Charles Fox, as Harlequin, and Lord North, as Pantaloon, perform on stage for the members of their party. Fox, standing on one leg, holds the Harlequin's 'magic' wand above the head of a bust of George III. Above the wand hangs the royal crown suspended from an air balloon. Behind his back, Fox passes to a smiling North a piece of paper inscribed, "Prerogative." The audience, that includes on the left, in the box, the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Robinson, and in the pit, among the others, Keppel and Burke, applauds the performance. The back wall of the stage is decorated with a portrait of Cromwell. On the wall facing the King's bust hangs a map of the United States
Alternative Title:
Harlequin
Description:
Title from item., Sheet trimmed mostly within plate mark, imprint burnished out., Publication information from British Museum catalogue., and Title partially in the form of a rebus.
Publisher:
E. Hodges?
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820., George IV, King of Great Britain, 1762-1830., Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806., North, Frederick, Lord, 1732-1792., Robinson, Mary, 1758-1800., Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, 1725-1786., Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797., and Cromwell, Oliver, 1599-1658.
Subject (Topic):
Politics and government, Pantomimes, Balloons (Aircraft), and Theaters
In a churchyard, tombstones, adorned on top with the heads of prominent politicians, are engraved with epitaphs in their memory
Alternative Title:
Political churchyard
Description:
Title from caption etched above image. and Mounted to 30 x 38 cm.
Publisher:
Pub according t [sic] Act by B. Pownall. No. 6 Pallmall
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820., Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806., North, Frederick, Lord, 1732-1792., Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797., Pitt, William, 1759-1806., Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, 1725-1786., Conway, Henry Seymour, 1721-1795., Richmond and Lennox, Charles Lennox, Duke of, 1735-1806., Wray, Cecil, Sir, 1734-1805., Cavendish, John, Lord, 1732-1796., Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 1751-1816., Melville, Henry Dundas, Viscount, 1742-1811., Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805., Portland, William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of, 1738-1809., and Mansfield, William Murray, Earl of, 1705-1793.
In front of St. James's Palace and with the King watching from a window, the members of the newly elected ministry eagerly pick up loaves of bread and fishes spilled on the ground by a fish-wife frightened by American buffalo in the lower right corner of the image
Alternative Title:
Gambols of the American buffalo in St. James's Street and Amusement for John Bull and his cousin Paddy
Description:
Title from item. and From "A dialogue between John Bull and his cousin Paddy, in St. James's Street" in The European magazine, 1783, p. 296.
Publisher:
Published 1st. May 1783, by I. Fielding, Pater-noster Row
Subject (Geographic):
England and London.
Subject (Name):
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820., Pitt, Thomas, Baron Camelford, 1737-1793., Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, 1725-1786., Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805., Cavendish, John, Lord, 1732-1796., Portland, William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of, 1738-1809., North, Frederick, Lord, 1732-1792., Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806., Thurlow, Edward Thurlow, Baron, 1731-1806., and Saint James's Palace (London, England)
One the left, George III, represented as a donkey and wearing a fool's cap, sits asleep on his throne, his wrists manacled. Beneath his chair is a keg of gunpowder, and a sack containing crown and sceptre leans against the wall. Entering the doors on the right is Fox (depicted as a fox) followed by members of the new ministry, including from left to right, Wilkes, Richmond, Burke, Keppel, Shelburne (carrying another barrel of gunpowder), and Dunning
Description:
Title from item., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., Above upper left border: "Political characters & caracatures of 1782. No. 6.", and A probable earlier state of no. 6007 in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 5.
Publisher:
Pubd. June 15th, 1782 by E. D'Achery, St. James's Street
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain and England
Subject (Name):
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820., Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806., Wilkes, John, 1725-1797, Richmond and Lennox, Charles Lennox, Duke of, 1735-1806., Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797., Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, 1725-1786., Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805., Dunning, John, Baron Ashburton, 1731-1783., and Fawkes, Guy, 1570-1606.
Subject (Topic):
Politics and government, Donkeys, Thrones, Fools' caps, and Clothing & dress
George III, submerged in water, his head and hands raised in supplication above the waves, is being pulled out by four men standing in "Victory's Boat." They are, from left to right, Admiral Keppel, Lord Shelburne, John Dunning, and the Duke of Richmond. A "Diving Bell" with a head of a judge, possibly Thurlow, is attached to the boat by another rope. Watching from the shore are Charles James Fox, with a fox's head, and Edmund Burke. Fox comments that "As maligrida [Shelburne] now does reign / all their labour is in vain," to which Burke adds, "if boreas was here he would much swell / and prevent the efects of the Diving Bell." 'Boreas,' the fictitious designer of this print is Lord North. The printmaker Twitcher is Lord Sandwich. The title alludes to the loss of the warship "Royal George" during repairs in Portsmouth in 1782
Description:
Title etched below image., Attributed to John Nixon. See British Museum catalogue., Sheet trimmed to plate mark., and Mounted to 32 x 43 cm.
Publisher:
Pub. 21st. Jan. 1783, by W. Humphrey, No. 227 Strand
Subject (Geographic):
England., England, and Great Britain
Subject (Name):
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820., Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805., Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, 1725-1786., Dunning, John, Baron Ashburton, 1731-1783., Richmond, Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of, 1735-1806., Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806., Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797., Thurlow, Edward Thurlow, Baron, 1731-1806., and Royal George (Ship)
Subject (Topic):
Diving bells, Shipwrecks, Boats, Ropes, Drowning, Crowns, Clothing & dress, and Politics and government
George III, surrounded by members of the present and former governments, stands on the British shore of the Atlantic Ocean. He holds out his arms in a gesture of uncertainty asking, "My Lords and Gentlemen, what should I do." Each of the statesmen gives his advice. In the background, "England's sun" is "setting" behind the hills at the foot of which sailors, soldiers and civilians are shown fighting, perhaps in allusion to the mutiny of sailors in Portsmouth in March 1783. Between both groups, on the extreme right, a smaller group of men with peg legs or on crutches, apparently veterans of the American war, is addressed by Lord Amherst who says, "Gentlemen we have no further occasion for you." On the extreme left, on the American shore of the Atlantic, a young girl in Indian dress sits between the kings of France and Spain, who each hold her hand. Benjamin Franklin places a wreath on top of her head-dress. Above in the sky, a witch flies away on a broomstick with a banner reading, "Peace -- Peace -- P-e-a-c" issuing from under her skirts
Description:
BEIN BrSides 2019 472: On sheet 29.5 x 36.8 cm. Forms part of the Benjamin Franklin Collection., BEIN BrSides 2019 498: On sheet 38.7 x 43.8 cm. Forms part of the Benjamin Franklin Collection., Title from caption below image., Attributed by George to Viscount Townshend., Sheet trimmed to plate mark., and On sheet 29 x 34 cm, mounted to 33 x 39 cm.
Publisher:
Publish'd according to Act of Parliament, by M. Smith in Fleet Street
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820., Louis XVI, King of France, 1754-1793., Charles III, King of Spain, 1716-1788., Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790., Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806., Richmond and Lennox, Charles Lennox, Duke of, 1735-1806., Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805., Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797., Thurlow, Edward Thurlow, Baron, 1731-1806., Mansfield, David Murray, Earl of, 1727-1796., Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 1751-1816., North, Frederick, Lord, 1732-1792., Pitt, William, 1759-1806., Nugent, Robert Craggs Nugent, Earl, 1702?-1788., Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, 1725-1786., Dunning, John, Baron Ashburton, 1731-1783., and Amherst, Jeffery Amherst, Baron, 1717-1797.
Subject (Topic):
Politics and government, Foreign relations, Fighting, Disabled veterans, Witches, Thistles, and Clothing & dress
In the aftermath of the crisis of early 1783, the past and future ministers are depicted at a table competing for their share in the government. Foremost among them are Fox and North, seated at the top of the table to the left of the King who offers them a loaf signed "Secretary of State." They both hold on to the loaf signed "Treasury," while Lord Shelburne, seated to the King's right, is now empty-handed. In the lower right corner of the image, two dogs identified as "Pay Office Clerks," attempt to sneak away with bags of money, an allusion to Burke's reinstatement of two clerks accused of malversation before his return to the office of paymaster-general and "George III presides at a rectangular table at which sit past and prospective ministers, grasping at the loaves and fishes which lie on the table. On the left side of the table and on the king's right sit Shelburne and his supporters, on the opposite side sit those who have ousted them. The king sits in an ornate chair; on his right sits Shelburne putting his arm on the shoulder of Dunning, who sits on his other side. Shelburne says "I must submit! - may it prove Poison to them say I". Dunning answers "Never mind my Lord - give them rope enough, and they will hang themselves". The king turns to Fox and North, who sit on his left hand, and says, pointing to the table, "pray help your selves Gentlemen". Fox, who has a fox's head, has seized a loaf in each hand, saying "An't please your Maj------ty I'll have these for me & my friends". The loaf under his left hand is inscribed "Treasury"; North, who sits on Fox's left, says, "hold Charley, that's more then comes to your Share". The other two on the right side of the table are Keppel and Burke. Keppel, who is next North, puts his right hand on a loaf; in his left he holds a fish from whose mouth go lines attached to two other fish and another loaf; he is saying "I'm fond of Sea fish". A naval officer opposite him hugs a loaf and grasps the tail of one of the fish on Keppel's line. He is identified in a contemporary hand as Palliser, but is more probably Lord Howe, who was First Lord of the Admiralty from 29 Jan. 1782 (after Keppel's resignation) till 8 April, when he was replaced by Keppel. He is in "profil perdu" but his figure and a black eyebrow suggest Howe. On Keppel's left, and at the right corner of the table, sits Burke grasping a loaf in his right hand, a fish in his left. He is saying "Rhetorick is of no use here! tis catch that catch can". In the foreground (right), at Burke's side, two dogs laden with money-bags are running off to the right. Over them is inscribe "Pay Office Clerks" and (smaller) "Fulham". On the money-bag of one is "£200.000", on that of the other "£100.000". Burke became paymaster-general under Rockingham, resigned office with Fox on Shelburne's appointment, and was again (on 7 April) to become paymaster. On returning to office he reinstated two clerks, Powell and Bembridge, who had recently been dismissed by Barré for malversation, for which he was attacked in parliament on 24 April and 19 May 1783. 'Parl. Hist', xxiii, pp. 900 ff; Wraxall, 'Memoirs', 1884, iii. 77-86. [Possibly the dogs were added in a later issue of the print, as they seem to refer to the scandal over Powell and Bembridge. Powell committed suicide, Bembridge was tried and sentenced.] Opposite Burke, at the near left corner of the table, sits Conway, the Commander-in-Chief, in general's uniform, grasping a fish in one hand, a lobster in the other. He is saying, "I fear they'll not leave me one poor lobster". He had disappointed Fox by not resigning on Shelburne's appointment, he did not however lose office till after the dissolution of Parliament in 1784, when he resigned. In the centre of the table are three unclaimed loaves, the one nearest the king is inscribed "Secretary of State".--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title from item., Possiblly by Topham., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and Reissue of no. 6195 in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, with a verse from Shakespeare's "Othello" added under the title.
Publisher:
Pub by E. Achery March 24, 1783, St James Street
Subject (Geographic):
England
Subject (Name):
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820., Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805., Dunning, John, Baron Ashburton, 1731-1783., Howe, Richard Howe, Earl, 1726-1799., Conway, Henry Seymour, 1721-1795., Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806., North, Frederick, Lord, 1732-1792., Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, 1725-1786., and Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797.
A large dredger-like wheel with four scoops stands in front of a building, possibly the Treasury, guarded by two mounted sentries. The Devil standing on the King's bent back, turns the crank. On the right, Lord Shelburne sits on the ground after being tossed out of the wheel together with his companions, most likely Dunning and Barré, saying, "Look what a crush a Pretty decent Tumble." On the left, two new Secretaries of State, Fox, with a fox's head, and North, lead on reins attached to his nose the Duke of Portland, the new prime minister. Fox, with broken leg, his hand on North's arm for support, complains that the "... late tumble hath Crippled me quite ..." North pledges help on condition that "you shall hold me fast in my Place." Behind them, Burke, with one arm in a sling, runs after them voicing his own need to join the coalition. His and Fox's "injuries" were suffered in the previous 'tumble' when Shelburne formed his administration
Alternative Title:
Up and down and Wheel of administration
Description:
Title from item. and Sheet trimmed to plate mark.
Publisher:
Pub. by E. Dachery, April 17, 1783, St. James' Street
Subject (Name):
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820., Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797., Portland, William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of, 1738-1809., Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, 1725-1786., Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806., North, Frederick, Lord, 1732-1792., and Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805.