"Whitbread, his body, limbs, and head covered by tubs of varying shapes and sizes, raises a drayman's pole, to which is attached a hooked chain to smite the drooping head of a thistle with the features of Melville, his profile facing the ground; the flower forms a spiky coronet. The stem is inscribed 'Me quisque impune lacerrit' (replacing the 'nemo me impune ...' of the motto of the Order of the Thistle). Whitbread's heavy pole is 'Tenth Report'. The tub on his body is 'Wormwood', those on his legs are 'Quashee' [Quassia] and 'Aloes' (allegations of adulteration against his beer, cf. British Museum Satires No. 10574). He tramples on torn papers: 'Trial by Peers' and 'Magna Charta'. Another torn paper is 'Criminal Prosecution by the Atty General'. A large intact paper is: 'New Law Inquisition Committees Torture Question Thumb Screw Peine forte [et dure]'. On the right is a ruinous ale-house, before the door of which Fox sits astride on a large cask. He holds a big frothing tankard and watches Whitbread with cynical satisfaction. The head of the cask is inscribed 'Old Hollan[ds] For Ullage Cas[k] defict . . . Millions.' (An allusion to his father, Lord Holland, as the 'public defaulter of unaccounted millions', a gibe recurring over a long period, referring to the City Petition of 1769, cf. British Museum Satires No. 9739, &c.) Beside him a man in Highland dress, resembling Lauderdale, leans against the building, watching the outrage with frank pleasure. From a broken first-floor window leans Wilberforce, a sour sectary in a steeple-crowned hat inscribed 'Puritanism'. His hands are clasped; he says: "I say. Amen to all Cantwell." Above his head is a placard: 'Hymns & Spiritual Songs on the Slave Trade by St Wilber.' From his window projects a sign-board with a bust profile portrait of St. Vincent, hunch-backed and wearing a ribbon, inscribed 'System of Terror' and 'Hoc Signo non Vincent.' [Parodying the often-quoted in 'hoc signo vinces', the inscription on a vision of a fiery cross, to which legend attributed the conversion of Constantine. The 'non' is added inconspicuously with a caret.] On the building is a torn placard: 'performed The Tragedy Timon of [Athens] Lord Timon Mr Melville Lucullus a false friend & Kinsman Mr Kinhard [Kinnaird] little more than Kin and less than kind Scotch Reel &c.' Facing the ale-house, and on the extreme left, is the corner of the poop of a ship, the Romney. From this projects a hand aiming a blunderbuss inscribed 'Pophams Defence' at the sign-board; a blast of flame and smoke issues from it. On the ship is a board inscribed 'Wanted Supply of naval Stores Inquire within'. Below her is a faint wraith-like ship, 'Melville Castle', whose poop and (unrigged) masts are behind the drooping thistle."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Signed with the monogram of James Sayers., Six line of verse below title: Sansterre [sic] forsook his malt and grains, to mash and batter nobles brains, by lev'lling rancour led; Our brewer quits brown stout and washey, his malt his mash tub and his quashee, to mash a thistle's head., and Mounted to 48 x 34 cm.
Publisher:
Published by H. Humphrey, St. James's St.
Subject (Name):
Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806, Whitbread, Samuel, 1764-1815, Melville, Henry Dundas, Viscount, 1742-1811, Wilberforce, William, 1759-1833, and Popham, Home Riggs, 1762-1820
Subject (Topic):
Barrels, Thistles, Taverns (Inns), Signs (Notices), and Ships
"Satire on the proposed introduction of a tax on beer showing members of the public in front of a large brewery: a brewer promises not to raise his prices thus pleasing a coachman, a soldier laments his daily pay of only 5d., a porter with a knot on his shoulder complains, a hackney coachman says he will drink good porter, two gentleman feel that the cost would be borne by the poor and so is likely to be altered, two old women think that the price of gin should be lowered if that of beer is to be raised; on a hill in the background three asses with human heads represent brewers, including Sir William Calvert, are only interested in their own promotion; a drayman hauls a barrel on a sled."--British Museum online catalogue, description of an earlier state
Alternative Title:
Brewers charity to the public
Description:
Title etched above image., Later state, by a different publisher and without date, of no. 3805 in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 4., Date of publication based on that of earlier state., Imprint from 1st state partially burnished from plate., Sheet partially trimmed within plate mark., Temporary local subject terms: Breweries., and Watermark and countermark: royal cipher.
Publisher:
Publish'd according to act of Parliament, by C. Dicey & Co. in Aldermary Church Yard, London
In the foreground, Sam House and the Duchess of Devonshire sit on stools facing each other, a large barrel between them. They raise foaming tankards inscribed, respectively, "Sam House" and "Devonshire." Sam holds a piece of paper signed, "sure votes;" the Duchess has a "Fox" favor pinned to her bodice. In the background, under the portico of St. Paul's, are the hustings filled with the election crowd
Alternative Title:
Election tête-à-tête
Description:
Title from item. and Mounted to 29 x 45 cm.
Publisher:
Publish'd as the act directs April 1st, 1784 by H. Humphries [sic], No. 51 New Bond Street
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain, England, and Westminster
Subject (Name):
Cavendish, Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire, 1757-1806. and House, Samuel, -1785.
Subject (Topic):
Politics and government, Political elections, Voting, Barrels, Drinking vessels, and Clothing & dress
"Two men and a boy are on the deck of a small sailing-vessel, part of a sail appearing above their heads (left). The men wear round hats and short trousers; one (left) sits on a barrel smoking a long pipe, a tankard beside him; the other stands with a cane under his arm, his right hand on his hips. The boy (right), who is perhaps black and wears long trousers, sits on a coil of rope holding a punch-bowl."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Attributed to Rowlandson by Grego., 1 print : aquatint and etching on laid paper, hand-colored ; sheet 31.1 x 27.4 cm., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and Mounted on leaf 49 of volume 2 of 14 volumes.
Publisher:
Published Octobr. 1st, 1786, by S.W. Fores at the Caricature Warehouse, No. 3 Piccaddilly [sic]
Subject (Topic):
Decks (Ships), Sailors, Military uniforms, Barrels, Pipes (Smoking), Staffs (Sticks), and Ropes
"Two men and a boy are on the deck of a small sailing-vessel, part of a sail appearing above their heads (left). The men wear round hats and short trousers; one (left) sits on a barrel smoking a long pipe, a tankard beside him; the other stands with a cane under his arm, his right hand on his hips. The boy (right), who is perhaps black and wears long trousers, sits on a coil of rope holding a punch-bowl."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image. and Attributed to Rowlandson by Grego.
Publisher:
Published Octobr. 1st, 1786, by S.W. Fores at the Caricature Warehouse, No. 3 Piccaddilly [sic]
Subject (Topic):
Decks (Ships), Sailors, Military uniforms, Barrels, Pipes (Smoking), Staffs (Sticks), and Ropes
"A London scene: in the foreground men and women flee diagonally from right to left towards the spectator away from a bullock (right) in the middle distance, pursued by men with sticks. The fugitives include a little chimney-sweeper on the extreme left, a stout citizen wearing a high hat, an old military officer on crutches, a woman who has fallen to the ground, a Billingsgate woman with a basket of fish on her head, the contents about to fall, a would-be beau crouching behind a barrel and taking snuff. The bullock has tossed a dog into the air. The background of houses with an open space enclosed by railings suggests Smithfield Market."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title from item., After Dighton. See British Museum catalogue., Temporary local subject terms: Beaux -- Chelsea pensioners' uniform., and Watermark.
Publisher:
Printed for & sold by Carington Bowles, No. 69 St. Paul's Church Yard, published as the act directs
Subject (Geographic):
England and London.
Subject (Name):
Smithfield Markey,
Subject (Topic):
Animal fighting, Barrels, Bulls, City & town life, Crowds, Fishmongers, Food vendors, Markets, Military uniforms, and British
"A bare interior with a man sitting smoking at a table with a tankard at his elbow, his wife sitting listlessly with bowed head beside him, a little girl pawing at her skirts, a baby turning on a straw bed, its clothes in disarray, and a little boy gnawing on a bone in front of the table, next to a barrel, a dog jumping up at him, with tattered clothes forming curtains around a bed behind them; after Morland."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title from text below image., After a painting in the National Gallery of Scotland, accession no.: NG 1836., Sheet trimmed to plate mark leaving thread margins., and Companion print to: The comforts of industry.
Publisher:
Publish'd Jany. 20, 1790, by J.R. Smith, No. 31 King Street, Covent Garden
A gentleman sits on a barrel in a farm yard playing his trumpet. The pigs, chickens, geese, a cat and dog and the run away in terror; a cow looks on the scene with a worried expression; chickens on the roof line of an outbuilding look as if they are about to take flight like the doves leaving the dovecote that is tumbling down in the background. The farmer in a smock and his family and dog also run away in the distance
Alternative Title:
Affected musician
Description:
Title engraved above image., From the Laurie & Whittle series of Drolls., Other prints in the Laurie & Whittle Drolls series were executed by either Isaac Cruikshank or Richard Newton., Six lines of verse in two columns below title: The ancient Orpheus play'd such rigs, in music, he could charm the pigs ..., Plate numbered '252' in lower left corner., Not in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires., and Temporary local subject terms: Buildings: farm cottage
Publisher:
Published 1st Decr. 1800 by Laurie & Whittle, 53 Fleet Street, London
Subject (Topic):
Barrels, Birdhouses, Dwellings, Donkeys, Musical instruments, Poultry, Swine, and Trumpets
Toms, W. H. (William Henry), approximately 1700-1765, printmaker
Published / Created:
[29 June 1741]
Call Number:
741.06.29.01+
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Abstract:
"Portrait of Thomas Topham, taken on 28 May 1741; full length, standing slightly to right on high scaffold, preparing to lift three hogsheads full of water in Bath Street, London, in honour of Admiral Vernon's attack to capture Cartagena; after a drawing by Leigh."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
Representation of Thomas Topham the strongman ...
Description:
Title etched below image., Printmaker from the Catalogue of engraved British portraits., "Price six-pence"--Following imprint., and Watermark: Countermark "IV".
Publisher:
Publish'd according to act of Parliament, June 29, 1741, and sold by W.H. Toms, engraver, in Union Court, Holbourn
Subject (Name):
Topham, Thomas, approximately 1710-1749, and Vernon, Edward, 1684-1757.
"The Treasury tub" on a stand in the middle of the image, is fitted with a siphon signed "Premier," from which other pipes extend toward Charles Fox, with a fox's head, on the left, and Lord North on the right. Fox, with a sealed cask by his side and holding a jug, complains that the tub appears to be empty from frequent use by the two of them and their friends. North, pouring from a jug into the cask by his side, expresses his contentment with its fullness. The "National tub" under the stand remains empty and "Fox and North, as two cellarmen, are filling casks from "The Treasury Tub" which lies on a wooden stand in the centre of the design. A siphon inscribed "Premier" is inserted in the top of the cask, from which branch a number of curving pipes, or cocks; through these the cellarmen divert its contents to receptacles for their own use. The "National Tub" which stands under the tap of The "Treasury Tub" (or cask) is empty. Fox sits on the left in profile to the right, with a fox's head, curled wig, and long bushy queue, holding a jug on his knee and leaning forward; he says, "The cask sounds empty & well it might be my Lord for we & our Friends have long been drawing from it". The cocks which extend towards him from the siphon are inscribed, "C Fox's Cock, Cock Royal", and "This Cock for Private Services". A cask at his side, in allusion to his gambling habits, is inscribed, "For C. Fox to be left at the Rattle Box Hazard Row till called for". North (right), very stout, in profile to the left, leans backwards pouring liquor from a jug through a funnel into the mouth of his cask, which is inscribed, "For Mr Deputy Secretary to be left at the Vicar of Bray'[s] Head - Bushy Park", indicating that he is a turn-coat and a mere deputy to Fox. The pipes which extend towards him from the siphon are described "Lord No . . .h's Cock; Election Bribe & Pension Cock" and "Admiralty". His lips are pouted towards his own cock and he is saying (in the metre of the Vicar of Bray): "A Plenum in my Cask I shew, with Plus & Plus behind Sir; and now that Cask runs minus low A Vacuum some will find Sir.""--British Museum catalogue
Alternative Title:
Tale of a tub
Description:
Title from item., Thos. Snoozel is perhaps Thomas Cornell. See British Museum catalogue., Sheet trimmed to plate mark.., and Mounted to 30 x 35 cm.
Publisher:
Pub May 24 1783 by Thos. Snoozel, at the Cock & Bottle Maiden Head Thicket
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806 and North, Frederick, Lord, 1732-1792