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
