"Nicholas I, in uniform with plumed cocked hat, rides (right to left) a gigantic Russian eagle, his sword raised to slash. The eagle holds in one of its beaks a round wicker coop which it drops over a turkey crouching on a grassy slope (left). From each predatory beak a cloud issues, inscribed WAR in large elaborate letters. The heraldic bird is very much alive, one claw clutching a sceptre, the other an orb. The Tsar stands in his stirrups; his saddle is superimposed on the shield on the bird's breast on which is a mounted knight in armour with visor down and sword raised. To the shield are appended eagles and other emblems. Far below (right) is a snow-covered plain where tiny Cossacks gallop with levelled spears, chasing Turks, The sky is filled with flame and smoke from blazing buildings. On the left from among the smoke emerges the dark silhouette of a profile bust of Napoleon; he says: Europe look well to this beware of the Kelmuc [sic]."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title from caption below image., Print signed using William Heath's device: A man with an umbrella., Approximate date of publication from British Museum catalogue., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and Numbered in ms. at top of sheet: 219.
Publisher:
Pub. by T. McLean 26 Haymarket
Subject (Name):
Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1796-1855 and Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821
Subject (Topic):
Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829, Cages, Ceremonial objects, Daggers & swords, Eagles, Poultry houses, Scepters, and Turkeys
"A bear (right), wearing Cossack trousers and an imperial crown surmounted by a double-headed eagle, runs off to the right. He carries a piece of mountainous country inscribed Greece on which kneels a tiny Greek in profile to the left, exclaiming Save me from my Friends. The bear (the Tsar) tramples on the neck of a turkey, with the bearded, turbaned, and terrified head of the Sultan, which lies on its back. The bear looks fiercely over his shoulder towards an angry English sailor who sits in an open boat with a cannon mounted in the bows. The sailor wears a top-hat with a ribbon inscribed Navar[ino, see BM Satires No. 15507, &c]; he has dropped an oar to lean back, extending his clenched fist towards the bear, and shouting: Halloo--master-drop that, or d--me I'll run along side of you, in no time. Cannon-balls are piled in the stern; above them flies a Union flag topped by oak leaves. On the farther side of the water (left) stands Charles X, a capering French fop in the dress of the ancien régime, with a cane under his arm. He says: By gar he is take away all de Greece. The scene is watched from a distance by the Emperor of Austria, who draws his sword, saying, I should like a bit of that."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
Imperial bears grease or a peep into futurity
Description:
Title from caption below image; the letters "a" and "s" in the word "grease" are crossed out and the letters "e" and "c" etched above to form the word "Greece.", Publication date from British Museum catalogue., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and Numbered in ms. at top of sheet: 223.
Publisher:
Pub. by T. McLean 26 Haymarket
Subject (Name):
Charles X, King of France, 1757-1836
Subject (Topic):
Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829, Bears, Crowns, Sailors, British, National emblems, Russian, and Turkeys
