The Bystander to date, and was an instant hit. Demand was so great that within a month of publication, the first and second editions of the book were "absolutely sold out," the third edition was "nearly sold out" and the fourth and fifth editions were "in course of preparation." In all, twelve editions of this first volume were issued - each identified by the inclusion of the edition number on the title page, and a variety of different coloured covers.

By the middle of March 1916 The Bystander was quoting 150,000 copies of Fragments from France as having been sold, and by the end of that month this had risen to 200,000.

Below is a selection of cartoons from the first Fragments from France compilation. Click on any picture to see a larger image of that cartoon.