"Leaders of the Opposition (left) turn a windlass which drags towards the shore a fantastic and enormous raft laden with French troops. They push against horizontal levers which pass through the broad centre-post on which the rope is wound; on the top of this Lauderdale, in Highland dress and on a smaller scale than the others, plays the bagpipes, from which issue the words: 'Over the Water & over the Sea, And over the Raft to Charlie.' He capers to his tune; a tricolour flag flies from his instrument. The most prominent figure is Fox, advancing full-face, and looking to the raft with a satisfied smile; he says, "Pull away Citizens". Behind him, the rope between them, is Bedford in riding-dress; under his arm is a book: 'Bedford on Agriculter' (cf. BMSat 8648). Opposite Fox is Tierney, saying, "We must take care to keep clear of the Rope". From his pocket hangs a paper: 'Borough Influence' (he was M.P. for Southwark, 'the Borough', cf. BMSat 9045). Sheridan, pushing hard in profile to the left, says: "Ah! The Rope We must avoid it if possible". Norfolk, on the extreme left, puts a hand on Tierney's lever; he says: "Hark Ther's a Storm coming. I hear Thunder." They walk on a circular track by the edge of a cliff. On the ground is a large open book: 'President of the Directory CIF. [Fox] Deputy a Bedfordshire Bull [cf. BMSat 8684]'. On it lies a 'Norfolk Cheese'. Behind (left) is a gallows inscribed 'Tierney' (almost obliterated) from which hangs a corpse. In the background is a hill on the summit of which is an encampment with massed troops flying the British flag. The raft nears the shore but is about to be overwhelmed by vast waves blown up by blasts from the mouths of Dundas, the King, and Pitt, whose heads emerge from dark clouds. Dundas, in profile to the left, aims his blast at the windlass; in it (right to left) are the names: 'Jack Ketch'; 'Addington, Bond, Staples [Bow Street justices]'; 'Macnamara Fugion, Macmanus, Townsend, Jelous' [Bow Street officers or 'runners']. The King and Pitt aim directly at the raft; from the mouth of the former (full-face) issue the names 'St Vincent, Pasley, Duncan, Pellew, Nelson'; from that of Pitt (in profile to the right): 'Trollope, Thomson, Bridport, Onslow, Pringle'. In the centre of the raft is a massive fortress manned with troops; from it flies a huge tricolour flag inscribed 'Liberty and Equality'. The fort is surrounded by tents; outside there are soldiers in close formation with bayonets. The outer edge is flanked by turrets, each having a (tricolour) flag inscribed: 'Plunder'; 'Regecides Paricides'; 'Deism Atheism'; 'Robbery'; 'Murder & Ravishmt'; 'Torture'; 'Blood & Rapine'; 'Cruelty & lust'; 'Barbar[ity]'. The motive force is given by wheels worked by windmills, and by large oars. In the bows is a guillotine surmounted by a bonnet-rouge; another guillotine decorates the stern. Behind the raft (left) advance ships of war. In the foreground, flying over the agitated sea like stormy petrels, are three winged heads (right to left): Erskine, Stanhope, and (?) Thelwall. Lauderdale, Fox, Sheridan, Norfolk, and Stanhope wear bonnets-rouges."--British Museum online catalogue.
Alternative Title:
Republican crew disappointed
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Bedford, Francis Russell,--Duke of,--1765-1802--Caricatures and cartoons., Erskine, Thomas Erskine,--Baron,--1750-1823--Caricatures and cartoons., Fores, S. W., publisher., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., George--III,--King of Great Britain,--1738-1820--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Lauderdale, James Maitland,--Earl of,--1759-1839--Caricatures and cartoons., Melville, Henry Dundas,--Viscount,--1742-1811--Caricatures and cartoons., Norfolk, Charles Howard,--Duke of,--1746-1815--Caricatures and cartoons., Pitt, William,--1759-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Sheridan, Richard Brinsley,--1751-1816--Caricatures and cartoons., Stanhope, Charles Stanhope,--Earl,--1753-1816--Caricatures and cartoons., Thelwall, John,--1764-1834--Caricatures and cartoons., and Tierney, George,--1761-1830--Caricatures and cartoons.
"The King sits impassively in his badly damaged state coach, which is being assailed by a mob; facing him sit two courtiers in abject terror. Pitt (right), dressed as the coachman, drives furiously, lashing the horses, the hind legs only of the wheelers being visible on the extreme right. These are trampling on Britannia who lies prostrate, her shield and broken spear beneath her. Four footmen in striped liveries stand behind, one holding the straps; the others hold each other's waists: Loughborough, the Lord Chancellor, wearing his wig, stands next the coach; behind him is Grenville, then Dundas, wearing a plaid and with a bottle projecting from his coat-pocket. Last is Pepper Arden wearing a judge's wig. All, like Pitt, wear jockey-caps. Lord Lansdowne (right), a sansculotte, composedly fires a blunderbuss point-blank through the coach window, aiming at the King. Fox and Sheridan, facing Lansdowne, run beside the coach, holding on to it. Both are tattered ruffians brandishing clubs, but wear breeches. The other three assailants cling to the spokes of the back wheel to stop the coach: (left to right) the Duke of Grafton, neatly dressed and wearing a cocked hat with tricolour cockade, Lord Stanhope, and little Lord Lauderdale, both wearing bonnets-rouges. Behind, a sea of heads indicates the mob; they carry a tricolour flag inscribed 'Peace and Bread' and a loaf draped with black and spiked on a pitchfork. A cat, stones, and eggs shower on the coach, the crown on the top of which is broken."--British Museum online catalogue.
Description:
Printmaker from British Museum catalogue. and Title etched below image.
Subject (Name):
Alvanley, Richard Pepper Arden,--Baron,--1745-1804--Caricatures and cartoons., Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., George--III,--King of Great Britain,--1738-1820--Assassination attempts., George--III,--King of Great Britain,--1738-1820--Caricatures and cartoons., Grafton, Augustus Henry Fitzroy,--Duke of,--1735-1811--Caricatures and cartoons., Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville,--Baron,--1759-1834--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher., Lansdowne, William Petty,--Marquis of,--1737-1805--Caricatures and cartoons., Lauderdale, James Maitland,--Earl of,--1759-1839--Caricatures and cartoons., Melville, Henry Dundas,--Viscount,--1742-1811--Caricatures and cartoons., Pitt, William,--1759-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Rosslyn, Alexander Wedderburn,--Earl of,--1733-1805--Caricatures and cartoons., Sheridan, Richard Brinsley,--1751-1816--Caricatures and cartoons., and Stanhope, Charles Stanhope,--Earl,--1753-1816--Caricatures and cartoons.
Subject (Topic):
Britannia (Symbolic character),--depicted., Carriages & coaches., Cats., Coach drivers. , Crowds., Riots., Sansculottes., and Servants.
"Pitt (left), as a toreador, rides a rearing white horse (of Hanover) with a spear directed horizontally against a buil (John Bull) snorting fire and bleeding from many wounds. He wears a short tunic and sash; his saddle-cloth is a leopard-skin on which is a crest: the white horse of Hanover enclosed in a Garter ribbon inscribed 'Honi soit qui mal y pense', and surmounted by a crown. He looks alarmed and spurs his horse viciously. Two tiers of spectators in an arc of the arena are freely sketched. In the upper row George III looking through a glass is in the centre, on his left is the Queen, on his right Loughborough. The man next the Queen is (?) Grenville. In the lower tier Fox is conspicuous with (?) the Prince of Wales on his left; Sheridan stands behind them. The other spectators are members of the Opposition or ragamuffins. Those who can be identified are (right to left): Stanhope, Derby, Grafton, Lansdowne. A chimney-sweep applauds with brush and shovel. ..."--British Museum online catalogue.
Description:
Three lines of text beginning to the left of title and continuing below it: Description from the royal bull fight of 1795. Then entered a bull of the true British breed ... and Title etched below image.
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Charlotte,--consort of George III, King of Great Britain,--1744-1818--Caricatures and cartoons., Derby, Edward Smith Stanley,--Earl of,--1752-1834--Caricatures and cartoons., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., George--III,--King of Great Britain,--1738-1820--Caricatures and cartoons., George--IV,--King of Great Britain,--1762-1830--Caricatures and cartoons., Grafton, Augustus Henry Fitzroy,--Duke of,--1735-1811--Caricatures and cartoons., Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville,--Baron,--1759-1834--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher., Lansdowne, William Petty,--Marquis of,--1737-1805--Caricatures and cartoons., Pitt, William,--1759-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Rosslyn, Alexander Wedderburn,--Earl of,--1733-1805--Caricatures and cartoons., Sheridan, Richard Brinsley,--1751-1816--Caricatures and cartoons., and Stanhope, Charles Stanhope,--Earl,--1753-1816--Caricatures and cartoons.
"The Prince lies in bed, 'in extremis'; Thurlow, Pitt, and Richmond stand behind a curtain (right), the first with a dagger raised to strike, Pitt clutching a dagger. On the other side of the bed Liberty with her cap and staff clasps her hands in supplication for the preservation of the Prince; behind her stand Fox, Burke, North, and (?) Sheridan in similar attitudes. In the foreground (left) Time advances with his scythe towards the Prince; he has mown down a man who falls backwards holding on his shoulder a naked African with a broken spear (? Death). The African, about to fall, clutches the head of an apothecary seated on the ground. Rays of light fall diagonally on the Prince; clouds extend over him and his would-be assassins. Resting on the clouds is a scroll inscribed: '1800 \ Glory, \ Conquest, \ Submission of \ America - Perfidy of France \ respecting the Treaty'. Above the Prince's head are his feathers and 'Ich Dien'."--British Museum online catalogue.
Description:
Printmaker from British Museum catalogue. and Title etched below image.
Publisher:
S. W. Fores, No. 3 Piccadilly
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Burke, Edmund,--1729-1797--Caricatures and cartoons., Fores, S. W., publisher., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., George--IV,--King of Great Britain,--1762-1830--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., North, Frederick,--Lord,--1732-1792--Caricatures and cartoons., Pitt, William,--1759-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Richmond and Lennox, Charles Lennox,--Duke of,--1735-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., and Thurlow, Edward Thurlow,--Baron,--1731-1806--Caricatures and cartoons.
The political and humourous works of Thomas Rowlandson, 1774-1825
Container / Volume:
Vol. 1 (Box 2 of 2) | Folder I-51
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
Prints & Photographs
Abstract:
William Pitt, acting as an auctioneer in the dissoluted Parliament, sells from the rostrum decorated with Royal Arms "useless valuables," such as "Magna Charta." Cornwall, the Speaker sitting below the rostrum, records bids in the "Sundry acts." In front of him stands Thurlow in Chancellor's robes making dismissive comment on "nonsensical bidings of those common fellows," i.e. members of the House of Commons who leave through the door on the left. Last of them, Fox, turns back vowing to bid "with spirit" for lot 1, "rights of the people in 558 vol." held on display by Henry Dundas. A reference to the dissolution of the Parliament by the King on March 25.
Description:
CtY-LW, Printmaker from British Museum catalogue., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and Title etched below image.
Publisher:
W. Humphry, no. 227 Strand
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain--Politics and government--1760-1789.
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Cornwall, Charles Wolfran,--1735-1789--Caricatures and cartoons., Dundas, Henry,--1742-1811--Caricatures and cartoons., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Humphrey, William, approximately 1740-approximately 1810, publisher., Pitt, William,--1759-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Riviere & Son Binding., and Thurlow, Edward Thurlow,--Baron,--1731-1806--Caricatures and cartoons.
Subject (Topic):
Auctions., Clothing & dress--England--1780-1790., Great Britain.--Parliament, 1783-1784., and Political elections--England--Westminster--1784.
"A lumbering wagon drawn (l. to r.) by eight asses is stuck fast, up to the axles in water; the asses strain hard to drag it up a steep slope to dry land. Its dilapidated tilt is much patched and is labelled 'British State Waggon 1804'. The wagoner, Addington (r.), kneels on an adjacent bank, and shouts to a fat and jovial John Bull, dressed as a volunteer, who stands on the opposite bank of the deeply sunken lane, his bulldog beside him. Addington wears a smock, but his powdered hair is in a black bag. He holds his long whip and his hat in his right. hand, and extends his left. arm, shouting, " - help, Johnny Bull! - help! - my Waggon's stuck fast in the Slough! - help! help." John, who holds his bayoneted musket, looks down at Addington, pointing behind him with outflung r. arm at thirteen horses with human heads above and behind him on rising ground. He answers: " - stuck fast in the Slough! - ay to be sure! - why dost'nt put better Cattle to thy Wain? - look at them there Horses doing o' nothing at all! - what ether they matches in Colour, if they do but drag the Waggon out o' the Mud! - don't ye see how the very thoughts o' being put into Harness makes 'em all love and nubble one another?" The horses, [The identifications (most being self-evident) are those of Miss Banks, the alternatives in brackets being those of E. Hawkins. Wright and Evans arrange them differently and omit Spencer and Lansdowne.] though close together, are in groups. On the extreme left., and rather behind the others, Lord Spencer (or Carlisle) rubs noses with Carlisle (or Lauderdale), Erskine (in wig and bands) with Wilberforce. In front of this group the bulky Lansdowne (or Norfolk) lies on the ground, asleep, his back to the others. Next, Grey turns his head towards the haughty Buckingham, who wears spectacles and a Garter ribbon. Their backs are turned to the main group of four: Fox, with a foreleg placed on Grenville's shoulder looks up affectionately at the latter, who responds with a complacent smile. Pitt watches the pair with haughty benignity; Canning, behind, watches them intently. On the extreme right. Sheridan (a plump piebald), scowling fiercely, kicks up his heels at Windham, who retorts with a blast of excrement, his head turned towards Fox and Grenville. In the foreground (l.) is the stage-wagon (the slowest form of transit), drawn by its eight undifferentiated asses. The tilt is open at the back, showing it crammed with bundles, &c. The centre-piece is a bulging sack: 'Budget for 1804', from which project papers inscribed 'Taxes'. A treasure-chest is inscribed 'Treasury'; coins pour from a hole in its side. It is flanked by two bundles: 'Secret Service Money' and 'Family Pickings'. A bundle of 'Pensions' consists of bulky papers inscribed 'Sinecure'. Large volumes tied together are 'New Acts of Parliament'. Other papers are 'Defence against Invasion'; 'State of Ireland'; 'East Indies'. A bundle of 'Loans for / 84' [sic] contains 'Navy Bills' and 'Exchequer Bills'. There are also three tiny barrels of 'Gun Powder' and a bundle of muskets inscribed 'Volunteers'. From the side of the wagon hangs a basket of 'Family Medicine' containing two bottles labelled 'Broth[er] Bra[gge]' and 'Brother Hiley'."--British Museum online catalogue.
Alternative Title:
State wagoner and John Bull, Waggon too much for the donkeys!, and Wagon too much for the donkeys!
Description:
Imprint from British Museum catalogue. and Title etched in upper left corner of image.
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Buckingham, George Nugent Temple Grenville,--Marquess of,--1753-1813--Caricatures and cartoons., Canning, George,--1770-1827--Caricatures and cartoons., Carlisle, Frederick Howard,--Earl of,--1748-1825--Caricatures and cartoons., Erskine, Thomas Erskine,--Baron,--1750-1823--Caricatures and cartoons., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Gillray, James, 1756-1815, artist., Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville,--Baron,--1759-1834--Caricatures and cartoons., Grey, Charles Grey,--Earl,--1764-1845--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher., Lansdowne, William Petty,--Marquis of,--1737-1805--Caricatures and cartoons., Pitt, William,--1759-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Sheridan, Richard Brinsley,--1751-1816--Caricatures and cartoons., Sidmouth, Henry Addington,--Viscount,--1757-1844--Caricatures and cartoons., Spencer, George John Spencer,--Earl,--1758-1834--Caricatures and cartoons., Wilberforce, William,--1759-1833--Caricatures and cartoons., and Windham, William,--1750-1810--Caricatures and cartoons.
Subject (Topic):
John Bull (Symbolic character)--Caricatures and cartoons.
"The windlass (right) is turned by Bedford, in profile to the left, Fox, in back view but looking to the raft (left), Sheridan, in profile to the right, and Tierney, coming towards the spectator. From Bedford's pocket hangs a paper: '£1400 Fined, for False Entry of Servants'. All are running, but it is clear that huge waves raised by Pitt will swamp the raft before it reaches shore. All wear coats except Fox, whose coat lies on the ground beside a paper: 'List of the New Republican Ministry. Citizen Volpone, Premier..'.. Fox's shirt is tattered, his hair is tied by a tricolour ribbon. Pitt's profile emerges from clouds in the upper (right) corner; his blast spreads as it reaches the raft, developing into flashes of lightning ..."--British Museum online catalogue.
Alternative Title:
Republican flotilla in danger
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Bedford, Francis Russell,--Duke of,--1765-1802--Caricatures and cartoons., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Gillray, James, 1756-1815, artist., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher., Pitt, William,--1759-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Sheridan, Richard Brinsley,--1751-1816--Caricatures and cartoons., and Tierney, George,--1761-1830--Caricatures and cartoons.
"A design in two compartments. [1] 'Billy, in the Devil's claws'. Fox as the Devil (left) grasps the thin and terrified Pitt round the waist, pointing with his left arm to a serried rank of French soldiers, landed from the boats of French men-of-war and marching up the steep coast. He is a grotesque hairy creature, short and heavy, with webbed wings attached to his ragged coat, a barbed tail and talons, and wearing a bonnet-rouge. He says, turning a glaring eye-ball on Pitt: "Ha! Traitor! - there's the French landed in Wales! what d'ye think of that, Traitor?" [2] 'Billy, sending the Devil packing'. Pitt kneels on one knee in profile to the right, holding up a paper: 'Gazette Defeat of the Spanish Fleet; by Sir John Jarvis.' He looks up at Fox with a contemptuous gesture and a subtly triumphant smile, saying: "Ha! Mr Devil! - we've Beat the Spanish Fleet what d'ye think of that Mr Devil?" Fox springs upwards with a terrified expression, his hands held up as if asking for mercy, his cap falls off and his tail is between his legs. On the right is the sea, with a naval battle in progress."--British Museum online catalogue.
Alternative Title:
Billy in the Devil's claws, Billy sending the Devil packing, and Table's turned
Description:
Title etched below image and enclosed within curly brackets.
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher., and Pitt, William,--1759-1806--Caricatures and cartoons.
"Pitt stands in the House of Commons, facing the Opposition benches; he causes a tremendous explosion by uncorking a bottle containing the bloated and scowling face of Sheridan, whose hair swirls up into the neck of the bottle. He stands like a waiter with a napkin, marked with a crown and 'GR', under his left. arm; the bottle is between his bent knees, and in his right. hand is a corkscrew, held directly over the bottle. Similar bottles, corked and labelled, stand on the Opposition benches. In the foreground, facing Pitt, are bottles containing the heads of (l. to r.) Tierney, labelled 'a Glass of All-Sorts', Fox, labelled 'True French Wine' [see BMSat 9735, &c], Windham, labelled 'Brandy and Water', and in profile to the left., Grey, labelled 'Goosberry Wine'. All look up at Pitt with anxious melancholy. Rows of bottles recede in perspective on the back benches; only three contain heads: a melancholy profile (see BMSat 10372) of Burdett, labelled 'Brentford Ale' [the polling place for Middlesex], Erskine, labelled 'Spruce Beer' [frothy explosive stuff], and behind these two a partly concealed profile labelled 'Elder Wine'. Next Burdett is a bottle of 'Whitbreads Small-Beer'. Another bottle is labelled 'Mum'. On the ground behind Pitt lies an open bottle of 'Medicinal Wine' spilling its contents, and containing the head of Sidmouth (Addington, see BMSat 9849), with closed eyes suggesting death rather than sleep. Behind, on the extreme left., is part of the Speaker's chair, only a portion of wig being visible. The violent explosion spreads across the upper part of the design; it contains the words 'Bouncings', 'Growlings', 'Fibs! Fibs! Fibs', 'Abuse', 'Abuse', 'Damn'd Fibs', 'Invectives', 'Old Puns', 'Groans of Disappointment', 'Stolen Jests', 'Invectives', 'lame Puns', 'Invectives', 'Loyal Boastings', 'Dramatic Ravings', 'Low Scurrilities', 'Stale Jokes', 'Fibs, Fibs, Fibs! Egotism'. [Commas have been added.] Below the design: " - the honble Gentm tho' he does not very often address the House, yet when he does, he always thinks proper to pay off all arrears, & like \ "a Bottle just uncork'd bursts all at once, into an explosion of Froth & Air; - then, whatever might for a length of time lie \ "lurking & corked up in his mind, whatever he thinks of himself or hears in conversation, - whatever he takes many \ "days or weeks to sleep upon, the whole common-place book of the interval is sure to burst out at once, stored with \ "Studied-Jokes, Sarcasms, arguments, invectives, & every thing else, which his mind or memory are capable of embracing \ "whether they have any relation or not to the Subject under discussion - See Mr P-tts speech on ye Genl Defence Bill."--British Museum online catalogue.
Description:
Title etched in bottom part of image.
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Burdett, Francis,--1770-1844--Caricatures and cartoons., Erskine, Thomas Erskine,--Baron,--1750-1823--Caricatures and cartoons., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Grey, Charles Grey,--Earl,--1764-1845--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher., Pitt, William,--1759-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Sheridan, Richard Brinsley,--1751-1816--Caricatures and cartoons., Sidmouth, Henry Addington,--Viscount,--1757-1844--Caricatures and cartoons., Tierney, George,--1761-1830--Caricatures and cartoons., and Windham, William,--1750-1810--Caricatures and cartoons.