An old mate just emailed me now with a note that prompted some thoughts about Punch magazine, which led to thoughts about the famous Punch table.
It was used for legendary lunches from about 1855 till the magazine folded in the 80s or 90s, and people used to carve their names on it. It had a remarkable range of literary vandals.
But, as I say, Punch went broke. It eventually got bought by Mohamed Al-Fayed (the owner of Harrods and renowned conspiracy theorist), but said mate thinks it likely that some bookish wonk rescued the table long before anyone in commerce could get their hands on it.
Does anyone know where it presently resides?
