A man in ragged clothes stands facing right, hunched forward under the weight of a basket of 'Rents' and 'Taxes' strapped to his back. His legs are shackled, his mouth is closed by a padlock, and his hands are tied behind him. Image enclosed within a circle
Alternative Title:
Freeborn Englishman
Description:
Title etched above image., Printmaker is likely the publisher Thomas Spence's son William, who was born in the early 1780s and died in 1797. See Oxford Dictionary of national biography, entry for Thomas Spence., Probably a copy, with alterations, of a print published circa 1795 entitled "A freeborn Englishman, the admiration of the world, the envy of surrounding nations, &c. &c." See description for No. 8710 in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum, v. 7., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., Thomas Spence seems to have also issued copper tokens in 1796 with depictions of a similar shackled figure on one side. See for example British Museum online catalogue, registration no.: T.6498., and Not in Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum.
Publisher:
Publishd. by T. Spence, Turn Stile, Holborn
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain. and Great Britain
Subject (Topic):
Taxation, Poverty, Poor persons, Locks (Hardware), Shackles, and Taxes
Caption title., Dates top right: Scarborough, June 8, 1790., First line: Resolved, that the selling either hats or gloves with the proper stamps ought to be ..., Signed by 18 people, listed in two columns., and Formerly mounted in a volume; stub still attached on verso. On paper with crowned Britannia watermark and horizontal chain lines. For further information, consult library staff.
Signed: Don Quixote de la Mancha, Knight of the Lions., At the foot: Given at our sty, No.47, Hay-Market, St. James's; the address of Richard Lee., First published as 'Licence for the guinea pigs to wear powder'., At head of title: (One penny)., In this edition the last line ends: "sty as above"., and For further information, consult library staff.
Publisher:
Sold by R. Lee
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain. and Great Britain
Subject (Topic):
Hair preparations, Taxation, Hairdressing, Equipment and supplies, Toilet preparations, Anglo-French War, 1793-1802, and Finance
"John Bull, a plebeian, stout and dishevelled, lies on his back on a tangle of large roses with vicious thorns. These are on a heap of stones and under the stump of a decayed oak tree (left). He exclaims: "Oh Lord! Oh Lord! if this be the Bed of Roses they make such a noise about I'd sooner lye with the Old Sow and her Farrow in the Dog Days! - My Dame will roar woundidly when she comes to bed! Ecod it's as bad as lying on a Harrow upside down." The stones (left to right) are 'Expedition to Holland' [1799, see British Museum Satires No. 9412, &c], 'Expedition to Ferrol', 'Jobs and Contracts', 'Pension List', 'Indemnity for the past & Security for the Future', 'No Peace possible with the child and Champion of Jacobinism', 'Places', 'Subsidies'. The roses are: 'Candle Tax', 'Hair Powder Tax', 'Hat Tax', 'Paper Tax', 'Snuff Tax', 'Game Tax', 'Wine Tax', 'Property Tax', 'Salt Tax', 'Land Tax', 'Stamp Tax', 'Assessed Taxes', 'Income Tax', 'Table Beer Tax', 'House Tax', 'Window Tax', 'Excise Duty', 'Horse Tax', 'Tobacco Tax', 'Soap Tax', 'Servant Tax', 'Malt Tax', 'Hop Tax', 'Sugar Tax', 'Legacy Tax', 'Tea Tax', 'Cyder Tax'. On the two extremities of the 'bed' are clusters of thorny buds; these are inscribed '1807', '1808', and [once] '1809', those on the left being labelled 'National Debt'. In the distance St. Paul's is indicated. Bushes on the right are wind-swept."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
John Bull on a bed of roses
Description:
Title etched below image., Attributed to Charles Williams in the British Museum catalogue., Sheet trimmed to plate mark leaving thread margins., and Watermark: 181[0?].
Publisher:
Pubd. July 1806 by Wm. Holland, Cockspur Street
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Topic):
Taxation, John Bull (Symbolic character), Roses, Thorns, and Taxes
No. Excise-Office, at in Distt. Colln. 1748 and Receipt for payment of carriage tax
Description:
Title transcribed from item., Body of text: Received of [blank] of [blank] in the County of [blank] the sum of [blank] Pounds for [blank] four-wheel carriage, and [blank] two-wheel carriage, of which [blank] has this day given notice, according to the Statute of the Twentieth Year of His present Majesty. In full for one year., Printed in red ink., Form completed in ink by the Excise Office at Methwould in Lynn, Swaffham District, 30 May 1748. The completed receipt reads: Received of Cyril Wycke Esqr. of Hockhold [Hockwold] in the County of Norfolk the sum of four Pounds for one four-wheel carriage ... Also annotated on the verso., and For further information, consult library staff.