"Pitt, very thin and elongated, poises on one toe on a tight-rope; he holds a long balancing-pole in both hands, on one end (left) sits the Sultan, on the other (right) Catherine II. The Turk, whose end of the pole is slightly the lower, clutches it desperately, saying, "My dear Billy, do help me to make another push, & I'll give you - half of my Seraglio". The fat Empress sits with her hands on her hips; she wears a crown, in her right hand is a sceptre, in her left a paper inscribed 'New Russian Conquests'. She says "Both Billy - the Flat, & yourself may do your worst you circumcised dog! get me down if you can! - I'll match you all, & swallow Thousands more!" Pitt stands with his head raised arrogantly in profile to the right; he says, "The old Hag cannot move me, & Seraglios cannot bribe me: - I have nothing to do with these matters - my Pole will always remain level - ". On the ground beneath the rope stands a dwarfish Sheridan (right) in profile to the left, grotesquely caricatured as a clown; he wears trousers and long sleeves which cover his hands and hang down. He says: "O! the Devil! the Devil! The Cow leaps over the Moon! And if I could once get up on the Rope, Lord! I'd fill my Pockets soon: - I mean, I would soon bring her down: fol der lol, fol der ol"."--British Museum online catalogue, description of an earlier state
Alternative Title:
Posterity of the immortal Chatham turned posture master
Description:
Title etched below image., Printmaker from description of earlier state in the British Museum catalogue., Reissue, with added plate numbering. Cf. No. 7846 in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 6., Date of printing based on that of Bohn's Suppressed plates., Plate probably from: Bohn, ii, 8, Suppressed plates., Text following title: Vide Sherridans speech., Sheet trimmed to plate mark, and the number "8" has likely been erased from sheet., and Temporary local subject terms: Circus performances: walking on rope -- Allusion to Russian conquests -- Clowns -- Allusion to Sheridan's speech in the House of Commons, 15 April, 1791 -- Allusion to William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, 1708-1778.
Publisher:
Publishd. April 21st, 1791, by H. Humphrey, N. 18 Old Bond St.
Subject (Name):
Catherine II, Empress of Russia, 1729-1796, Selim III, Sultan of the Turks, 1761-1808, Pitt, William, 1759-1806, and Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 1751-1816
Title from item., Printmaker from British Museum catalogue., and Temporary local subject terms: Personifications: young woman as the Genius of France -- Asses -- Scourges -- Caps: Phrygian cap.
Publisher:
Pub. Decbr. 21, 1792, by S.W. Fores, No. 3 Piccadilly
Subject (Name):
Louis XVI, King of France, 1754-1793, Frederick William II, King of Prussia, 1744-1797, Francis I, Emperor of Austria, 1768-1835, Catherine II, Empress of Russia, 1729-1796, Gustaf III, King of Sweden, 1746-1792, and Brunswick-Lüneburg, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of, 1735-1806
"The Empress Catherine, at the point of death, leans back supporting herself on a chest or seat against the wall (right) of her closet. She shrinks terrified from solid clouds rolling towards her, which support many spectres. Death, a skeleton, stands behind and above her, his spear about to strike her through the brain. In the upper left corner the sack of 'Warsaw' is in progress, soldiers are killing women and children, others hurling bodies from a battlement. Near these groups of tiny figures 'Kosciusko' sits heavily shackled, a pitcher beside him. Next him stands Stanislaus II of 'Poland', wearing his (lost) crown, his wrists chained. Nearest the Empress stands Peter in a shroud and wearing a crown, holding out clasped hands towards her. A woman's arm points at him with a rod. The other figures are persons in death-agonies: a young man is suspended by the bound wrists from a gibbet. A naked man holds up a rope which is round his neck; a decapitated man holds out his head; a hand holds a sword which has transfixed the naked body of a woman; a naked child holds up a goblet. Other heads emerge from the clouds. The Empress clutches at her petticoat, revealing two cloven hoofs. Behind her head is a bust portrait of Fox, looking with horror at the ghosts among the clouds. The end of the chest on which she sits is removed, showing within it two grinning demons among flames, holding up an open box inscribed 'for Kates Spirit.'"--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
Tale for future times
Description:
Title from item., Sheet trimmed within plate mark at top and bottom., Temporary local subject terms: Allusion to regicide -- Devil: cloven hoofs -- Reference to the partitions of Poland (1772-1795) -- Reference to the massacre of Praga, 1794., and Watermark: 1794.
Publisher:
Pubd. by S.W. Fores, N. 50 Piccadilly
Subject (Name):
Catherine II, Empress of Russia, 1729-1796, Peter III, Emperor of Russia, 1728-1762, Stanisław II August, King of Poland, 1732-1798, Kościuszko, Tadeusz, 1746-1817, and Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806
Subject (Topic):
Death, Demons, Executions, Ghosts, Hell, and Skeletons
"Catherine II places in its niche the bust of Fox which is being hauled into position by a rope over a pulley held by a Russian bear, who crouches (right) beside the steps on which the Empress stands. She is in back view, very stout, wearing ermine-trimmed robes with a laurel wreath in place of the usual crown. On each side of the bust is a larger alcove for whole length statues of 'ΔΕΜΟΣΘΕΝΗΣ' and 'M.T. CICERO'. These statues are stepping down from their niches, looking apprehensively at Fox. Their eyes have the blankness of sculpture, but their faces express indignant alarm. Cicero holds a scroll: 'In Cata[linam]'. Fox's head is that of life rather than of sculpture. Above it is an oval picture or bas-relief inscribed 'Regulus'; a number of men are imprisoning a victim in a large cask lined with spikes. Demosthenes (left) steps down from his niche on to one of two large packing-cases inscribed 'Houghton Collection For The Emp[ress of] Russia' and 'Hough . . .' (Catherine having bought pictures from the collection of Sir Robert Walpole). Beside them stands a bust of Paul Jones, wearing a cocked hat and looking up at Fox with a sinister glare. Cicero steps down on to the arm of the Imperial throne, which is formed by the neck of a vulture; the legs of the throne are those of a bird of prey. On its seat lies a scroll inscribed: 'Memorial Ambassador extraordinary Sheweth That your Memorialists are attached to your Majesty and have opposed the Armament, divided against the Minister [ ? leaving him in a] small Majority, rai[led] against the Balance [of] Power, chalked up [on] the Walls in capital [letters] No Russian War.' (The right edge of the document is cut off by the margin of the design, leaving some of the words to be supplied by the reader.) Under the chair lies a dog. The vulture's claw which forms a leg of the throne is planted on a large map across the word 'Oczak[ow]'; 'The Bog', 'The Neister', and 'Black Sea' are also shown. The Russian bear is crouching on this map."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Signed with the monogram of James Sayers., Temporary local subject terms: Symbols: Russian bear -- Birds -- Furnishings: Throne with vulture's heads and legs -- Statues -- Busts -- Maps: Russia's expansions westward -- Pictures amplifying subject: Regulus tortured by Carthaginians -- Art collections: allusion to Catherine II's purchase of Sir Robert Walpole's collection., and Mounted on page 73.
Publisher:
Published 15th March 1792 by Thos. Cornell, Bruton Street
Subject (Name):
Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806, Catherine II, Empress of Russia, 1729-1796, Jones, John Paul, 1747-1792, Cicero, Marcus Tullius., Regulus, Marcus Atilius, -250 B.C.?, and Demosthenes.
Subject (Topic):
Bears, Vultures, Thrones, Sculpture, Pulleys, and Maps
"Catherine II places in its niche the bust of Fox which is being hauled into position by a rope over a pulley held by a Russian bear, who crouches (right) beside the steps on which the Empress stands. She is in back view, very stout, wearing ermine-trimmed robes with a laurel wreath in place of the usual crown. On each side of the bust is a larger alcove for whole length statues of 'ΔΕΜΟΣΘΕΝΗΣ' and 'M.T. CICERO'. These statues are stepping down from their niches, looking apprehensively at Fox. Their eyes have the blankness of sculpture, but their faces express indignant alarm. Cicero holds a scroll: 'In Cata[linam]'. Fox's head is that of life rather than of sculpture. Above it is an oval picture or bas-relief inscribed 'Regulus'; a number of men are imprisoning a victim in a large cask lined with spikes. Demosthenes (left) steps down from his niche on to one of two large packing-cases inscribed 'Houghton Collection For The Emp[ress of] Russia' and 'Hough . . .' (Catherine having bought pictures from the collection of Sir Robert Walpole). Beside them stands a bust of Paul Jones, wearing a cocked hat and looking up at Fox with a sinister glare. Cicero steps down on to the arm of the Imperial throne, which is formed by the neck of a vulture; the legs of the throne are those of a bird of prey. On its seat lies a scroll inscribed: 'Memorial Ambassador extraordinary Sheweth That your Memorialists are attached to your Majesty and have opposed the Armament, divided against the Minister [ ? leaving him in a] small Majority, rai[led] against the Balance [of] Power, chalked up [on] the Walls in capital [letters] No Russian War.' (The right edge of the document is cut off by the margin of the design, leaving some of the words to be supplied by the reader.) Under the chair lies a dog. The vulture's claw which forms a leg of the throne is planted on a large map across the word 'Oczak[ow]'; 'The Bog', 'The Neister', and 'Black Sea' are also shown. The Russian bear is crouching on this map."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Signed with the monogram of James Sayers., Temporary local subject terms: Symbols: Russian bear -- Birds -- Furnishings: Throne with vulture's heads and legs -- Statues -- Busts -- Maps: Russia's expansions westward -- Pictures amplifying subject: Regulus tortured by Carthaginians -- Art collections: allusion to Catherine II's purchase of Sir Robert Walpole's collection., 1 print : etching and aquatint on wove paper ; plate mark 38.9 x 27.7 cm, on sheet 40.2 x 28.8 cm., and Mounted on leaf 53 of James Sayers's Folio album of 144 caricatures.
Publisher:
Published 15th March 1792 by Thos. Cornell, Bruton Street
Subject (Name):
Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806, Catherine II, Empress of Russia, 1729-1796, Jones, John Paul, 1747-1792, Cicero, Marcus Tullius., Regulus, Marcus Atilius, -250 B.C.?, and Demosthenes.
Subject (Topic):
Bears, Vultures, Thrones, Sculpture, Pulleys, and Maps
"Catherine II places in its niche the bust of Fox which is being hauled into position by a rope over a pulley held by a Russian bear, who crouches (right) beside the steps on which the Empress stands. She is in back view, very stout, wearing ermine-trimmed robes with a laurel wreath in place of the usual crown. On each side of the bust is a larger alcove for whole length statues of 'ΔΕΜΟΣΘΕΝΗΣ' and 'M.T. CICERO'. These statues are stepping down from their niches, looking apprehensively at Fox. Their eyes have the blankness of sculpture, but their faces express indignant alarm. Cicero holds a scroll: 'In Cata[linam]'. Fox's head is that of life rather than of sculpture. Above it is an oval picture or bas-relief inscribed 'Regulus'; a number of men are imprisoning a victim in a large cask lined with spikes. Demosthenes (left) steps down from his niche on to one of two large packing-cases inscribed 'Houghton Collection For The Emp[ress of] Russia' and 'Hough . . .' (Catherine having bought pictures from the collection of Sir Robert Walpole). Beside them stands a bust of Paul Jones, wearing a cocked hat and looking up at Fox with a sinister glare. Cicero steps down on to the arm of the Imperial throne, which is formed by the neck of a vulture; the legs of the throne are those of a bird of prey. On its seat lies a scroll inscribed: 'Memorial Ambassador extraordinary Sheweth That your Memorialists are attached to your Majesty and have opposed the Armament, divided against the Minister [ ? leaving him in a] small Majority, rai[led] against the Balance [of] Power, chalked up [on] the Walls in capital [letters] No Russian War.' (The right edge of the document is cut off by the margin of the design, leaving some of the words to be supplied by the reader.) Under the chair lies a dog. The vulture's claw which forms a leg of the throne is planted on a large map across the word 'Oczak[ow]'; 'The Bog', 'The Neister', and 'Black Sea' are also shown. The Russian bear is crouching on this map."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Signed with the monogram of James Sayers., Temporary local subject terms: Symbols: Russian bear -- Birds -- Furnishings: Throne with vulture's heads and legs -- Statues -- Busts -- Maps: Russia's expansions westward -- Pictures amplifying subject: Regulus tortured by Carthaginians -- Art collections: allusion to Catherine II's purchase of Sir Robert Walpole's collection., and Mounted.
Publisher:
Published 15th March 1792 by Thos. Cornell, Bruton Street
Subject (Name):
Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806, Catherine II, Empress of Russia, 1729-1796, Jones, John Paul, 1747-1792, Cicero, Marcus Tullius., Regulus, Marcus Atilius, -250 B.C.?, and Demosthenes.
Subject (Topic):
Bears, Vultures, Thrones, Sculpture, Pulleys, and Maps
Title etched below image., Printmaker from description in the British Museum catalogue of a later state., Early state with variant title, with the central figure bearing the Duke of Brunswick's head instead of that of William of Orange, and with the sabre lacking an inscription. Cf. No. 7181 in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 6., and Sheet trimmed within plate mark and mutilated in lower left corner, with partial loss of imprint; remainder of imprint mostly erased from sheet. Imprint from the impression at the Beinecke Library.
Publisher:
Pubd. Novr. 1st, 1787, by S.W. Fores, No. 3 Piccadilly
Subject (Name):
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820, Carl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, 1735-1806, Louis XVI, King of France, 1754-1793, Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786, Abdülhamid I, Sultan of the Turks, 1725-1789, Catherine II, Empress of Russia, 1729-1796, and Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, 1741-1790
Walker, James, approximately 1748-approximately 1822, printmaker, publisher
Published / Created:
[1 January 1792]
Call Number:
792.01.01.01++
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Abstract:
"The Holy Family resting during the Flight into Egypt; St Joseph standing beside the donkey, drawing his cloak around him, the Virgin laying the infant Jesus on a rock, holding the edge of His garment in right hand, gesturing with the other, two cherubs standing together and watching to left."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
Arise, and take the young child, and his mother, and flee into Egypt
Description:
Titles engraved below image, in Russian and English., Bible citation "St. Math. Chap. 2, Vir. 13" follows title in English; translation of the same follows title in Russian., Dedications to Catherine II engraved beneath each title, in Russian and English. Dedication in English: Dedicated to her Imperial Majesty Catherine the Second, Empress and Autocratrix of all the Russias, by her most devoted and very humble servant, James Walker., From a series of prints published by Walker in 1792: A collection of prints, from the most celebrated pictures in the gallery of her Imperial Majesty Catherine the Second., "From the original picture in the Imp. Gallery.", and In Russian and English.
Publisher:
Publish'd Jany. 1, 1792, as the act directs by Jas. Walker and W. Hodges, Queen Street, May Fair and R. Blamire, Strand, London
Subject (Name):
Catherine II, Empress of Russia, 1729-1796 and Jesus Christ
Subject (Topic):
Art collections, Family, Biblical events, Donkeys, and Putti
