Tenniel's superb draughtsmanship is well illustrated in this drawing. It was published in Punch, in the issue for 27 January 1894, with the title, Waiting for Relief, and captioned, Turkey. "Hullo! You've all come to it, 'ave you? Why, I've been a Casual for years!". This caricature is a parody of a famous print by the painter Luke Fildes, entitled `Houseless and Hungry', published in the Graphic in 1869, and his later painting, Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward, exhibited at the Royal Academy. Tenniel’s drawing satirises the economic and political difficulties that several European countries, including Britain, suffered in 1894. They are here portrayed as applicants for poor relief, now forced to join Turkey in the 'Casual Ward’, a temporary stay in the Workhouse.
For nearly half a century, Tenniel expressed national attitudes to the major political and social issues of the Victorian age through more than 2000 cartoons published weekly in Punch. He also contributed illustrations to many other books and periodicals, the best known being Lewis Carroll's Alice stories.