On the right, the chairman of the Robin Hood Society leans over a rostrum toward the speaker, Jeffery Dunstan, a hawker whose physical deformities and wit led to his election as the "mayor of Garrett" shown in the image behind him on the wall. The caricatured audience, plebeian in its appearance, along with the subject of an upcoming debate announced on the side of the rostrum, further ridicule this well-known debating society
Description:
Title etched at bottom of image. and Cf. No. 6331 in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 5.
Publisher:
publisher not identified
Subject (Geographic):
England and London.
Subject (Name):
Dunstan, Jeffery, 1759?-1797.
Subject (Topic):
Debates and debating, Audiences, Interiors, and Clothing & dress
On a raised platform, the Devil sits on top of 3 casks, one labelled "small beer". He straddles a huge key, from which are suspended, as on a gallows, 2 gentlemen, the one on the right bearing some resemblance to George III. On the left 2 maids or washerwomen wave mop and broom at the hanged man (possibly Pitt?), saying "You tax maid servants no more". On the right Samuel House, standing before his tavern, offers a tankard to Jeffrey Dunstan, who is voicing his support of Charles James Fox. The Devil is uttering the words of the title
Alternative Title:
Key of the back stairs and the small beer etc
Description:
Title derived from text in image. and Mounted to 27 x 40 cm.
Publisher:
publisher not identified
Subject (Geographic):
England
Subject (Name):
Dunstan, Jeffery, 1759?-1797. and House, Samuel, -1785.
Subject (Topic):
Devil, Keys (Hardware), Taverns (Inns), Women domestics, Hangings, and Clothing & dress