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James Gillray : The Suppressed Plates
Gillray, James, born 1757 - died 1815 - Enlarge image
James Gillray : The Suppressed Plates
- Object:
Prints
- Place of origin:
Britain (printed)
- Date:
1797-9 (first published)
ca. 1850 (printed) - Artist/Maker:
Gillray, James, born 1757 - died 1815 (artist)
Bohn, Henry George, born 1796 - died 1884 (publisher)
Humphrey, Hannah (publisher) - Materials and Techniques:
Engravings on wove paper
- Credit Line:
Gift from the Ministry of Justice
- Museum number:
E.685:22-2014
- Gallery location:
In Storage
Physical description
Two plates from an album containing 45 numbered prints on wove paper, the majority printed two per page, recto only. Numbered 38 and 39 respectively, number 38 depicts Courtenay as the chairman of the tavern club, sitting at the head of a table, smoking. The other figures present are George Hanger,Charles James Fox, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and M. A. Taylor. They are all drinking champagne and brandy. Above Courtenay on the wall is a picture of a clothed monkey, smoking a pipe. Lettered with titles, captions, artist's initials, and the original publisher's name and address.
The second print on the same page is entitled 'Duke William's Ghost' and depicts the Prince of Wales, passed out in a drunken stupor, with broken bottles and wine spilt on the floor. An apparition of his great-uncle, William Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland, looms out of a cloud at the foot of the bed. Seen from behind, he is naked save for a cocked hat and sabre, with enormous buttocks making up the bulk of the body. He holds aloft an hour-glass, whose sands are about to run out, as a warning to the Prince about the risk of over-indulgence. Lettered with title, artist's name, and the original publisher's name and address.
Place of Origin
Britain (printed)
Date
1797-9 (first published)
ca. 1850 (printed)
Artist/maker
Gillray, James, born 1757 - died 1815 (artist)
Bohn, Henry George, born 1796 - died 1884 (publisher)
Humphrey, Hannah (publisher)
Materials and Techniques
Engravings on wove paper
Marks and inscriptions
Pubd. Feb 4th 1797 by H Humphrey, New Bond Street
Lettered underneath plate 38
Pubd May 7th 1799 by H Humphrey, 27 St James's Street
Lettered underneath plate 39
Dimensions
Height: 63.5 cm, Width: 48.3 cm Sheet
Descriptive line
Two plates from an album of 40 'suppressed' caricatures featuring sexual, scatalogical and politically outrageous subject matter by James Gillray (1756-1815). Issued mid-19th century.
Materials
Wove paper
Techniques
Printing
Subjects depicted
Pipes; Naked; Sleep; Politicians; Hour-glass; Glasses; Smoking; Meetings; Buttocks; Ghosts; Champagne; Time; Leaders
Categories
Prints; Satire; Caricatures & Cartoons
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection