"Design in an oval. A burlesque coat of arms symbolizing the supposed character of the Unitarians represented by Priestley. After the title is engraved: 'Address'd to those Peaceable Subjects of this Kingdom who prefer the Present happy Constitution to that Anarchy & Bloodshed so Zealously sought for by these restless advocates for Priestly & Paine's Sophistical Tenets.' A printed explanation is attached to the print. The shield rests on a vulture which grasps in its beak and claws the motto: 'Under these Garbs do we act.' On a shaded (sable) ground a harpy suckles young harpies and holds up the cap of Liberty with a pendent banner on which is a crown surrounded by drops of blood. On a border round the shield are ten groups of ten intertwined serpents. The crest is the Devil and a number of fiends attacking a glory of rays surrounding a triangle, symbolizing the Trinity. The supporters are (dexter) Religion, a veiled woman holding a book and cross, her foot on a skull, and (sinister) Hypocrisy, a woman with the feet of a bird of prey, reading a book, and holding (concealed) a dagger with a notched blade; a trumpet is slung to her waist; a small wallet containing 'a bandelure' (see BMSat 7829) hangs from her neck in place of a cross. She tramples on a crown. She wears a ragged drapery, intended to suggest humility, over a rich garment. 14 July 1792."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Five lines of prose below title: Addressd to those peacable subjects of this Kingdom who prefer the present happy constitution to that anarchy & bloodshed so zealously sought for by these restless advocates for Priestly & Paine's sophistical tenets., and Watermark: J Whatman.
Publisher:
Pub. July 14, 1792, by S.W. Fores, N. 3 Piccadilly
Subject (Name):
Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809. and Priestley, Joseph, 1733-1804.
Subject (Topic):
Harpies (Greek mythology), Dissenters, Religion, Unitarians, Coats of arms, Devil, Demons, Emblems, Liberty cap, Symbols, and Vultures
