William Petty, Lord Shelburne, braces himself against the door to the Treasury in order to resist the pull of the rope tied around his waist. He is helped by John Dunning dressed in legal wig and cloak. The four men attempting to remove Shelburne from the Treasury are, from left to right, Charles James Fox, intent on forming a new administration; Admiral Augustus Keppel and the 3rd Duke of Richmond, both members of the Shelburne administration but opposing Shelburne; and Edmund Burke, later paymaster-general in the Fox-North administration
Description:
Title etched below image., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and The figure on the right identified by George as Edmund Burke is identified here as Lord John Cavendish.
Publisher:
Pub. Jan. 9th, 1783 by W. Humphrey, No. 227 Strand
Subject (Geographic):
England and Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805., Dunning, John, Baron Ashburton, 1731-1783., Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806., Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, 1725-1786., Richmond, Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of, 1735-1806., and Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797.
Subject (Topic):
Ropes, Tug of war, Military uniforms, British, Clothing & dress, and Politics and government, 1760-1789
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