Sir Matthew Wood, naked except for the skin of the Nemean Lion, wields a club at the Hydra, which has four heads, saying "Down, down to Hell! / and say I sent thee thither". The nearest head (probably King George IV) says, "Thou shalt not / commit Adultery." The second (probably Bartolomeo Bergami) says, "Non mi ricordo!" The third head, wearing a judge's wig and collar, has no speech bubble, but printed beside beside its profile is "Bill of Pains &c." The fourth head is unidentified, and silent, as is a shadowy fifth at the bottom right. Another unidentified head rests at the center bottom of the image; Wood is either standing on or just behind it.
Alternative Title:
Alderman Wood in the character of Hercules : encountering the Hydra!
Description:
Title from text below image., Not in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum., Mounted to 58 x 39 cm., Mounted on leaf 14 in volume 2 of the W.E. Gladstone collection of caricatures and broadsides surrounding the "Queen Caroline Affair.", and Letters "oo" added in ink to the blank spaces in title to spell out the censored name "Wood." Figure of "George IV" identified in pencil below image. The note "Suppressed" and the date "Nov. 1820" are written in ink in lower right.
Publisher:
Published by Benbow, 269 Strand
Subject (Name):
Wood, Matthew, Sir, 1768-1843, George IV, King of Great Britain, 1762-1830, Bergami, Bartolomeo Bergami, Baron, Caroline, Queen, consort of George IV, King of Great Britain, 1768-1821, and Hercules (Roman mythological character)
Subject (Topic):
Hydra (Greek mythology), Clubs (Weapons), and Adultery
An obese man and a tall lean woman, symbolical figures of 'dropsy' and 'consumption', flirting outside a mausoleum; another couple promenade before a statue of Hercules in the background and "A grotesquely obese man (his hat placed under his plump knees) kneels at the feet of an ugly and bedizened woman, fantastically lean and tall. She holds up a fan, and looks down alluringly at her lover to whom she gives her left hand. They are in the circular portico of a 'Mausoleum' (right). In the background is an avenue and a statue of Hercules, towards which a fat woman and a lean parson of the Dr. Syntax type are walking arm-in-arm. The muscular Hercules is contrasted with the four other types of physique represented."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., "Price one shilling coloured.", and Temporary local Medical Library subject terms: Dropsy -- Consumption.
Publisher:
Pubd. October 25th, 1810, by Thos. Tegg, No 111 Cheapside
Title from text above image., Publication place and publisher inferred from that of the magazine for which this plate was engraved., Frontispiece from: The universal magazine of knowledge and pleasure. London : M. Brown, v. 27 (1760)., Four lines of verse below image: Say, wretched rivals! what provokes your rage ..., and Temporary local subject terms: Personifications: figure of Justice -- Personifications: figure of Fame -- Personifications: figure of Virtue -- Personifications: figure of Heroic Virtue -- Vices -- Mythology -- Thrones: throne of Virtue -- Literature: quotation from Alexander Pope, 1688-1744.
"Satire on John Heidegger and the taste for the masquerades which he promoted. A London street scene in the foreground of which Heidegger sprawls on the ground, his watch and coins falling from his pocket, as he begs mercy of Hercules. Hercules, clad in a lion skin, raises his club threateningly; with his right hand he holds a chain encircling a large group of masqueraders, some of whom have their hands tied behind their backs, their props or accessories are scattered on the ground; other masqueraders climb out of the windows of the building behind. On the left, Piety, Wisdom and Britannia emerge from a church followed by clergymen; beggars ask for alms, one holds a dog on a lead who rushes towards Heidegger. Mercury flies overhead holding a scroll lettered, "The Masquerade destroyt".
Description:
Title etched below image., Artist unidentified., Date 1727 by Paulson, R. Hogarth's graphic works, (3rd ed.), p. 48. Dated "ca. 1724" in the British Museum catalogue., According to John Nicholls in his Biographical anecdotes of William Hogarth (1785, p.134), this print inspired Hogarth's "Masquerades and Operas" (British Museum satires no. 1742), but the reverse may be the case., "Price 1 shilling"--Lower left., Sheet trimmed to plate mark., On page 26 in volume 1., and Ms. note in Steevens's hand above: An anonymous print to which Hogarth was indebted. See the following print.
Publisher:
publisher not identified
Subject (Name):
Heidegger, John James, 1659?-1748. and Hercules (Roman mythological character),
Subject (Topic):
Britannia (Symbolic character), City & town life, Clergy, Costumes, Dogs, and Masquerades
Title, artist, and date from note inscribed in black ink below image: W. Lock, March 1781. The subject fro this drawing is Hercules chasing the Napions, but the drawing was left unfinished & Hercules does not appear., W. Lock = WIlliam Lock the 2nd., 1767-1847., and For further information, consult library staff.
"Satire on the expected effect of a return of John Wilkes to parliament. Wilkes as Hercules leaps over the fallen figure of Discord to seize the arm of the Speaker, Sir John Cust, as members flee in all directions. In the front, to right, is Fletcher Norton, holding a bag of money while other coins fall from his pocket as he steps over the mace, lettered "A Mere Bauble" (quoting Oliver Cromwell). In the background, on a pedestal decorated with the mournful figure of Britannia, a bloated figure squats over "Magna Charta". It has three heads, a wolf, a snake and a sheep; one outstretched hand is in the form of a claw, the other holds a bag of money. Behind this figure, Lord Bute, emerges raising hands in shock at the sight of Wilkes/Hercules."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title from text above image., Two lines of text below image: The figure on the pedestal is the symbol of bribery, corruption & hypocrisy., Plate from: The Political register and London museum. London : Printed for J. Almon [1767-1772], v. 2 (1768), page 193., and Temporary local subject terms: Mythology -- Influence: Lord Bute's influence -- Emblems: Speaker's mace -- Bags of money -- Personifications: Bribery, Corruption and Hypocrisy -- Weapons: mace.
Depiction of the copy at the Palace of Versailles of the sculpture known as the Farnese Hercules. The figure stands on a pedestal, leaning on a club covered with lion-skin, his right hand behind his back
Description:
Title etched within pedestal at bottom of image., Place of publication based on printmaker's city of activity; date of publication based on printmaker's death date., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., Plate numbered "30" in upper right corner., Mounted on page 136 of Richard Bull's copiously extra-illustrated copy of: Walpole, H. A description of the villa of Mr. Horace Walpole. Strawberry Hill : Printed by Thomas Kirgate, 1784. See Hazen, A.T. Bibliography of the Strawberry Hill Press (1973 ed.), no. 30, copy 13., and For further information, consult library staff.
"The young Hercules wrestling with serpents."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Date of publication from the British Museum online catalogue, registration no.: 1870,0514.1300., Sheet trimmed to plate mark., Engraved after the painting, formerly owned by Sir Robert Walpole, that was subsequently acquired by Horace Walpole and kept in the Tribune at Strawberry Hill., Mounted on page 201 of Richard Bull's copiously extra-illustrated copy of: Walpole, H. A description of the villa of Mr. Horace Walpole. Strawberry Hill : Printed by Thomas Kirgate, 1784. See Hazen, A.T. Bibliography of the Strawberry Hill Press (1973 ed.), no. 30, copy 13., 1 print : etching and engraving on laid paper ; sheet 17 x 14.5 cm., Imperfect; sheet trimmed within plate mark with partial loss of artist statement., and For further information, consult library staff.
"The young Hercules wrestling with serpents."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Date of publication from the British Museum online catalogue, registration no.: 1870,0514.1300., Sheet trimmed to plate mark., Engraved after the painting, formerly owned by Sir Robert Walpole, that was subsequently acquired by Horace Walpole and kept in the Tribune at Strawberry Hill., Mounted on page 156 of Horace Walpole's extra-illustrated copy of his: A description of the villa of Mr. Horace Walpole. Strawberry Hill : Printed by Thomas Kirgate, 1784. See Hazen, A.T. Bibliography of the Strawberry Hill Press (1973 ed.), no. 30, copy 12., and Annotation in a contemporary hand (possibly that of Horace Walpole) in lower left corner: The orig. was Sr. R. Walpole's.
