Boston Public LibraryJames Gillray (1756-1815). Prints and Drawings / English Caricature and Political Satire, 18th and 19th Centuries / British Artists
Le diable-boiteux - or - the Devil upon two sticks conveying John Bull to the land of promise
Item Information
- Title:
- Le diable-boiteux - or - the Devil upon two sticks conveying John Bull to the land of promise
- Title (alt.):
-
Le diable-boiteux. Or, the devil upon two sticks, conveying John Bull to the land of promise
- Description:
-
Fox, as the Devil, has sprung into the air, supported by small feathered wings and by two stout crutches, which rest upon dark clouds. He has a heavy hairy body with cloven hoofs, and wears a bonnet rouge with tricolour cockade and the triple plume of the Prince of Wales. The two crutches have the heads, respectively, of Sidmouth (left) and Grenville. He wears a long narrow cloak with a tricolour collar. The end of this is clutched by John Bull, a fat 'cit' (resembling John Gilpin), who is drawn up into the air, losing hat and wig. Fox speaks, looking over his right shoulder with a sinister grin. The terrified John answers. Below John's feet and at the base of the design (left), are the roofs of London, including the top of the gateway of St. James's Palace and the dome of St. Paul's. Fox is flying towards the façade of Carlton House, which emerges from clouds. Over its roof rises a sun emitting rays. Above the colonnade is an inscription. Resting on the clouds below Carlton House are three tiny scenes: two gamblers throwing dice, one Sheridan the other the Prince, and men watch them; the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert, indicated by feathers in her hair, embrace on a sofa; men carouse at a round table and one sprawls on the floor. Fox, as the Devil under the cloak of patriotism, is carried to power by two props, Sidmouth and Grenville, on whose coalition with the Foxites the new Ministry is based. This relies not on St. James's but on Carlton House, the secrets of which, as in Le Sage's story, are revealed in three scenes satirizing the life of the Prince. The allegation that the new Ministry was subservient to Carlton House was natural and recurs, but proved unfounded (BM).
- Artist:
- Gillray, James, 1756-1815
- Date:
-
February 8, 1806
- Format:
-
Prints
- Genre:
-
Etchings
Caricatures
Satires (Visual works)
- Location:
-
Boston Public Library
Arts Department - Collection (local):
-
James Gillray (1756-1815). Prints and Drawings
- Subjects:
-
Nobility
Politicians
Authors
Government officials
Devil
Flying
John Bull (Symbolic character)
Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 1751-1816
Fitzherbert, Maria Anne, 1756-1837
Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville, Baron, 1759-1834
Sidmouth, Henry Addington, Viscount, 1757-1844
- Places:
-
England > London
- Extent:
- 1 print : hand-colored etching ; sheet 32 x 23 cm
- Permalink:
- https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/2z111m03z
- Terms of Use:
-
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
- Publisher:
-
London :
Published by John Miller, Bridge Street & W. Blackwood, Edinburgh
- Language:
-
English
French
- Notes:
-
Title from item.
Alternative title from Wright/Evans.
BM Satires 10525; Wright/Evans 307
Additional information accompanying item: From the 1824 Gillray collection of copies, etched and published by John Miller and W. Blackwood. See also Rowlandson, Vol. III, No. 110.
- Notes (acquisition):
-
Gift; Louis Black; December 1953
- Notes (date):
-
Date from Wright/Evans.
Reproduction. Date indicated is Gillray's original publication date.
- Notes (citation):
-
Stephens, Frederic George, George, Mary Dorothy. "Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum." British Museum Press, 1870, London.
Wright, Thomas, R. H. Evans. "Historical and descriptive account of the caricatures of James Gillray." Benjamin Blom, 1968, New York.
- Identifier:
-
18_17_000063
- Barcode:
-
36666004443376
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