The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 6: Artemus Ward's Panorama

A comic illustrated lecture unfolds as a panorama of American scenes and eccentric tableaux, delivered in a mock-showman's voice. Through a sequence of theatrical views—sea voyages, frontier towns, silver-mining camps, the plains, and a sustained satirical depiction of Mormon settlements, temples, and domestic arrangements—the narrator lampoons local manners, religious ceremony, and boosterish spectacle. The programme mixes slapstick stage directions, a pseudo-official roll of performers, interludes of music and announcements, and deliberately hyperbolic descriptions that aim for surprise and apparent improvisation. Humorous stage business, self-mockery, and playful exaggeration carry the evening from opening fanfare to intermission and finale.