Historical
and Descriptive Account of the
Caricatures of James Gillray Comprising a Political and
Humorous History of the Latter Part of the Reign of George
the Third by Thomas Wright and R. H. Evans London: Henry G.
Bohn, 1851 Between 1845 and 1851, Henry Bohn published
editions of Gillray's works from Gillray's original plates.
Over 600 numbered plates were printed back-to-back in two
giant atlas folio volumes. . .a good tint ie they
date from 1845/51. The third
volume was the 'suppressed or gentleman's prints not go
ladies viewing etc and as such much scarcer .. . all where
possible with a historical
description/translation
|
| 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. |
A man of Feeling in Search of Indispensibles.—A Scene at the
Little Milliners, 2
The prince of Orange kneels feeling the legs of the young beauties. A
satire on the lecherous Prince of Orange based on a story told at the
time of his visit to a fashionable milliner in St. James's Street in
London. The artist shows him groping the legs of two seamstresses in
his supposed search for ‘indispensibles', a short-lived name for
tie-on
pockets. One pocket lies on the floor in the left foreground whilst
another is being made at the table. The milliner herself, Madame
Lanchester, wears one suggestively outside her flimsy skirt as she
enters the room. All the pockets in this scene are elaborate with
decorative binding and corner tassels, in keeping with the artist's
treatment of everything else in the room including the milliner's own
overblown style of dress. A swipe at the perceived decadence of French
fashions personified in the figure of the milliner and her tri-colour
bonnet and red military-based gown.
£65 one of the suppressed series Bohn Edition post
inclusive
|
EXIT LIBERTE A LA
FRANCOISE! OR, BUONAPARTE CLOSING THE FARCE OF
EGALITE AT ST. CLOUD, NEAR PARIS. Nov. Wth, 1799. BUONAPARTE.
Nov. 9, 1799, an event
known in history as the revolution of the
18th Brumaire. The new constitution, in which Buonaparte was chosen
first consul, was promulgated on the 13th of December.**
Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a larger sheet, narrow top
margin..***All shown with the top margin against a darker carpet to
show borders***This is from the later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 **
£65 post inclusive
|
THE NUPTIAL
BOWEE/Nuptual Bower. February 13th, 1797.
PITT. HON. CATHARINE ISABELLA EDEN. FOX, THE EVIL ONE, PEEPING AT
THE CHARMS OP EDEN.
Whoever is acquainted
with the personal character of Mr. Pitt,
only from the narrative of his biographers, will conclude that he
was cold, stiff, and unbending; "Indocilis privata loqui,"
incapable of descending from his dignity, and unwilling to indulge
in the relaxation of familiar conversation, and the pleasures of
domestic life. He is here represented in a more amiable point of
view, a successful suitor for the hand of a fair lady and
conducting her to " the nuptial bower." " The tattle of the town
(says Burke in a letter to Mrs. Crewe, dated Dec. 27, 1796), is of
a marriage between a daughter of Lord Auckland and Mr. Pitt, and
that our statesman, our premier des hommes, will take his Eve from
the Garden of Eden. It is lucky there is no serpent there, though
plenty of fruit." (See Burke's Correspondence as published by Earl
Fitzwilliam, vol. 4. p. 417). This rumour obtained belief not only
among the public, but by his most intimate friends and relatives. **
Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a larger sheet, narrow top
margin..***All shown with the top margin against a darker carpet to
show borders***This is from the later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 **
£65 post inclusive
|
GOD SAVE THE
KING, IN A BUMPER; OR, AN EVENING SCENE, THREE
TIMES A WEEK, AT WIMBLETON. May 27th, 1795.
DUNDAS. PITT. Pitt and
Dundas were celebrated for their
convivial propensities, and Wimbleton, the residence of Pitt, was
the usual scene of their most profound potations. **
Hand
Coloured. Trimmed from a larger sheet, narrow top margin..***All
shown with the top margin against a darker carpet to show
borders***This is from the later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 **
£65 post inclusive
|
PREPARING FOR
THE GRAND ATTACK;&; OR, A PRIVATE
REHEARSAL OF THE CI-DEVANT MINISTRY IN DANGER. Dec. 4 ATION. July
10th,1802.
JOHN BULL.
PITT Sir Francis Burdett receiving instructions in political warfare
from the three great Opposition orators of the day. Soon after this
period, on the 12th of April, 1802, Burdett brought forward a motion to
inquire into the conduct of the late Ministry. It was for this display
that he is here supposed to be preparing. ..Journals of tho 21st
of September,
1802,..***All shown with the top margin against a darker carpet to
show borders***This is from the later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 **
£85 post inclusive
|
HARPIES/ Harpyes
DEFILING THE FEAST. May 7th,
1799.
TIERNEY. SIB J.
SHUCKBOROUGH. JEKYLL. The three political
harpies defiling John Bull's favourite roast beef, plum pudding,
and porter, with their democratic pollutions.**
Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a larger sheet, narrow top
margin..***All shown with the top margin against a darker carpet to
show borders***This is from the later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 **
£40 post inclusive
|
GENTLE MANNERS,
WITH AFFECTIONS MILD, IN WIT A MAN,
SIMPLICITY A CHILD.
Nov. 4th, 1798.
GENERAL MANNERS. ** Hand Coloured.
Trimmed from a larger sheet, narrow top margin..***All shown with
the top margin against a darker carpet to show borders***This is
from the later Bohn Edition of 1849 to 1851 ** £40
post
inclusive
|
NIGHTLY VISITORS
AT ST. ANNE'S HILL. Sept. 21st, 1798. FOX.
LORD EDWARD FITZGERALD.
Fox, aroused from his
sleep, has started up in his bed,
horror-struck at the apparition of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who thus
addresses him : &emdash; " Who first sednc'd my youthful mind
from virtue ? Who plannM my trcasim, and who cans'd my death ?
Remember poor Lord Edward, and despair I ! !" Fox answers
&emdash; " Why dost thou shake thy gory locks at me ? Dear,
bravest, worthiest, noblest, best of men ! Thou canst not say I did
it." Around his room are seen the headless bodies of Quigley,
Shears, &c. The Confessions of Arthur O'Connor are suspended
over Fox's head, and " The Plan of the Irish Rebellion" lays by his
side. All these are, of course,= intended to imply that Fox and the
leading members of the Opposition* had been the authors and
abettors of the recent Irish Rebellion. Lord Edward Fitzgerald was
the fifth son of the first Duke of Leinster, by his wife Emilia
Mary, daughter of Charles, second Duke of Richmond ; he was born
the 15th here alluded to. Compare the circumstances of the trial
and execution of the former with this prediction." After Burke's
death, his executors inserted this note in their first edition of
his Works, stating that it was approved by Mr. Burke, and
illustrated his meaning.*Originally published by
Hannah Humphrey in
1806 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a
larger
sheet,.***All shown with the margin against a darker
carpet to show borders if close cut ***This is from the later Bohn
Edition of
1849 to 1851 **
£85 post inclusive
|
A PARIS BELLE.
February 26th, 1794 & A PARIS BEAU.
February 26th, 1794.
*Originally published by
Hannah Humphrey in
1806 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a
larger
sheet,.***All shown with the margin against a darker
carpet to show borders if close cut ***This is from the later Bohn
Edition of
1849 to 1851 ** £40 post inclusive pair
|
PATTERN STAFF.
Nov. 3rd, 1797.
LORD WEYMOUTH. Said to
be a back view of this Lord. *Originally published by
Hannah Humphrey in
1806 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a
larger
sheet,.***All shown with the margin against a darker
carpet to show borders if close cut ***This is from the later Bohn
Edition of
1849 to 1851 **
£40 post inclusive
|
The Castle in the Moon
a quote from Don Quixote showing Spain gazing towards its
objective. . Gibraltar shown on the moon . . .£45 unmounted
*Originally published by
Hannah Humphrey in
1806 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a
larger
sheet,.***All shown with the margin against a darker
carpet to show borders if close cut ***This is from the later Bohn
Edition of
1849 to 1851 ** post inclusive
|
394. A VESTAL OF
—93, TRYING ON THE CESTUS OF VENUS. April 29th,
1793.
" Upon her fragrant breast the zone was brac'd; In it was every art,
and every charm To win the wisest, and the coldest warm." Engraved from
a basso-relievo, lately found upon some fragments of Antiquity.
LADY CECILIA JOHNSTON.Lady Henrietta Cecilia (whose maiden name was
West), was the daughter of the Earl of Delawarr by his wife, In this
print, Gillray has depicted Lady Cecilia Johnston as a Vestal of
—93, that is, of 1793. She is in a sitting postnre, with Ovid's
Art of Love in her pocket. Cupid is encircling her with the Cestus of
Venus, (a pad) which one of the attendant Loves is adjusting to her
person, and Cupid is preparing to fasten it on, while another of the
Loves holds up a mirror, in which the delighted Lady Cecilia surveys
herself with transports of delight. The arrows are falling out of
Cupid's quiver, and his bow with * Of the count of Lincoln.
an arrow in it lies below him. On the left of the print is a fire
burning on the altar of Vesta.*Originally published by
Hannah Humphrey in
1806 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a
larger
sheet,.***All shown with the margin against a darker
carpet to show borders if close cut ***This is from the later Bohn
Edition of
1849 to 1851 ** £65 More than a passing resemblance
to Margaret Thatcher ?
|
13.JUDGE THUMB; OR, PATENT STICKS FOR FAMILY CORRECTION : WARRANTED
LAWFUL !
November 27th, 1782.Alluding to an opinion publicly expressed by
Judge Buller, that a man might lawfully beat his wife with a stick,
if it were not thicker than his thumb. A witty Countess is said to
have sent the next day to require the measurement of his thumb,
that she might know the precise extent of her husband's right.
.*Originally published by
Hannah Humphrey in
1806 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a
larger
sheet,.***All shown with the margin against a darker
carpet to show borders if close cut ***This is from the later Bohn
Edition of
1849 to 1851 ** .
.£55 unmounted Bohn edition post
inclusive
|
A man of Feeling in Search of Indispensibles.—A Scene at the
Little Milliners,
The prince of Orange kneels feeling the legs of the young beauties. A
satire on the lecherous Prince of Orange based on a story told at the
time of his visit to a fashionable milliner in St. James's Street in
London. The artist shows him groping the legs of two seamstresses in
his supposed search for ‘indispensibles', a short-lived name for
tie-on pockets. One pocket lies on the floor in the left foreground
whilst another is being made at the table. The milliner herself, Madame
Lanchester, wears one suggestively outside her flimsy skirt as she
enters the room. All the pockets in this scene are elaborate with
decorative binding and corner tassels, in keeping with the artist's
treatment of everything else in the room including the milliner's own
overblown style of dress. A swipe at the perceived decadence of French
fashions personified in the figure of the milliner and her tri-colour
bonnet and red military-based gown.
£65 one of the suppressed series Bohn Edition *Originally
published by
Hannah Humphrey in
1806 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a
larger
sheet,.***All shown with the margin against a darker
carpet to show borders if close cut ***This is from the later Bohn
Edition of
1849 to 1851 ** post
inclusive
|
84. QUESTIONS AND COMMANDS; OR, THE MISTAKEN
ROAD TO
HEREFORD: A SUNDAY EVENING'S AMUSEMENT.
February 11th, 1788.
DUKE AND
DUCHBSS OP
GLOUCESTER. PRINCE WILLIAM OP GLOUCESTER. This appears to allude to
some churchman seeking preferment through petticoat influence. The
see of Hereford became vacant in 1788, and Butler, who had been
collated to the see of Oxford, by his political friend and patron,
Lord North, much against the will of the Oxonians, was about this
period, translated to Hereford by the Pitt Ministry, it is said to
appease the dissatisfaction of the University. It appears that
Butler was a native of Hamburgh, and had never taken a degree in
either of the English Universities. Hence the cold reception he met
with at Oxford. . . .£55 unmounted Bohn edition *Originally
published by
Hannah Humphrey in
1806 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a
larger
sheet,.***All shown with the margin against a darker
carpet to show borders if close cut ***This is from the later Bohn
Edition of
1849 to 1851 ** post
inclusive
|
Pater Urbium A
HINT TO MODERN SCULPTORS AS AN ORNAMENT
TO A FUTURE SQUARE. May 3rd, 1796.
PRINCE OP WALES. A
satirical portrait of the Prince, in the
costume of his regiment, which he is supposed to be going to
review. About this time it was in contemplation to erect statues in
some of the squares of London*Originally published by
Hannah Humphrey in
1806 by James Gillray ** Hand Coloured. Trimmed from a
larger
sheet,.***All shown with the margin against a darker
carpet to show borders if close cut ***This is from the later Bohn
Edition of
1849 to 1851 ** £45 post
inclusive
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