| After
failing as a portrait painter,
Gillray worked as a freelenace engraver and etcher. After 1782 he
started producing political satires, mainly inspired by the
conflict between the Whigs and the Tories, the French Revolution
and war against Napoleon. Originally his caricatures would have
been issued separately, mainly from the print shop of his mistress,
Hannah Humphrey, in St. James's Street, London. His eyesight
started failing him, causing him to stop work in 1809. Depressed he
turned to drink, and in July 1811 Gillray attempted to kill himself
by throwing himself out of attic window above Humphrey's shop. He
failed, and survived four years of insanity before dying in
1815. |
THE FRIEND OF HUMANITY AND KNIFEGRINDER.—Scene, BOROUGH. Bee.
4th, 1797.
'After the secession of Fox, Sheridan, and the leading Whigs, the
Opposition Benches presented a dreary and barren waste. A feeble
resistance to the Ministerial measures was indeed maintained by
Nicholls and a few others, but the Genius Loci had departed.When a New
Luminary ascended the political horizon. The electors of Southwark
returned Tierney as their representative to Parliament. He was known to
have drawn up the celebrated petition of the Society of the Friends of
the People for a reform in the House of Commons, in which the defects
of the representation were exposed with consummate skill. He now
evinced a compass of information, and practical knowledge of business
and its details, which won and secured the attention of the House. His
manner was peculiarly calculated to make an impression on a popular
audience. He appeared always to treat a subject with the greatest
candour, and his elocution was remarkably fluent and easy,* The print
of "the Friend Op Humanity And The Knife-grinder," was intended as a
graphic illustration of Canning's parody of Southey's Poem entitled "
The Widow," and written in English Sapphics, in imitation of the
original. See Southey's Poetical Works, vol. ii. p. 141.Published by
Hannah Humphrey in
1799 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed
from a
larger sheet, narrow top margin..***All shown with the margin
against a darker carpet to show borders***This is from the later
Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 ** £65 post
inclusive
|
L'INFANTERIE FRANCAISE EN
EGYPTE&emdash; LE GENERAL ASNE
CONVERTED TO IBRAHIM BEY. March }2th, 1799.
The troops in the Egyptian
campaign upon asses, a
circumstance which could not fail to furnish subject for satire. It
seems doubtful whether the commander, or the animal which carries
him, is giving the word of command. published by Hannah Humphrey in
1799 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed
from a
larger sheet, narrow top margin..***All shown with the margin
against a darker carpet to show borders***This is from the later
Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 ** £65 post
inclusive
|
The Three Mr Wiggins's,
published by Hannah
Humphrey in 1803 by James Gillray
(Montague James Mathew; Francis James Mathew, Viscount Mathew;
George Toby Skeffington Mathew) ** Hand Coloured.
Trimmed
from a larger sheet, narrow top margin..***All shown with the
margin against a darker carpet to show borders***This is from the
later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 **
£45
|
'The bear and his leader'
by James Gillray, published
by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 19 May 1806 caricature by Gillray,
published on the 19th of May, was entitled, " The bear and his
leader,"Fox is represented as a bear muzzled and led in a chain by
his master, Lord Grenville : he says, " What though I am obliged to
dance a bear, a man may be a gentleman for all that ;" Lord
Grenville has a cudgel in his hand, inscribed, " Cudgel for
disobedient Bears." A paper inscribed, " Rewards for obedient
Bears," hangs from his pocket. He calls out, "Don't be afraid of my
Bear, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have tamed and muzzled him, and
reformed his habits :" " My Bear ever dances to the genteelest of
tunes." Lord Sidmouth enacts the part of a blind old fiddler with a
wooden leg, and is playing " God save the King " to the dancing of
the bear. From his pocket hangs, " Pray remember your poor and old
blind Fiddler." Lord Henry Petty, as a monkey, holds the bear's
tail with one hand, and a cap in the other, to collect
contributions ; he is dancing, at his feet is the ballad, And a
begging we will go." One of the bear's feet is on " Sa ira." Behind
Lord Sidmouth hangs out a signpost, inscribed "Pro Bono Publico.
Superb fine Exhibition at the Bear-Garden, Broad-Bottom Alley.
Orpheus charming the Brutes, with a grand accompaniment by Dr.
Sangrado." By his side, " Pease Soup, or Bruin's Delight, a Ballet
;" and " Bubble and Squeak, a Duett," an allusion to Lord
Grenville's relatives, Sir Watkins William Winn and Mr. Charles
Winn, so nick -named. The insinuation intended to be conveyed by
Gillray in this print is, that Fox having owed his introduction to
office to Lord Grenville, to whom the King had given a carte
blanche to form an Administration, was thereby reduced to
subordination to that Nobleman. The constitution of the Cabinet,
and the measures adopted by the new Ministers, particularly the
mode of opening the negotiation for peace with Franco, and the
frank and conciliatory spirit in which it was conducted, proved
that Fox's genius was in the ascendant. Fox loved to take counsel
with his colleagues on terms of equality ; he would not have
brooked a superior. Lord Grenville had the good sense to appreciate
the value of his alliance. He was the only man of the party who
could, at that time, have led the House of Commons with equal
success. It redounds to the honour of the three sections which
constituted the Cabinet, that they seem to have acted together with
mutual confidence, unalloyed by jealousy,,as long as the health of
Fox was spared to share in their deliberations **
Hand
Coloured. Trimmed from a larger sheet, narrow top margin..***All
shown with the margin against a darker carpet to show
borders***This is from the later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 **
£65 post inclusive
|
French democrats surprising the royal
runaways'
by James Gillray, published
by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 27 June 1791 LOUIS XVI. THE
DAUPHIN. MARIE ANTGINETTE. A burlesque upon a very serious event,
the arrest of the unfortunate Louis XVI. and his family at
Varennes, on the 22nd of June, 1791, after their flight from Paris
Gillray emphasizes a physio-psychological contrast between the
sinuous (starving) and emaciated bodies of the French
revolutionaries who invade the French royal quarters on June 20,
1791 and the pompous, ample, and lethargic physique of the king and
queen. But Gillray also indicts the corpulent king and queen who
raise their hands in dismay at the unexpected invasion by a
revolutionary hoard wearing tricolor cockades. **
Hand
Coloured. Trimmed from a larger sheet, narrow top margin..***All
shown with the margin against a darker carpet to show
borders***This is from the later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 **
£65 post inclusive
|
'The visit to Piccadilly; - or - a
Prussian
reception'
by James Gillray, published
by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 12 July 1792 SIR WATKIN W. WYNN.
DUCHESS OF YORK. LADY WYNN.On the reported intrigue between the
Prince of Wales and Lady Wynn, and the refusal of the Duchess of
York to receive the latter. Lady Wynn was the wife of Sir Watkin W.
Wynn, and sister of the Marquis of Buckingham and Lord Grenville.
To render the allusion more palpable, she is drawn as a Welch Goat,
with a striking likeness of her own face, and the Prince of Wales'
feathers on her head. Sir Watkin always took a prominent part in
the affairs of the principality. ** Hand Coloured.
Trimmed
from a larger sheet, narrow top margin..***All shown with the
margin against a darker carpet to show borders***This is from the
later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 ** £65 post
inclusive
|
Patriots Deciding a Point of Honour!
or An exact representation
of the Rencontre which took place at Coombe Wood on May 2nd 1807
between Little Paul the Taylor & Sir Francis
Goose,
published by Hannah
Humphrey in 1807 (hand-coloured
etching)BELLENDEN KERB. SIE F. BURDETT. PAULL. COOPER. Upon the
duel between Burdett and Paull, arising out of the affairs of the
disputed Westminster election. Sir Francis Burdett, depicted as a
goose, exclaims " What, must I be out ! and a tailor get into
Parliament ! I" " You're a liar ! I never said that I would sit as
Chairman at your shopboard ! ! 1" Paull replies, " A liar ! Sir,
I'm a tailor and a gentleman, and I must have satisfaction !"
Burdett's second, Mr. Bellenden Kerr, is standing behind him with a
brace of pistols under his right arm ; Cooper, Paull's second,
looking very like Jemmy Jumps, is standing behind Paull with a
brace of pistols under his left arm. A post-chaise and four is at a
little distance. ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a
larger
sheet, narrow top margin..***All shown with the margin against a
darker carpet to show borders***This is from the later Bohn Edition
of 1849 to 1851 ** £65 post inclusive
|
APOTHEOSIS OF THE CORSICAN PHCENIX.
August 2nd, 1808.Gillray
has placed the following
inscription under this print : &emdash; " When the phoenix is
tired of life, he builds a nest upon the mountains, and setting it
on fire by the wafting of his own wings, he himself perishes in the
flames, and from the smoke of his ashes arises a new phoenix to
illuminate the world.The ancients described this fabulous bird, or
bird with fabulous attributes ascribed to it, to be the size of an
eagle, its head crested with a beautiful plumage, its neck covered
with feathers of gold colour, and its eyes sparkling like stars. It
is said to live five or six hundred years, and when it has attained
this extreme old age, it builds a pile of sweet wood and aromatic
gums, which it sets fire to, and consumes itself in the flames.
From its ashes it rises again in lusty youth and invigorated
strength. A crown is here placed on the head of the Imperial
Phoenix, and a " Cordon d'Honneur" round his neck. He has erected a
pile, consisting of the countries of Portugal, Spain, France,
Algiers, Africa, &c. and has set fire to it. His sparkling eyes
survey with satisfaction the flames in which he is enveloped, and
has devoted himself to self-immolation. ** Hand
Coloured.
Trimmed from a larger sheet, narrow top margin..***All shown with
the margin against a darker carpet to show borders***This is from
the later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 ** £65 post
inclusive
|
MODERN ELEGANCE. A PORTRAIT.
May 22nd, 1795. LADY
CHARLOTTE CAMPBELL (NOW LADY
CHARLOTTE BURY). Horace Walpole has written on his* impression of
this print, " Lady Charlotte Campbell, second daughter of John Duke
of Argyll, 1795." Lady Charlotte Campbell is universally allowed to
have been one of the most celebrated beauties of the period, to
have possessed considerable intellectual acquirements, and the most
fascinating manners. ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from
a larger
sheet, narrow top margin..***All shown with the margin against a
darker carpet to show borders***This is from the later Bohn Edition
of 1849 to 1851 ** £65 post inclusive
|
SKETCH FOR A MONUMENT OF DISAPPOINTED
JUSTICE. July 9th,
1806.
LORD ELLENBOROUGH. LORD
SIDMOUTH. LORD GRENVILLK. LORD
LAUDERDALE. LORD STANHOPE. FIAT JUSTITIA, RUAT CCELUM.the Peers,
the Votes of the Bishops, the Opinion of Eleven of the Judges and
of Lord Eldon." "Nox GUILTY."Lord Ellenborough is seated on the "
Broad-Bottom Cabinet," which is supported by Viscount Sidmouth,
Lord Lauderdale and Earl Stanhope. The label of " Viper Drops" is
seen in Lord Sidmouth's pocket. In front of Earl Stanhope is " The
Catameran of Justice, to blow up all Opposition in spite of wind
and tide." Lord Lauderdale is dressed as a Highlander, his bagpipes
are by his side, his feet rest on " BRISSOT'S PRINCIPLES OP
JUSTICE."* Lord Lauderdale, at the commencement of the Revolution,
had eulogized Brissot. Burke, in his Letter to the Duke of Bedford,
speaks of " Citizen Brissot and his friend the Earl of Lauderdale."
Ten Articles of Impeachment were preferred by the Commons against
Lord Melville. The greatest number of Peers who voted on any one
article was 135, viz. on the 4th article, on which he was
unanimously acquitted. On the second article, 81 pronounced him "
not guilty," and 54 pronounced him "guilty" &emdash; majority
27. Among the peers who pronounced him guilty on the second article
were the Lord Chancellor Erskine, Lord Chief Justice Ellenborough,
Lord Sidmouth, Privy Seal, Lord Stanhope and Lord Lauderdale. On
the 12th of June the Lord Chancellor pronounced the judgment of the
House of Peers. The Lord Chancellor said, " Henry Viscount
Melville, I am to acquaint your Lordship, that you are * Burke, in
his preface to his son's translation of Brissot's Address to his
Constituents in 1794, says: " The translator of the following work
brings forward to the English tribunal of opinion the testimony of
a witness beyond all exception. His competence is undoubted. He
knows every thing which concerns this Revolution to the bottom. He
is a chief actor in all the scenes which he presents. No man can
object to him as a Royalist ; the Royal party and the Christian
religion never had a more determined enemy. In a word, IT is
BRISSOT. It is Brissot, the Republican, the Jacobin, and the
Philosopher, who is bronght to give an account of Jacobinism, of
Republicanism and of Philosophy." ** Hand Coloured.
Trimmed
from a larger sheet, narrow top margin..***All shown with the
margin against a darker carpet to show borders***This is from the
later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 ** £65 post
inclusive
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