In his work Lemon did not spare himself. For a time Horace Mayhew was his sub-editor, to whom fell the usual duties of the post—("Be it yours," as a careless speaker in the office nicknamed "Heavens!" is traditionally said to have advised, "Be it yours, 'Orace, to hurge the hartises [artists] hon!")—but before long Lemon took that duty upon himself, driving round to the chief contributors one day in the week to satisfy himself that their drawings and "copy" would be to time. The story goes that he always employed the same driver, and that when the man was about to replace the old vehicle with a new one, he suggested to Lemon, with glowing pride at the brightness of the idea, that he should have a figure of Punch emblazoned on the panels. In later years Lemon's son Harry acted as his secretary, and sometimes, though unofficially, as his sub-editor, and generally undertook the "travelling" for his father.

It was in Lombard Street, Whitefriars, of classic memory, that Bradbury and Evans carried on the practical part of their business; and here Mark Lemon might often be seen, radiant and effulgent as the circulation rose. In May,1843, Punch had removed from Wellington Street, Strand, to 194, Strand, an office which he gave up to his young rival, "The Great Gun," in January, 1845, in order to remove to 92, Fleet Street. Here he only remained for a couple of months, and, migrating in March of the same year, he set up for good and all in 85, Fleet Street, on the very site in St. Bride's Churchyard of the tailor's house where Milton once kept school. In the editorial office the Punch Staff would often write their articles, Thackeray especially taking advantage of the convenience. "In three hours more," he wrote to Mrs. Brookfield in 1850, "Mr. W. M. T. is hard at work at Punch office."

The management of the weekly "copy," the arrangement for series, and the dealing with outside applications of all sorts, quite apart from artistic contributions, were together no light task for the Editor, especially when one or other of the writers failed him, and the illustrations that were to accompany their articles had to be retaken into consideration. From the beginning outside contributions were remorselessly discouraged; yet some remarkable poems and sketches have come to Punch unsolicited from famous and brilliant pens, as will subsequently be seen. Still, the paper has always been a fairly close borough—as, after all, it has a perfect right to be; and by that means has been enabled to keep its distinctive colour—in contrast with the "Fliegende Blätter," for example, whose staff may truly be said to consist of the whole German people. To each writer was allotted a certain space, which he was expected to fill; and when there was a deficit in the amount of his contribution—which there generally was, and a heavy one—it was duly entered up. Thus for a long while Douglas Jerrold's half-yearly total was theoretically 162 columns (or a weekly average of six and a quarter); Gilbert à Beckett's, 135 columns (five and a quarter); Percival Leigh's, Tom Taylor's, and Horace Mayhew's, 54; and Thackeray's, 46 columns; but few of them ever came up to their proper total. In earlier days, before Albert Smith left, the following were the weekly tasks: Jerrold, five columns; Gilbert à Beckett, four; Smith and Leigh, two each; and after Smith's departure à Beckett succeeded to Jerrold's figures.

The records of the Staff's contributions were kept as follows, their relative proportions being exactly shown. I take one volume at random, the seventh, that for the second half-year of 1844:—

ContributorsJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberTotal
of Six
Months		Weekly
Average
Douglas Jerrold20¼17¼23½[30]2720¼31½139¾5¼
Gilbert à Beckett15¼186½17¼1719¾94¾3½
Percival Leigh4½8¾955½6¼391½
Thackeray85¾6——4¾24½1
Horace Mayhew2½2½3½22½3¾16¾½
T. Taylor————3¼36¼¼
Ferguson[31]1——¾—11¾—
Editor[32]51¼312820¾
Oxenford—1½————1½—
Laman Blanchard————1¾—1¾—
H. Wills————½½1—
Total of columns in volume347

A more comprehensive view may be had from a glance at the table on the following page, which covers perhaps the most interesting period of Punch's early history.

From this table it will be seen that Douglas Jerrold contributed as much as 139 columns to Vol. VII. and Gilbert à Beckett 122 to the next; and that the Editor's section after Vol. VI. was to some extent split up under the names of the individual contributors who composed it. In addition to these names during the period covered by the table, there may be added those of Tom Hood (3¾), T. J. Serle, Charles Lever, Horace Smith, and Doyle.

Another source of trouble to the Editor was the holiday-time as it came round, for the Staff would scatter itself and, though arrangements were made of course beforehand, the paper was sometimes run in a curiously undermanned condition. Thus, for example, on the week of August 12, 1848 (No. 370), Jerrold was at Guernsey, Thackeray was at Brussels, Horace Mayhew at Ramsgate, and Tom Taylor away on circuit. The whole paper was in consequence written by three men—by Gilbert à Beckett and Percival Leigh at home, and by Horace Mayhew, who thoughtfully sent in more than four columns from the country, so that his absence should not be felt.

Amount of Text (in Columns) contributed by the Writers indicated from Vol. VI. to Vol. XIV. inclusive—from January, 1844, to June 24, 1848 (Nine Volumes).

Vol.Douglas
Jerrold		Gilbert
à Becket		Percival LeighW. M. ThackerayJohn
Oxenfold		EditorHorace
Mayhew		Tom
Taylor		FergusonLaman
Blanchard		W. H. WillsHenry
Mayhew		Higgins
(Jacob Omnium)		Anony
mous		Mark
Lemon		Mac
Gregor		—
VI.81¼113¼41½36¾4¾49½———————————
VII.139¾94¾3924½1½2016¾6½1¾1¾1——————
VIII.91¼122½36241¾1317¾11¾4¾¼——————
IX.91108¾32¾43¼4½1528½121¾—½——————
X.71¾99½39¾39½2¾6¼2018¾9¼—½——————
XI.77¼923551¾—244¾28¾¾———2————
XII.70¾94¼4346——47½23¾————1¾————
XIII.48¼95¼40¾30¾——4542—————4¾½——
XIV.58¼8039¾39½——59¼32½——¾——5½—3¾—
Total729¼900¼348¼33615¼105¾279½175¾17½2½3¼¼212½3¾2,931¼
Average per
Volume		8110039⅔37⅓——3119½17½————————