"John Bull, blind, maimed, and ragged, walks (right to left) near a chasm, the edge of which stretches across the foreground of the design. His wooden right arm terminates in a hook to which is attached a cord from the collar of a lean greyhound with the head of Pitt (as in BMSat 8794). Pitt drags him forward and slightly towards the gulf; in his mouth is a large bare bone, his collar is inscribed 'Licenc'd to Lead'. In John Bull's left hand is a staff, on his back a burden inscribed 'Loans'. He has a wooden leg, which a dog with the head of Sheridan and a collar inscribed 'Licenc'd to Bite' is biting savagely. Behind and on the extreme right is a dog with the head of Grey, and a collar inscribed 'Grey Hound'; he bites John Bull's coat. Fox, a mastiff with a fox's brush, stands behind Pitt, glaring fiercely, on his collar is 'Licenc'd to Bark'. Behind is grass and a tree (left) and in the distance the roofs and spires of London, showing St. Paul's."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
John Bull and his dog Faithful
Description:
Title etched below image., Printmaker from British Museum catalogue., A satire on a Dog Tax, April 1796., and Mounted to 31 x 46 cm.
Publisher:
Pubd. April 20th, 1796, by H. Humphrey, New Bond Street
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain.
Subject (Name):
Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806, Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 1751-1816, Pitt, William, 1759-1806, Grey, Charles Grey, Earl, 1764-1845, and St. Paul's Cathedral (London, England),
Subject (Topic):
John Bull (Symbolic character), Taxation of personal property, Artificial limbs, Blindness, Debt, Dogs, and People with disabilities