"Four designs, each with a title, the plate divided into four quarters. [1] 'John Bull Happy'. A cottage interior: John Bull, a stout countryman with wrinkled gaiters as in BMSat 7889, 8141, dozes serenely in an arm-chair before a blazing fire, holding a pitcher on his knee. Behind (left), his wife sits spinning; two little boys feed a bird in a wicker cage. A pretty young woman approaches the open door with a milk-pail on her head. Brass utensils are ranged on the chimney-piece, beside which is a roasting-jack with wheel and chain. A well-fed cat and dog sleep amicably by the fire. [2] 'John Bull going to the Wars'. John Bull has enlisted and marches off (left to right) beside a file of soldiers with drawn sabres, the man next him blowing a bugle. He marches with awkward energy, gazing proudly in profile to the right, not to see his wife and children (left), who cling to him, weeping. He holds a musket and is dressed as in [1], with the addition of a grenadier's cap and bandolier. Behind (left) is a corner of his cottage. [3] 'John Bull's Property in danger'. John Bull's wife, followed by her three children, approaches the stone gateway of the Treasury, its iron gate open, the three balls of a pawnbroker above it, the inscription 'Money Lent by Authority'. Beside it are two bills: 'Wanted a Number of Recruits to serve abroad' and 'List of Bankrupts John Bull'. The woman carries her spinning-wheel and a bundle of household goods; the smallest boy, holding his mother's petticoat, carries the bird-cage; the girl carries the churn and a bowl. The elder boy carries spade, rake, and pitchfork (a kettle slung to the prongs) and leads a pig. [4] 'John Bull's glorious Return'. A gaunt, one-legged, and one-eyed soldier (right), in tattered uniform, limps on crutches into a miserable hovel in which his starving family crouch over a fire lit on the hearth. The little boy clutches a bare bone; onions and a broken dish are on the floor (cf. BMSat 8145). Mother and sons are ragged and emaciated, the daughter has a certain youthful grace. They look with frightened astonishment at their almost unrecognizable father."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
John Bull happy, John Bull going to the wars, John Bull's property in danger, and John Bull's glorious return
Description:
Title etched below images., Four designs on one plate, each with a caption title., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and Temporary local subject terms: Interiors: cottage -- Bird cages -- Kitchen utensils: churn -- Farming tools -- Spinning-wheel -- Children -- British soldiers -- Military uniforms: Grenadier's cap -- Bandolier -- Swords: sabres -- Guns: bayoneted musket -- Musical instruments: bugle -- Emblems: pawnbroker's three balls -- Veterans -- Medical: amputees -- Crutches -- Eye patches -- Poverty.
Publisher:
Pubd. June 3d, 1793, by H. Humphrey, N. 18 Old Bond Street
Subject (Topic):
John Bull (Symbolic character), Cats, Dogs, and Fireplaces
