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LECTURES ON ENGLISH COMIC & SATIRIC ART, 
 
 By Mr. R. W. BUSS, (Painter, Designer on Wood, and Etcher,) 
 46, Camden Street, Camden Town, London. 
 
 The Empire, Oct. 23, 1853. 
 
 Comic and Satiric Aet.— On Thursday evening, Mr. 11. W. Buss, the well-known 
 Artist, delivered at the Whittington Club, the first of a series of Lectures on English, 
 Comic, and Satiric Art. 
 
 The object of Mr. Buss in thus introducing himself to the public, is to enlighten them 
 upon a branch of art which he says has not yet been duly appreciated. He has been 
 many years occupied in collecting materials, pictorial and otherwise, for his Lectures, 
 and the information he imparts is abundantly sufficient to show that he was not only 
 well qualified for his task, but that he knew all the most available sources from whence 
 information and assistance could be procured. He traces the history and progress of 
 caricature and comic art, from the earliest periods to the present time ; and illustrates 
 in a graphic and instructive manner the principle upon which he starts as the basis of 
 his lecture, viz., that artists who have delineated human nature in its merriest aspect 
 have won for themselves a higher position than the world has been pleased to accord to 
 them. He points out the true end and aim of pictorial satire, and shows with considerable 
 humour how much of what is generally called caricature, is produced by the efforts 
 which fashion makes to distort the works of nature. This species of caricature he terms 
 " unintentional," and he explains that an artist may sometimes produce a very ludicrous 
 design, without intending it to be so. All his positions are demonstrated by pictorial 
 illustrations, conceived and executed in the true spirit of genial humour, and the gene- 
 ral effect of the lecture is that the audience are excited to merriment, whilst they arc- 
 receiving instruction in a most interesting branch of art. 
 
 Morning Herald, Oct. 28, 1853. 
 
 English Comic and Satiric Art.— Mr. Ii. W. Buss, last night gave the second of a 
 series of lectures at the Whittington Club, on English Comic and Satiric Art. The 
 Lecturer reviewed the period when caricature was first identified with the higher order of 
 Satire, with the works of Pope, Swift, and Arbuthnot. Then came political caricature, 
 the spirit for which is still retained in this free country ; for it was an established fact 
 ihat caricature. could not flourish under a despotism. 
 
 It would be impossible to enumerate the many highly interesting illustrations given. 
 As establishing the character of Hogarth, as superior to all his contemporaries the Lec- 
 turer brought forward his " Gin Lane," "Beer Street," " the Landscape in False Per- 
 spective," "the Beggars' Opera," &c. The keen wit and marvellously fine satire of 
 Hogarth, render liis compositions perfect studies, for they may be repeatedly viewed 
 before the numberless points they display, politically or morally, can be really 
 appreciated. 
 
 Tracing the progress of caricature, the lecture ended with the works of Bunbury, which 
 in humour, are perhaps not surpassed. The next lecture will commence with Gillray, 
 and George Cruikshank, and the course will close with the Artists of the present day. 
 HB.&c. The arrangement of the discourse was extremely pleasing, and Mr. Buss certainly 
 shews a perfect knowledge of the very interesting subject which he so admirably 
 illustrates. 
 
 Eastern Star, November 5, 1853. 
 
 Comic and Satiric Art at the Whittington Club. — Mr. Ii.W. Buss, well-known 
 as a humorous painter and designer, on Thursday last gave the second of a course of 
 four lectures on English Comic and Satiric Art, in the large room of the above club- 
 house. In a brief review of the progress of the fine arts from ancient times, he con- 
 tended that the merry phase of art, like that of literature, possessed especial claims to 
 the sympathies of all civilized communities ; for although not so exalted in its aim as 
 the serious and the epic, still the vivid images of weakness, folly and vice, which it re- 
 flected upon society, not merely provoked us to a merry laugh, but was found to be a 
 more efficient corrector of folly and wickedness, than Papal Bulls, Koyal Decrees, or 
 Acts of Parliament. The lecturer stated that he had devoted several years to the pre- 
 paration of his lectures, and the numerous illustrations. He clearly pointed out and 
 illustrated by his original designs the difference between comic art and caricature, both 
 of which were important auxiliaries to Satire. Many ancient and odd signs were al- 
 luded to, and their meaning explained. He was very happy in tracing the transitions 
 from ideal beauty into character, from character to caricature, and from caricature into 
 the grotesque. Fac-similes of numerous rare old MSS. were exhibited, and copies of 
 curious old wood cuts, made by permission from the originals in the possession of Mr. 
 Hawkins, and other private collectors. The political points which had provoked the 
 satirical attacks on Walpole, AVilkes, Pitt, and their contemporaries, were revived in the 
 many graphic satires selected. The drawings are all large, to be seen at a distance, and 
 are very carefully done. The lecture was delivered with great distinctness and humour. 
 It is evident that the lectures have been got up with great research and care. To say 
 that the entertainment was amusing throughout, would, though true, be not sayins 
 enougli ; for indeed it was full of points of great political and biographical interest from 
 beginning to end. 
 
2 
 
 Preston Chronicle and Lancashire Advertiser, Nov. 12, 
 
 Mr. It. W. Buss, the painter of the picture, so well known by the popular engraving of 
 it, of James Watt's first experiment on Steam, has lately been delivering a scries of four 
 lectures on "Comic and Satiric Art." Mr. Buss Is himself an etcher of humorous sub- 
 jects of no mean order, and he has taken up the history of humorous art con amore. He 
 traces the act of caricature In England from its beginning down to the present time— gives 
 one at least, sometimes as many as twenty examples, of the different artists who have 
 obtained a reputation in this department of art. Those who have not yet made the 
 subject their study will be agreeably surprised to find how largely a knowledge of its 
 main features contributes to the elucidation of the history of our own country. An abler 
 or more amusing exponent of this history than Mr. Buss, could not be easily found. 
 
 Manchester Examiner and Times, Nov. 23, 1853. 
 
 Lectures of Mr. K. W. Bum on Comic Art.— The course of four lectures, on the 
 History and Progress of "English Comic and Satiric Art," delivered by Mr. K. W. 
 Buss, at the Mechanics' Institution, began on Monday afternoon, the first lecture being 
 given at two o'clock, and repeated to a popular audience at eight o'clock in the evening. 
 It WUS pleasingly Illustrated by means of numerous magnified copies of the pictures, en- 
 gravings, or other specimens of art to which the lecturer directed attention. Mr. Buss 
 divided the early specimens generally, into the two classes of unintentional and inten- 
 tional caricature. Among the former he showed the hideous idols of savage I'acific 
 ocean islanders ; the distortions of the human body, caused by pernicious fashions ; he 
 included also the rude productions of incipient art and Illuminated MSS. done by monkish 
 scribes in the middle ages. With the commencement of the Reformation contest, began 
 the more general use of pictorial satire, as a weapon of party warfare. A great many 
 inventions, of an allegorical kind, were exhibited, equally instructive and entertaining. 
 The caricatures on Cromwell and Fairfax, on the one hand, and those directed against 
 James II, and the Pretender on the other, suggest the most interesting reflections that 
 can occur in the study of that critical epoch of our English history. Mr. Buss's second 
 lecture will Include the times of the three Georges, and our pictorial Shakspere— at least 
 the Shakspere of ordinary life — William Hogarth. 
 
 Manchester Guardian, Nov. 23, 1853. 
 
 Lectures on Comic and Satiric Art.— On Monday afternoon, and again on the 
 same evening, Mr. It. W. Buss delivered in the lecture theatre of the Mechanics' Insti- 
 tution, Cowper Street, the first of a course of four lectures on "English Comic and 
 Satiric Art." After stating the reasons which had induced him to undertake this 
 course of lectures, the principal of which was a desire to vindicate comic art from the 
 imputation of caricature, and describing the aim of satire, whether of the pen or pencil, 
 to be to restrain the vices and follies of all classes of society ; Mr. Buss explained the 
 derivation of the word caricature, and exhibited a great number of caricatures, some of 
 which had been copied from old MSS. and others had been published at various times 
 between the invention of printing and the reign of Queen Anne. They Included copies 
 of prints published in England at the time of the Reformation, the Civil Wars, the Resto- 
 ration, and the Revolution of 1088. The lecture was very favourably received. 
 
 Manchester Guardian, Nov. 30, 1853. 
 
 Lectures on Comic and Satiric Art.— On Friday evening, Mr. It. W. Buss, de- 
 livered in the lecture theatre of the Mechanics' Institution, the second of his course of 
 four lectures, on " English Comic and Satiric Art." In this lecture, Mr. Buss continued 
 his notice of caricatures, and traced them from the Revolution of 1688 to the death of 
 Hogarth. The third lecture was delivered on Monday evening, and included notices of 
 Caricatures and caricaturists from James Gillray to George Crulkshank. The cari- 
 caturists whose works were noted, wero Gillray, Captain Grose, (author of the only- 
 practical work on caricature). James Saver, Itowiandson, Woodward, Isaac Crulkshank, 
 and George Cruikshank. Both these lectures were abundantly illustrated with copies 
 of the caricatures referred to, or portions selected from them, and they were both well 
 received by numerous audiences. 
 
 The Western Courier. 
 
 DEvosroRT Mechanics' Institute. Lectures on Caricature Art. The first of 
 these was delivered to a large nudlence.last evening. In this novel subject, as treated by 
 the lecturer, we were surprised at the vast fund of humour stored up In a few private 
 collections of prints executed by our old graphic humourists. This art of caricature, is 
 one thoroughly identified with the peculiarities of John Bull, who growls at and sati- 
 rizes everybody and everything. To the student of history, these lectures are particularly 
 interesting, shedding new light upon important passages of English history ; while In an 
 artistic point of view, there is a mass of Comic and Satiric productions of the pencil, of 
 which, In fact, very few, even of those who have studied the arts, have the remotest 
 conception. The lecture was listened to with marked attention by a very large audience, 
 who frequently expressed their opinion of Its value by hearty rounds of applause. 
 
 The Sheffield Times, Jan. 28, 1853. 
 
 As on the occasion of his previous lecture at the Philosophical Institution, Mr. Buss 
 was listened to with deep attention by a discriminating and Intellectual audience, 
 who were evidently delighted with his graphic and pleasing style of description. 
 
Leeds Mercury. 
 
 Leeds Mechanics' Institute and Literary Society. — Mr. E. W. Buss, (the artist) 
 of London, gave, on Monday evening, the first of four lectures on " English Comic and 
 Satiric Art." Mr. Buss's great experience as an illustrator of popular works, enabled 
 him to present a most excellent series of copies from examples of a ludicrous character, 
 whether they derived it from involuntary absurdity or designed ridicule. The lecturer 
 gave a very lucid sketch of the various styles of art, and both defined the proper pro- 
 vince of the graphic satirist, and showed how he could do good service in the cause of 
 common sense, morals, and decorum. Amongst the specimens were two, one which 
 represented a wooden idol from the British Museum, with a most attenuated bit of tim- 
 ber in the place of the waist, and the other a lady of most exact fashion, which excited 
 in the audience a most provokingly ludicrous analogy, and which was cleverly and 
 judiciously improved by Mr. Buss. 
 
 Leeds Mercury, Jan. 4, 1854. 
 
 On Wednesday evening Mr. R. W. Buss delivered his fourth lecture on Comic and 
 Satiric Art, the intermediate lectures having been delivered on Saturday and Monday. 
 In his second lecture Mr. Buss arrayed before his audience that masterly series of satiri- 
 cal allegories, which exposed the intrigues of the days of Walpole, Chatham, and Wilkes 
 and those pictorial morals which have immortalized the name of Hogarth. The third 
 lecture did ample Justice to the racy pencil of Gillray and the drollery of Rowlandson, 
 and on Wednesday evening Mr. Buss reviewed the more refined, and, as he believed, not 
 less powerful, productions of cotemporary artists. These lectures have given an admi- 
 rable coup d'leU of the leading events which have been rendered laughable by the 
 graphic satirist during two centuries. The illustrations have been eminently effective. 
 The lecturer's style is vivacious and full of point, and his matter replete with informa- 
 tion, historical and artistic 
 
 Wakefield Journal and Examiner. 
 
 Lectures on Comic and Satiric Art. The first of a series of lectures on an entirely 
 novel subject in the arts, at least as far as our experience of art-lectures serves us, was 
 delivered last evening by Mr, R. W. Buss, at the Church Institution in this town, the 
 Vicar in the chair. Of the subject every one who reads history attentively can judge, 
 for, in fact, the art of which Mr. Buss treats is a record of important political events, 
 written down, as it were, by the etching point of the designer of satirical woiks, and 
 familiar to our great grandfathers and their fathers as popular caricatures. The numer- 
 ous preliminary observations, and the comical illustrative drawings with which the 
 lecturer prefaces his history of English Satiric Art, may be considered as an essay on 
 that subject as novel as it is interesting and original. An immense number of enlarged 
 drawings were exhibited during the lecture, all of them copied with scrupulous fidelity 
 from curious MSS. and other authorities, although many of the illustrations of the prin- 
 ciples of caricature were entirely original designs, made by Mr. Buss. The subject is 
 amply illustrated, and described with that humour and zest for comic art which might 
 be expected of the painter of the comic works contributed by him to the London and 
 provincial exhibitions of works of art. During the delivery of the lecture, Mr. Buss was 
 cheered enthusiastically by a very numerous and respectable audience. 
 
 Wakefield Journal and Examiner, Jan, 2, 1854. 
 
 Wakefield Church Institution. — Mr. R. W. Buss, of London, delivered his second 
 lecture on English Comic and Satiric Art, last night, at the above institution. The 
 Vicar presided. The subject matter of the second lecture was, if possible, even more in- 
 teresting than that of the previous one. Amongst them was the first caricature, we be- 
 lieve, ever published upon bribery at elections. Hogarth's caricatures succeeded, then 
 Parley's (a new name to us), concluding with the rich works of Bunbury. Mr. Buss 
 has traced the progress of Comic Art and Satire in England with great judgment, by his 
 selecting from a large mass of materialsjmportant specimens, both as regards the artist 
 and the subject, conveying at the same time the exact style of the artist, and a record 
 of some great political or social event, thus rendering these lectures most interesting to 
 the amateur of fine art, as well as to the student of English history. They were atten- 
 tively listened to by numerous audiences, who expressed;!!! the usual manner their obli- 
 gations to Mr. Buss. 
 
 The Sheffield Times. 
 
 The first of a series of lectures on Comic and Satiric Art was delivered on Tuesday 
 evening at the Music Hall, before the members of the Sheffield Literary and Philosophi- 
 cal Society, by Mr. R. W. Buss. The lecturer stated that he wished to vindicate comic 
 art from the sneering charge of caricature too frequently brought against it. He then 
 defined ideal beauty, character, caricature, and grotesque, and divided caricature into 
 intentional and unintentional. Of intentional caricature, the lecturer gave instances 
 from Greek and Roman art, and then proceeded to trace its rise and progress in England, 
 beginning at a time antecedent to the invention of printing, and tracing it down to the 
 reigns of the Georges. The lecturer, who was listened to with much attention by a 
 select and highly respectable audience, concluded amidst applause. His remarks were 
 illustrated by an extensive series of drawings, many of which are taken from very 
 scarce works. 
 
4 
 
 Leeds Times, January 28, 1854. 
 
 Leeds Mechanics' Institution and Literary Society. — Mr. Buss, well known 
 from a variety of clever productions as a painter and illustrator of popular works, is now 
 giving four lectures on Humorous and Satiric Art ; tlie first of wliich was delivered to a 
 crowded room on Monday last. In discriminating between the several kinds of Art, 
 Mr. ISuss save a good scientific classification of their aims and attributes. 
 
 Journal of the Society of Arts, Feb. 17, 1854. 
 
 Mr. It. W. Buss, the artist, lias been giving his four lectures on Humorous and Satiric 
 Art, with great eclat at the Leeds Mechanics' Institution and Literary Society. The idea of 
 e xamining this branch of Art, which in a certain sense, is truly historical, both aestheti- 
 cally, and in relation to the events the several sketches introduced in illustration are de- 
 signed to render ludicrous, has a great deal of originality, and, as developed by Mr. Buss, 
 yielded much instruction, both as regards the principles of art, and its use as a powerful 
 corrective of vice, affectation, and folly. 
 
 Art Journal, Feb. 1845. 
 
 Mr. R. W. Buss, the painter of humorous pictures, has recently enrolled himself on 
 the list of public lectures, by delivering a series of Essays on " Comic and Satiric Art 
 in England," from the earliest period to the present time ; illustrated by examples of 
 I lie styles of the great caricaturis's Gillray, Rowlandson, G. Cruikshanlc, &c, &c. Thts ■ 
 lectures have been delivered in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Wakefield, 
 Plymouth, Devonport, and Exeter, and at Wimpole Hall, before a large party, guests of 
 the Earl of Hardwicke. The subject he has taken in hand is one that is very 
 amusing, and not uninstructive. 
 
 The Sheffield Free Press. 
 
 On Tuesday evening Ii. W. Buss, Esq., delivered, at the Music Hall, Sheffield, before 
 the members of the Literary and Philosophical Society, the first of a series of four lec- 
 tures on Comic and Satiric Art. There was a numerous attendance. The lecture was 
 of a highly interesting character, and illustrated by numerous drawings. 
 
 Mr. Buss delivered his second lecture on Friday evening. He stated that satire was 
 ably wielded by Pope, Swift, and other great minds, to aid the cause of reform ; and that 
 from thc3e, caricature obtained its political personifications. The first bribery caricature 
 appeared in 1727, on the occasion of the great Whig majority being returned during the 
 ministry of Sir Robert Walpole. In noticing Hogarth's Gin Lane, Beer Street, Beggar's 
 Opera, &c, the lecturer compared that great painter to Charles Dickens, the bosom 
 friend of the multitude, who responded to the efforts of both to elevate and improve 
 them. The lecture was highly interesting. 
 
 Sheffield Examiner. 
 
 On Tuesday and Friday evenings in the present week, two lectures on Comic Satiric 
 Art, were delivered in the Music Hall, by R. W. Buss, Esq., of London. The lecturer 
 traced tiie school of Comic and Satiric Art from Gillray to the present time, illustrating 
 his remarks by numerous well executed and graphic illustrations, exhibiting the peculi- 
 arities of all the great masters in this style of art. He concluded a course of interesting 
 and instructive lectures with some well-timed observations on the importance of carica- 
 ture, aud pointed out many instances in which it had proved of the highest service to 
 public morality. 
 
 The Plymouth and Devonport Weekly Journal. 
 
 Mr. R. W. Bess on Caricature. On Saturday evening last, R. W. Buss, Esq., deli- 
 vered the first of a course of lectures at the Mechanics' Institute, Plymouth, on the his- 
 tory of Comic and Satiric Art in England, with illustrative exhibitions of Cartoons. The 
 subject was one of a highly interesting character, and must have cost the lecturer a 
 vast deal of time in its preparation, as it was richly illustrated with copies of many of 
 the most famous caricatures of olden time, all of which he graphically described with 
 much of that quaint humour which is so valuable, and really necessary to the right 
 treatment of such a subject. To the literary man and the intelligent reader, these lec- 
 tures are full of interest, for the lecturer has delved in a mine of pictorial wealth ; he 
 has worked with success, and has drawn from almost hidden sources, an immense va- 
 riety of pictorial illustrations of satiric and comic art, such as it has been the good fortune 
 of few persons to have had the pleasure of seeing before. 
 
 Leeds Intelligencer. 
 
 Mr. Buss of London, the productions of whose pencd and etching needle are well- 
 known to the readers of many of our popular illustrated works, gave an excellent lecture 
 the first of a course of four, on English Comic and Satiric Art, on Monday evening, at 
 the Mechanic's Institution. 
 
 The Sheffield Times. 
 
 Mr. Buss concluded the fourth of his excellent lectures on Comic Art and Caricature, 
 at the Sheffield Literary and Philosophical Society, by an able description of the 
 politicaPfcnd^social importance of caricature. 
 
! 
 
AND ITS RELATION TO DIFFERENT STYLES OF 
 
 Painting, Sculpture, and Engraving 
 
 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH 
 
 SCHOOL OF ART 
 
 THE NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS SELECTED AND DRAWN FROM THE ORIGINALS BY 
 
 ROBERT WILLIAM BUSS 
 
 fainter, ^fsigncr, ani> (Etcher 
 
 AND REPRODUCED BY PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHY 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY VIRTUE & CO. 
 
 For Private Circulation only 
 1874 
 
( 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 / N England it has been, and still is, customary to dedicate, or 
 to inscribe a new production of the pen to Somebody ; that 
 Somebody being most frequently a royal, noble, wealthy, or learned 
 personage. But in the present day " a change has come o'er the scene." 
 This magnificent Somebody has now in a great measure given way to 
 the more humble but affectionate friend of the author, selected from 
 the circle of those most dear to him — a custom so fraught with affection 
 I deem worthy of imitation. 
 
 My " Somebody'''' I therefore select from that small but dear circle 
 formed by my own childre?i ; and I dedicate this work on English 
 Graphic Satire to my only daughter, Frances Mary. 
 
 From an early period she has shared my hopes and fears while 
 I was pursuing an arduous and uncertainly remunerated profession. 
 Without her this book, whatever may be its merits or demerits, would 
 have never existed. It tvas "Dear Fanny'''' who, foremost among a 
 large group of kind and admiring friends, urged me to commence the 
 work, and cheered me on to its completion. Therefore to her belongs 
 all that can be fitly and affectionately comprised in a dedication. 
 
 By an unusual combination of talent and energy she has won for 
 herself an honourable position as an educator. I join my hopes, with 
 those of numerous and attached friends, that her useful life may be 
 prolonged, and that she may be granted health to enjoy it. 
 
 ROBERT WILLIAM BUSS. 
 
 14, Camden Street, Camden Town, 
 
 London , June 1874. 
 
PREFATORY AND EXPLANATORY 
 REMARKS. 
 
 HIS Essay differs materially from other works similar 
 in title, and with apparently a similar object. The 
 !$ difference consists in the fact, that I have not included 
 political history in my view of the progress of Graphic 
 Satire in England ; nor have I entered upon the antiquarian 
 ground so ably occupied by other writers on this subject. 
 I consider Graphic Satire, or, in the ordinary sense of the 
 term, Caricature, as an important branch of the Fine Arts in this 
 country, however contemptuously an art so popular may • be 
 regarded by some inconsiderate critics. Nor can the history 
 and progress of the English school of art be complete without 
 much more than a mere mention, or slight notice of Satiric Art. 
 
 I believe no work upon the history of art in England com- 
 prehends any notice whatever of the efforts of artists in Caricature 
 whose talents and energies have at various times exercised a 
 powerful influence on public opinion — indeed, far more so than 
 the works by professors of the grand style of art in their mightiest 
 efforts. 
 
 Henry Fuseli, a Royal Academician, professor of painting 
 and teacher of drawing at the Royal Academy of England, an 
 undoubtedly great artist, lived with his head so high up in the 
 clouds of poetic and heroic art, that in his lectures on the English 
 
vi PRE FA TOR F A ND EXP LAN A TOR Y REM A RES. 
 
 school he scarcely condescended to notice an artist of such world- 
 wide renown as William Hogarth ! The notice he does give of 
 this great painter is in dispraise of his works, speaking of them as 
 low and vulgar — " mere chronicles of scandal ! " 
 
 It is curious to mark the contrast of public estimation of 
 works by Fuseli and by Hogarth. Fuseli's works are so repulsive 
 to the general taste that, with all his learning and talent, no 
 picture of his has a place on the walls of our National Gallery. 
 On the other hand, Hogarth and his pictures (he was also a 
 caricaturist) are as household gods to the public, and of all 
 English artists he is the one most known and most esteemed on 
 the Continent and in the New World. 
 
 Numerous volumes of criticism have been written upon the 
 great dramatic pictures of this truly English painter, whose works 
 have been described by all our celebrated essayists since his time. 
 But Caricature, although of humbler pretensions to art than 
 the works of Hogarth or of England's historical painters, surely 
 deserves some notice. Therefore, as this popular branch of art 
 is disregarded by writers on the English school, the present 
 little work seeks to give this phase of art some consideration. 
 Its object is also to show how Graphic Satire has descended from 
 antiquity to a thoroughly appreciative age in a free country like 
 England, what materials caricaturists had to work with, how 
 those materials were most felicitously employed, how ancient 
 bequests of art have been most ingeniously adapted by modern 
 artists, and how they have superadded invention, composition, 
 light and shade, and a power of drawing far superior to the efforts 
 of the caricaturists of antiquity. 
 
 Caricature has so wide a range that there is no mode of execu- 
 tion in art that has not at one time or other been employed un 
 it. These various modes of executing caricatures I endeavour to 
 explain, and I give, wherever it is practicable, a fac-simile of the 
 artist's work, line for line, dot for dot. Thus it will be evident 
 that this work differs essentially from all those whose object 
 
PREFATORY' AND EXPLANATORY REMARKS. 
 
 vn 
 
 is simply to illustrate political events by means of outlines 
 from designs by our celebrated caricaturists. I view the 
 art of Caricature from an artist's stand-point, and criticise 
 efforts in it by the same rules as guide us in our judg- 
 ment of pictures or drawings ; for, after all, Caricature is 
 really the slighter exercise of art by men whose more elabo- 
 rated works have been, and are, duly chronicled in the annals 
 of art. 
 
 In some cases the peculiar gift of a perception of the ludicrous 
 may induce a painter in oil or water-colours to devote more of his 
 attention to comic and slight productions of the pencil or etching- 
 needle than to pictures. Such is the case with Hogarth, Gillray, 
 George Cruikshank, John Doyle, John Leech, and our present 
 comic artists. 
 
 This view of the art of Caricature, or " English Comic and 
 Satiric Art," I held many years ago, and, in order to help in popu- 
 larizing it and explaining its art-principles, I prepared a series of 
 four lectures, illustrated by three hundred examples selected 
 from works by our most celebrated Graphic Satirists. These 
 examples were drawn by my own hand on cartoons, each measuring 
 between six and seven feet. There were sixty of these cartoons, 
 which, passing over rollers, were thus displayed behind a hand- 
 some portable frame. The illustrations, being of a large size, 
 were visible to a numerous audience. To avoid confusion in the 
 subjects, all the speeches supposed to be uttered by the intro- 
 duced figures were omitted. 
 
 The success of these lectures was great, as I had engage- 
 ments at almost every literary and scientific institution in London, 
 its suburbs, and the principal towns in the provinces. 
 
 Amongst the most gratifying results of my lectures was the 
 fact that they secured me many excellent friends wherever I 
 visited, and that the recollection of my lectures still dwells in 
 their memory. 
 
 These kind friends have recently urged me to re-deliver my 
 
viii PREFATORY AND EXPLANATORY REMARKS. 
 
 lectures on " English Comic and Satiric Art," now that the mere 
 lapse of time would impart a novelty to the subject. The weight 
 of years and failing health, however, compelled me to decline 
 an invitation so kindly given ; for only those who have travelled 
 hundreds of miles single handed, with two large unwieldy and 
 heavy packing-cases, on a lecturing tour, can appreciate the 
 fatigue and distress of mind caused by the delay, ignorance, inso- 
 lence, and blundering of railway servants, and of stupid country 
 carriers. Nevertheless, a grateful feeling to my excellent friends 
 for repeatedly expressed kindness in regard to my lectures has 
 induced me so far to meet their wishes as to put together in this 
 unpretending book the substance of the four lectures alluded to. 
 Since the delivery of them — more than twenty years ago — changes 
 have taken place. Death has been seriously busy amongst our 
 comic artists ; new aspirants have arisen, and new processes in 
 the arts of engraving and printing have been invented. These 
 changes are described in the present form of my lectures. Again, 
 the greatly reduced size of the illustrations consequent upon the 
 book-form, has enabled me, in numerous instances, to give, by 
 the aid of photography, reproductions of the original caricatures 
 with the utmost fidelity. 
 
 The process here employed is called photo-lithography. A 
 photographic negative picture is taken from any painting, print, 
 drawing, or original object, and then superposed on a film of 
 gelatine prepared with bichromate of potash, and exposed to the 
 action of light. By a delicate chemical manipulation this film of 
 gelatine is made fit to be transferred to a lithographic stone. 
 That done, the work is nothing more than ordinary lithographic 
 printing. The ink, being the usual printer's ink, remains abso- 
 lutely permanent ; consequently all fear of fading, or sulphurizing, 
 an occurrence too frequent with prints taken upon salts of silver 
 by the usual photographic method, is removed. 
 
 To produce even such a book as the present one would 
 involve a very large sum of money for the illustrations only, 
 
PREFATORY AND EXPLANATORY REMARKS. 
 
 ix 
 
 were they reproduced either by wood-engraving or by engraved 
 steel-plates. 
 
 Photography, and its attendant processes, whether by silver or 
 by carbon, reduce this outlay considerably; still, a great degree of 
 uncertainty prevails, consequent upon English anti-photographic 
 weather, and careless manipulation in fixing and washing all 
 prints taken upon paper prepared with silver. 
 
 Photo -lithography, while it still more reduces the cost of 
 production, has the great merit of fidelity of detail, rapidity of 
 printing, and unquestionable permanency. Moreover, by its 
 close approximation to the usual appearance of prints for book 
 illustration, the hostility of publishers, and of the public also, to 
 the smoky results of ordinary photography is not provoked. 
 
 The illustrations to the present book are in some cases 
 taken from photographs of my own, from the original cartoons by 
 myself ; in other cases, from original engravings on wood or 
 metal, and the whole transferred to stone by Mr. Griggs, of Elm 
 House, Peckham, whose photo-lithographic productions are well 
 known in connection with works on East Indian architecture and 
 costume, as well as in various ingenious applications of the above 
 art to general book illustration. 
 
 The Autotype, Heliotype, Woodbury-type, and other similar 
 processes, have the same object as photo-lithography, namely, to 
 reduce the cost of book-illustrations and to secure absolute 
 fidelity in reproduction. These various ingenious and scientific 
 processes are secured to their inventors by patents, and have 
 certain secrets and peculiar manipulation connected with them 
 necessary to ensure success. 
 
 The great desideratum in book-illustration and economic 
 printing still remains to be discovered. 
 
 It is this : a metal block obtained from a photographic nega- 
 tive of any subject whatever, which will work up with type, and 
 print as readily as a wood-engraving when thus mixed. 
 
 It is only of late years that Caricature, as a record of political 
 
 b 
 
x PREFA TORY AND EXPLANA TORY REM A RES. 
 
 events, has been taken up by able writers, and public attention 
 thereby drawn to this popular and interesting art, not in London 
 alone, but in most of the great continental cities. 
 
 Collectors have preserved many specimens of this phase of 
 art. The British Museum folios are indebted to Miss Banks, Mr. 
 Hawkins, Mr. Smith, and some minor contributors, to the general 
 collection. In the Print Room a very curious, extensive, and 
 interesting mass of caricatures has been formed from various 
 sources, such as sales, bequests, and gifts. In addition to these 
 are the works of Hogarth, Sayer, Gillray, Bunbury, George 
 Cruikshank, John Doyle, and John Leech, also Punch, and a 
 quantity of miscellaneous caricatures by artists since the inven- 
 tion of engraving. 
 
 An enormous mass of satirical prints, broad-sheets, and 
 caricatures in the British Museum remained, till very recently, 
 buried in the departments of printed books, MSS., and that of 
 the prints ; but owing to public attention being directed to the 
 truly popular subject of English Graphic Satire, these are now 
 being gradually brought to light, and an elaborate and voluminous 
 catalogue being prepared by Mr. G. Reid and Mr. Stephens. Any 
 future writer on this subject will find his labours much shortened 
 by this aid ; without it, it was next to impossible to hunt out or 
 to examine the many curious, interesting, and unique examples 
 of Pictorial Satire existing in the Museum Library. 
 
 In the present work I have consulted all the complete works 
 of English caricaturists, as well as those written by Strutt, 
 Malcolm, J. R. Planche, F.S.A., Thomas Wright, M.A., 
 and occasional contributors to various periodicals ; also the 
 "Catalogue of Satirical Prints," as far as its present state will 
 admit. 
 
 In addition to the above, many friends, mindful of my former 
 lectures, have presented me with some valuable specimens of 
 Caricature, which have considerably augmented a collection made 
 by me in a long course of years. 
 
PREFATORY AND EXPLANATORY REMARKS. 
 
 xi 
 
 I beg to offer my best thanks to the officers of the British 
 Museum for their kind assistance and attention to my wishes 
 while I was engaged upon the present Essay. 
 
 The numerous illustrations to this book require some brief 
 notice, as being the result of a very ingenious, difficult, and 
 delicate process in applied photography. For the purpose of the 
 present book, no other process with which I am acquainted could 
 accomplish what Mr. Griggs has done in this case. Many of the 
 groups have been photographed from the original cartoons made 
 twenty years ago, and, by hard work during my lectures, much torn, 
 creased, and stained ; but, by his care and attention, these defects 
 are removed from the prints. The specimens of etching and 
 line-engraving introduced are absolutely faithful, line for line, dot 
 for dot ; but the process of photo-lithography, like all those in 
 applied photography, being one for surface-printing only, the 
 light grey tones from shallow lines and dry-point, belonging to 
 prints from incised plates, cannot always be obtained ; but the 
 patience, skill, and perseverance Mr. Griggs has brought to bear 
 upon this ingenious process have satisfactorily diminished this 
 difference. This explanation will be readily understood by those 
 of my readers who are acquainted with the details of printing. 
 
 I have spared neither labour nor research to make this Essay as 
 correct as I possibly could, strictly within the limits assigned to my 
 former lectures. A complete history of the art would, of course, 
 require volumes ; nor can it be thoroughly accomplished until the 
 enormous mass of matter in the British Museum has been 
 examined, arranged, and catalogued. 
 
 Into the present work some inaccuracies may have crept 
 unperceived by me. Should such exist, I hope they may be 
 excused, as my work has been produced while suffering under a 
 serious and prolonged illness. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 FOLIO I. 
 
 Early Attempts at Delineation by Children and Savages.— Delineation dating from Pre-historic 
 Times. — Greek Fiction of the Origin of Painting. — Modelling in Clay. — The Grotesque 
 in Drawing and in Modelling. — Origin of the Term. — Ornamentation in Architecture. 
 — Ancient Manuscripts. — Heraldic Monstrosities. — Illustrations of the Grotesque from 
 Chinese, Heraldic, Egyptian, Byzantine Examples 
 
 FOLIO II. 
 
 Caricature. — Invention and mere Delineation. — Invention of Michael Angelo. — Leonardo da 
 Vinci and Raffaelle. — Grand Art. — Social Art. — Reforms in Society greatly aided by 
 Satire. — Effects of Ridicule. — Laughing Animals. — Fescjnnine Verses. — Satura. — Horace. 
 — Juvenal. — Belief in Metempsychosis. — Natural Features and Dispositions of Men. — 
 Pure Satire not necessarily Comic. — Duelling. — A Satirical Subject by R. W. Buss. — 
 Example of Mezzotinto Engraving. — W. Hogarth and Pure Satire. — Origin of Caricature : 
 the Term Explained. — The Dilettanti, W. Hogarth, and Henry Fielding the Novelist. — 
 Sir George Beaumont and his Dictation to Artists. — Hogarth on Caricature. — Examples 
 of Etching and Illustrations of Caricature, from Leonardo da Vinci, Ghezzi, Raffaelle, and 
 Annibale Caracci. — Hogarth's Explanation. — Fielding's Explanation. — The Bench. — 
 Principles of Caricature. — The Antique, Nature, Caricature. — Caricatures of Pitt and 
 C.J. Fox, after J. Gillray. — Exaggeration of Face, of Figure, illustrated from Gillray's Works 6 
 
 CARICATURE DIVIDED INTO INVOLUNTARY OR UNINTENTIONAL, AND 
 VOLUNTARY OR INTENTIONAL. 
 
 FOLIO III. 
 
 INVOLUNTARY OR UNINTENTIONAL CARICATURE. 
 
 Involuntary Caricature. — Illustrations. — Savage and Fashionable Monstrosities. — Classical 
 Monsters. — Christian Monsters. — Bayeux Tapestry. — False Art of Watteau, Boucher, 
 Thornhill, &c. — Stage Dandyism : Mrs. Siddons, J. Wallack, Charles Kean, H. Fuseli, 
 R.A 19 
 
 FOLIO IV. 
 
 VOLUNTARY OR INTENTIONAL CARICATURE. 
 
 Voluntary or Intentional Caricature from the Earliest Period to the Invention of Printing. — 
 Satire, an Aid to Reforms in Political or Social Matters. — Means of Drawing and 
 Modelling in a Rude State of Society. — Colour. — Egyptian Painting. — True Fresco 
 compared to Tempera. — Pictures on Papyri. — Etruscan Vases. — Dwarfs. — Examples of 
 Caricature. — Original of Punch. — Dark Ages. — Christian Art. — Carvings in Wood and 
 Stone. — Manuscripts. — Tapestry . 29 
 
xiv 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 FOLIO V. 
 
 CARICATURE FROM THE INVENTION OF WOOD ENGRAVING TO THAT OF 
 
 LINE ENGRAVING. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Invention of Printing. — Chinese Origin. — Playing Cards. — Earliest Woodcut. — Value of MSS. 
 — Printing by Gutenberg, Fust, Schceffer and Coster. — Earliest known Political Caricature. 
 — Printing in England by Caxton, Pynson, and Wynkyn de Worde. — Wood Engraving 
 as practised by the Chinese. — Present mode of Preparing the Blocks and of Engraving. — 
 Colouring.— " Tittle Tattle " stencilled 38 
 
 FOLIO VI. 
 
 EARLY CARICATURE IN ENGLAND. 
 
 Invention of Engraving on Metal. — Nielli. — Thomaso Einneguerra. — Artists of the 15th 
 Century. — First Book published with Prints from Metal Plates. — Pure Graver Work. — 
 Invention of Etching. — Date, 1515, of Earliest Etching. — "Biting In" and "Stopping 
 Out," applied. — Etched Example. — "Batman's Doom," 15 18. — Holbein's "Dance of 
 Death" (facsimile). — Nobody. — Coarse Wood-cuts. — The English in 161 7. — "Mad 
 Fashions," 1642. — W. Hollar, 1626. — James I. — Gunpowder Plot. — Laud. — Charles II. 
 with his Nose to the Grindstone. — J. Callot, 1592. — His Influence on the Art of Etching 42 
 
 FOLIO VII. 
 
 Engravings in Line, and Etchings by Dutch Artists. — Romayn de Hooghe. — Caricatures on 
 Cromwell.— W. Marshall, 1648.— Dutch Hostility.— Admiral Blake.— The Pope and 
 Satan. — Enactments against Caricatures. — Richard Cromwell. — Chailes II. restored. — 
 Charles II. by Gaywood. — England as a Cow. — Whig and Tory. — Death of Charles II., 
 1685. — Prince Rupert learns Mezzotint from Louis von Siegel. — James II. — The Popish 
 Successor. — Faithorne, 1680. — Landing of the Prince of Orange, November 5, 1688. — 
 Caricatures on Mary of Modena, Father Petre, and the Pretender. — "Peikin's Triumph," 
 by Mosley. — Flight of James II. — His Death in 1 701 52 
 
 FOLIO VIII. 
 
 ENGLISH CARICATURE TO THE DATE OF W. HOGARTH. 
 
 William and Mary proclaimed King and Queen. — Battle of the Boyne ; Caricatures on it. — 
 Dutch taste introduced in England. — Death of Mary, 1694. — Hemskirk. — Francis le Piper. 
 — Death of William III., 1704. — Accession of Anne. — Dr. Sacheverell. — Scriblerus Club. 
 — History of John Bull. — Death of Anne. — George I., 1 7 14. — Robert Harley. — South 
 Sea Swindle. — Reproduction of Hogarth's Caricature. — Bubble Cards. — Picture by 
 E. M. Ward, R.A.— Picart's Caricature. — Bad Mezzotints used for Caricature . . .64 
 
 FOLIO IX. 
 
 Decline of " The Legitimate Drama " under Charles II. — Amusement and Excitement afforded 
 by Italian Opera, Masquerades, and Pantomimes. — Gay's Beggars' Opera. — Hogarth's 
 Caricature. — Expected Invasion by the Pretender. — Military Fever. — Camp in Hyde Park. 
 — Death of George I., 1727. — Hogarth's Patriotic Caricatures. — Reproduction of Calais 
 Gate. — England and France — Accession of George II. — War with France. — Retirement of 
 Sir Robert Walpole. — " March to Finchky " . 73 
 
 FOLIO X. 
 
 Hogarth's " Gin Lane " (facsimile). — Criticisms on this Work by Charles Lamb and Charles 
 Dickens. — " Beer Street " (facsimile). — "Enraged Musician" (facsimile). — Street Noises. — 
 Errors caused by Ignorance of Perspective (facsimile). — Line of Beauty. — Paul Sandby, 
 R.A. — " The Caricaturist Caricatured " 80 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xv 
 
 CARICATURE FROM HOGARTH TO GILLRAY. 
 
 FOLIO XI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Etchings of Dr. Meagre or St. Andre". — "Tartuffe's Banquet." — Gravelot. — First Caricature 
 on Bribery. — Sir Robert Walpole and George II.— Walpole's Indifference to Ridicule. — 
 King George and the Lion. — Caricatures of G. F. Handel, of Cuzzoni and Farinelli. — 
 John Wilkes, Churchill, Dr. Johnson, Smollett, Lord Chatham, Pope. — Lords Sandwich 
 and Melcombe. — Lord Chatham, his Death. — J. S. Copley's Picture, " Prelude to the 
 Death of the Earl of Chatham " 9' 
 
 FOLIO XII. 
 
 W. H. Bunbury, Esq., an amateur : his rich style of caricature. — Commences drawing and 
 etching at Westminster School.— Caricatures the "Dons" at Cambridge. — Travels in 
 Italy and Germany.— His drawings in Pencil, or black or red chalk, engraved in dot and 
 aquatint. — These methods of Engraving described. — Ridicules awkwardness in Riding or 
 Dancing.— Death in 1811. — Portrait of Bunbury.—" Geoffrey Gambado." — Illustrations of 
 his style of Caricature. — James Sayer, born at Great Yarmouth. — Pitt's own Caricaturists. 
 — Feeble Draughtsman. — Etchings very weak. — Pitt gives him four appointments under 
 Government.— Hostility to Fox and his Party. — Attacks the " Coalition." — Examples of 
 his style of Caricature.— French Revolution. — " The Night Mare."— Reproduction of one 
 of his Etchings. — Death of Sayer, 181 1 101 
 
 FOLIO XIII. 
 
 George Darley, caricaturist of fashions. — Rich Comic Vein. — Avoids Political Subjects. — 
 Specimens of his Style. — Monstrous Head-dresses. — Mrs. Cosway — Mrs. Robinson — 
 "The Perdita." — Gambling.— Fribbles. — Beaux and Macaronis. — Their Monstrosities. — 
 The Macaroni Mania. — Foote's Stage Caricatures. — An opening for a Caricaturist of Pitt 
 and his Party. — James Gillray enters the Field of Caricature 108 
 
 FOLIO XIV. 
 
 CARICATURE FROM GILLRAY TO GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. 
 
 James Gillray, a true Caricaturist, born 1757 at Chelsea. — Apprenticed to a Writing Engraver. 
 — Runs away and joins a Company ot Strolling Players. — Studies at the Royal Academy, 
 and with Bartolozzi. — Draws, Etches, and Engraves with great talent. — Imitates Sayer. — 
 Portrait. — Adopts Caricature as a Profession. — Examples of his Style. — Caricatures Pitt, 
 Dundas, and Lord Thurlow. — " French Liberty and British Slavery." — Reproduction of 
 his Etching for the Anti-Jacobin. — Ridicules Fox and his Supporters. — Sir F. Burdett. — 
 "The Gout." — "The Assessed Taxes." — "Pitt in the Salt-box." — "George III. andBoney." 
 Reproduction of his " Truth.". — Enthusiasm when at Work. — Impending Insanity. — Last 
 Original. Work on William Cobbett. — Last Engraving, "The Barber's Shop," after 
 Bunbury, 181 1. — Attack of Insanity. — Care of Miss Humphrey. — Gillray's Death in 1815. 
 Buried at St. James's Church, Piccadilly 113 
 
 FOLIO XV. 
 
 Mezzotint Engraving erroneously attributed to Prince Rupert. — Adopted by Caricaturists. — 
 This mode of Engraving described. — Caricaturists coeval with Gillray and Rowlandson. — 
 Thomas Rowlandson, bom 1756. — Talented but idle. — Political Caricatures by him. — 
 Reproduction of his Style of Etching. — Fall of Napoleon. — Tinted Drawings by 
 Rowlandson popular. — His Death in 1827. — Caricaturists between Rowlandson and 
 Robert Seymour. — Robert Seymour, born 1798. — Apprenticed to a Pattern Draughtsman. 
 
xvi 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 — Paints "Diablerie" in Oil. — Designs Caricatures for Bell's Life in London and 
 Figaro (the first). — Etches Designs for the Book of Christmas. — Draws on Stone. — 
 Reproduction of Seven Sketches. — " A Volume of Sketches." — Originates the celebrated 
 Pickwick Club. — Sad quarrel with the satirist, Gilbert a Beckett. — Commences the Pickwick 
 Club with Charles Dickens. — Mental Distress and Suicide, 1836 130 
 
 FOLIO XVI. 
 
 CARICATURE FROM GEORGE CRUIKSHANK TO THE REVIVAL OF WOOD ENGRAVING. 
 
 George Cruikshank, bom 1792. — His artistic career commenced with assisting his father. — 
 Early Caricatures. — Strong Anti-Gallic feeling expressed by all English Caricaturists. — 
 Bitterly satirizes the Prince Regent and the Old Tory Party. — Derrydown Triangle : Old 
 Bags and the Doctor. — Queen's Matrimonial Ladder. — The Dandy of Sixty. — Political 
 House that Jack Built. — Non mi Ricordo. — Political Showman. — Slap at Slop. — Wood 
 Engraving. — His friend, William Hone, tried fur Blasphemy and Sedition. — Abandons 
 Political Caricature and produces numerous capital Etchings on Copper and Drawings on 
 Wood. — "Points of Humour." — "Mornings at Bow Street."- — "Sketches by Boz." — 
 "Life in London." — "Life in Paris." — Etchings for "Oliver Twist," for "Jack 
 Sheppard," " Tower of London," &c. — Facsimile of his style of Etching. — Apostle of 
 Temperance. — Glyphography. — " The Bottle." — "The Triumph of Bacchus." Presented 
 to the National Gallery. — Colonel of a Temperance Corps of Volunteers. — Royal Pension. 
 — Robert Cruikshank. — Percy Cruikshank. — Lithography invented by Sennefelder, r 795— 
 1798. — Description of the Process. — Adopted by John Doyle, 1830. — Popularity of HB's 
 Sketches. — Mysterious Artist ! — Triumphant career of HB during Twenty Years. — 
 Examples of Life-like Sketches. An elegant Pictorial Record of Political History, from 
 1829 to 1842 • 143 
 
 FOLIO XVII. 
 
 FROM THE REVIVAL OF WOOD-ENGRAVING TO THE PRESENT TIME, 1 874. 
 
 Party Questions Quieted. — Serenity of the Political Atmosphere. — Progress of Wood-Engraving 
 under W. Harvey, John Jackson, Orrin Smith, Samuel Williams. — " Society for the 
 Diffusion of Useful Knowledge." — Cheap and Good Literature. — Penny Magazine and 
 similar Periodicals, Published by Charles Knight and John Parker. — Club of Wits and 
 Artists originate Punch. — Rapid Progress in Caricature and Wood-Engraving. — Thomas 
 Hood. — His Rhymes and his Drawings. — Death in 1845. — Figaro (the first).— The Wag. 
 — Punchinello, 1832. — Asmodeus in London. — The Devil in London, 1832. — The Penny 
 Trumpet. — The Schoolmaster at Home, 1832. — The Whig-Dresser. — Paul Pry. — Peeping 
 Tom. — Imitators of Punch. — The Squib. — Puck. — Chat. — Man in the Moon. — 
 Diogenes. — Punchinello (the second). — Judy (the first). — Town Talk. — London. — The 
 Puppet Show. — Will-o'-the-wisp. — Tomahawk. — Judy (the second). — Figaro (the 
 second). — Hornet. — Junius. — Vanity Fair . . . . . . . . . 159 
 
 FOLIO XVIII. 
 
 Fun, a clever Rival to Punch. — Tom Hood, Editor ; Gordon Thomson, E. G. Dalziel, Ernest 
 Griset, Frazer, Caricaturists upon it; Engravers, Brothers Dalziel. — Vanity Fair. — 
 Illustrated by Chromo-Lithography. — The Process Described. — Judy (the second). — 
 Edited by C. H. Ross. — Facsimile of Powerfully drawn Caricatures by W. Bowcher. — 
 "The Ballot-Box." — Stupidity of Voters. — Miss Adelaide Claxton.— H. K. Browne 
 (Phiz). — Beauty in Caricature. — Charles Dickens. — His Influence on his Circle of Artist- 
 Friends. — John Leech.— John Tenniel. — Du Maurier. — H. K. Browne. — Marcus Stone. 
 — Gillray. — Hogarth. — Ugliness not Interesting. — Gordon Thomson. — Fun Almanack 
 for 1873' l6 7 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xvn 
 
 FOLIO XIX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 John Tenniel.— Reproduction of Clever Cartoons for Punch. — Prize for a Cartoon at "West- 
 minster Hall. — Fresco Picture by Tenniel. — Constant Contributor to Punch. — John 
 Leech. — Reproduction of his Caricatures. — Early connection with Punch. — Capital Comic 
 Designs. — His volume of Sketches. — Early works in BeWs Life in London. — His Death. — 
 Lithography (facsimile), big-headed Portraits in the Hornet introduced. — Lord Selborne. — 
 C. Mathews. — The Tomahawk, very personal. — Matt Morgan. — Wood-engraving with 
 a tint over it, cleverly drawn. — Collapse of the Tomahawk. — Figaro (the second). — 
 Zincography. — Philander Smiff. — Importance of Caricature as a teacher and an exponent 
 of National Freedom 176 
 
 Captain Grose, F.S.A., "the Facetious." — His Essay on Caricature. — His Portrait, Rules, 
 and Illustrations of Caricature. — Beauty. — Anachronisms and Contrast contribute to the 
 Ludicrous. — Practice of Hogarth, of Gillray, of George Cruikshank. — Sketches from 
 Memory, and Classifying of Sketches. — Tail-pieces. — The Monopolist, a "Coat Tail- 
 piece," by R. W. Buss. — Reproduction of Mezzotint. — The celebrated "Tail-piece," by 
 Hogarth (facsimile), concluding this "Essay on English Graphic Satire " . . . . 187 
 
 FOLIO XX. 
 
 PRACTICE IN CARICATURE. 
 
 C 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 GROUP PAGE 
 
 I. The Grotesque. (Lithography.) 4 
 
 II. "Satisfaction!" (Mezzotint.) 13 
 
 III. Principles of Caricature. (Etching.) 16 
 
 IV. Principles of Caricature. (Tinted Etching.) 17 
 
 UNINTENTIONAL CARICATURE. 
 
 V. Savage Monsters. (Etching.) 21 
 
 VI. Classical Monsters. (Etching.) 23 
 
 VII. Christian Monsters. (Wood-cuts and Etching.) 24 
 
 INTENTIONAL CARICATURE. 
 
 VIII. Ancient Caricatures. (Drawing.) 34 
 
 IX. MSS. and Early Caricatures. (Wood Engraving.) 37 
 
 X. Time Carrying off the Pope. (Graver Work.) 43 
 
 XI. " Batman's Doom." (Etching.) 45 
 
 XII. Early Caricatures. (Wood Engraving and Etching.) .... 47 
 
 XIII. Caricatures on Cromwell. (Etching.) 56 
 
 XIV. Caricatures on the Stuarts. (Etching.) 61 
 
 XV. South Sea Bubble. (Hogarth. Etching.) 70 
 
 XVI. The Beggars' Opera. (Hogarth. Etching.) 75 
 
 XVII. "O! the Roast Beef of Old England!" (Hogarth. Line Engraving.) 76 
 
 XVIII. England. (Hogarth. Etching.) 77 
 
 XIX. France. (Hogarth. Etching.) 78 
 
 XX. Gin Lane. (Hogarth. Line Engraving.) 80 
 
 XXI. Beer Street. (Hogarth. Line Engraving.) 82 
 
 XXII. The Enraged Musician. (Hogarth. Line Engraving.) .... 83 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xix 
 
 OBOUP YkQ-Z 
 
 XXIII. Errors in Perspective. (Hogarth. Line Engraving.) .... 85 
 
 XXIV. Caricatures on Hogarth. (Etching.) 87 
 
 XXV. Etchings by Gravelot. (?) 9 1 
 
 XXVI. Caricatures by Hogarth : Goupy, Lady Burlington, Hon. G. 
 
 Townshend. (Etchings.) 93 
 
 XXVII. Designs by W. H. Bunbury, Esq. (Etching) 103 
 
 XXVIII. Caricatures by J. Sayer. (Etchings.) 104 
 
 XXIX. The Nightmare. (Facsimile of Sayer's style of Etching.) . . . .106 
 
 XXX. Macaronis, by G. Darley. (Etching.) 108 
 
 XXXI. Political Caricatures and Portrait by James Gillray. (Etching.) . 116 
 
 XXXII. Political Caricatures by Gillray. (Etching.)' 120 
 
 XXXIII. "The Gout," "Assessed Taxes," "Pitt in the Salt-Box," &c, by 
 
 Gillray. (Etching.) 123 
 
 XXXIV. Truth. (Facsimile of Gillray's Etching.) 125 
 
 XXXV. Doublures. (Facsimile of Gillray's Etching.) 126 
 
 XXXVI. Large Example of Gillray's Etching for the " Anti- Jacobin 
 
 Magazine." (Facsimile.) 126 
 
 XXXVII. Large Etching by T. Rowlandson for the " Anti- Jacobin 
 
 Magazine." (Facsimile.) 134 
 
 XXXVIII. Two Illustrations to "Tom Jones." (Facsimile of Rowlandson's style 
 
 of Etching.) 135 
 
 XXXIX. Political Subjects selected from Rowlandson's Caricatures. 
 
 (Etching.) 135 
 
 XL. "Facsimile" Examples of Robert Seymour's Caricatures. (Litho- 
 graphy 140 
 
 XLI. "Facsimile" Examples of Robert Seymour's Caricatures. (Litho- 
 graphy.) 141 
 
 XLII. Political Caricatures by George Cruikshank, with Early Portrait. 
 
 (Wood Engraving.) 145 
 
 XLIII. " Ignorance is Bliss," — the Boulogne Steamer, by G. Cruikshank. 
 
 (Etching.) .... 148 
 
 XLIV. Two Subjects from "the Bottle," by G. Cruikshank. (Facsimile 
 
 examples of Glyphography.) 150 
 
 XLV. Two Examples of G. Cruikshank's Drawing on Wood for "the 
 House that Jack Built; " also a Recent Portrait of G. Cruik- 
 shank. (Lithography and Wood Engraving.) 151 
 
 XLVI. Two Political Sketches by HB (John Doyle) : Lord J. Russell, 
 D. O'Connell, Right Hon. B. Disraeli and John Bull. (Litho- 
 graphy.) 155 
 
 XLVII. Dan O'Connell between Wilkes and Lovat, by HB. (Lithography.) . 157 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 GROUP PAGK 
 
 XL VIII. Grotesque Designs by Thomas Hood. (Wood Engraving.) . . . 162 
 
 XLIX. Mr. Forster, Duke of Argyll, by Ape (A. Perugino). (Chromo- 
 
 Lithography.) 167 
 
 L. Two Caricatures for "Judy," by W. Bowcher. (Wood Engraving.) 169 
 
 LI. Examples of Beauty in Caricatures. (Wood Engraving.) . . .170 
 
 LII. Political Caricatures by G. Thomson. (Wood Engraving.) . . 172 
 
 LIII. Political Caricatures by Tenniel. (Wood Engraving.) . . .176 
 
 LIV. Political Caricatures by John Leech. (Wood Engraving.) . . 179 
 
 LV. Lord Selborne, C. Matthews. (Lithography.) " The Real Guardian 
 
 of the Poor," Matt. Morgan. (Wood Engraving.) .... 183 
 
 LVI. Captain Grose's Rules for Drawing Caricatures. (Etching.) . 187 
 
 LVII. " The Monopolist," " A Coat-tail Piece," by R. W. Buss. (Mezzotint.) 193 
 
 LVIII. Hogarth's "Tail Piece," Finis! (Facsimile Etching.) ... 193 
 
 These groups contain above two hundred and fifty examples of Caricature, 
 showing the various methods in use from the earliest to the present time. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 9, line 29, for "satire art" read "satiric art." 
 
 Page 34 should have Group 8 of the Illustrations. 
 
 Page 6o, line 22, for '"urn" read '"em." 
 
 Page 112, line 17, for "raise" read "rise in." 
 
 Page 157, Illustration 47, for "B" read "IB." 
 
 Page 166, bottom line, /^r "years" read "months." 
 
 Page 167, in the contents of Folio xviii. omit " Marcus Stone." 
 
 Page 168, in Illustration 49, read "(A. Pe)rugino." 
 
FOLIO r. 
 
 Early Attempts at Delineation by Children and Savages. — Delineation dating from Pre-historic 
 Times. — Greek Fiction of the Origin of Painting. — Modelling in Clay. — The Grotesque in 
 Drawing and in Modelling. — Origin of the Term. — Ornamentation in Architecture. — Ancient 
 Manuscripts.— Heraldic Monstrosities. — Illustrations of the Grotesque on Group 1st from 
 Chinese, Heraldic, Egyptian, Byzantine Examples. 
 
 NY one possessing the least habit of observation must 
 have frequently noticed the rude scrawlings of children ; 
 either in books, or on slates, on walls, or on the smooth 
 pavements. This is nothing more than the manifesta- 
 tion of that imitative faculty which all children possess, 
 in a greater or lesser degree. Merely to scrawl some distant 
 resemblance to the human form does not of itself indicate 
 a particular talent for drawing, any more than speaking indicates 
 a talent for oratory. Doubtless, the very first efforts of children 
 are about alike in point of talent ; it is in after efforts that the 
 latent Giotto or Hogarth is revealed. Unless the mind is in 
 advance of the hand, no improvement can take place, and the 
 subsequent scrawlings of the child approach no nearer to truth of 
 resemblance than those at the outset. 
 
 The rude drawings by savages are of this kind, as regards 
 the expression of human or animal forms ; but in ornamentation 
 they appear to manifest talent of a better sort ; for while the 
 human form is sadly distorted, a surprising degree of variety and 
 symmetry is to be found in the ornamenting of canoe-paddles, war- 
 clubs, and such instruments, whether of wood, of bone, of shell, or 
 of stone. A visit to our museums and an examination — even a 
 slight one — of the war weapons, and other instruments, produced 
 by what we call savage nations, will convince any inquirer of the 
 truth of these observations. 
 
 A slight advance upon the childish efforts in art is found in 
 the drawings and sculpture of savage nations, whose powers in 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 AN ESSAF ON 
 
 this rude, but seriously intended art, are displayed in their idols, 
 and in their leathern articles, whether intended for dress, or for 
 tents, or any other purposes. So universal is this imitative 
 faculty that very few places on the face of the earth have been 
 found by travellers entirely destitute of attempts at painting or 
 sculpture, rude as the art may be. 
 
 At the Royal Academy dinner, May 1873, Professor Owen, 
 when returning thanks for the toast " The Prosperity of Science," 
 stated it had been recently discovered that a certain amount of 
 art existed in pre-historic times, for sketches of heads of rein- 
 deer had been found done on the reindeer's antlers; and more 
 curious still, a sketch of the mammoth with his long hair, traced 
 in the same way. 
 
 These efforts at delineation must have been made centuries 
 before the age of Homer or of Agamemnon, and demolish 
 entirely that beautiful fiction invented by the Greek poets of 
 the origin of the art of painting, which according to them, and on 
 the authority of Pliny, is attributable to a beauteous maiden named 
 Corinthia, a native of Sicyone. She being in love with a certain 
 youth, and finding him asleep near a lamp that was burning, 
 saw that the shadow of his face, which appeared on the wall, 
 was so like the beloved face, that she traced the outline, and 
 thus produced a portrait of her lover. The painter is continually 
 doomed to disappointment by these pretty stories in history 
 proving to be, on investigation, mere fictions. But the Greeks 
 aimed at monopolizing all the virtues and all the arts of man, and 
 cast such beautiful veils of poetry over everything, that it is a 
 source of regret to find how baseless are these poetical figments, 
 when inquired into. Much the same are the grand historical 
 sayings and doings handed down to us with an air of authen- 
 ticity ; on inquiry they are found to have existed only in the 
 fertile imagination of a romancing historian. 
 
 A step in advance from the rude scrawlings of a child, or a 
 mere savage, would be the imitation of the forms of objects in 
 nature, so as to express particular wants by delineation of these 
 objects, in the absence of a knowledge of writing. In this way 
 drawing or painting has been applied by various peoples from the 
 earliest times for the expression of their wishes. 
 
 So also with sculpture. A lump of plastic clay in the 
 untutored hands of a child or a barbarian would even by chance 
 manipulation assume forms more or less resembling human 
 or animal forms. The natural shapes of rocks, clouds, mount- 
 ains, blocks of stone, or stunted trunks of trees frequently partake 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 3 
 
 of some resemblance to the human form, and might undoubtedly 
 suggest the endeavour to produce at pleasure similar results. 
 
 Efforts of this kind, necessarily rude, are nevertheless the 
 originators of a higher development of art, such as we see in the 
 nations of the civilised part of the world. But at all times, and 
 however high may be the state of art, there has been, and always 
 must be, a rude state of art running parallel with its highest 
 development, just as infants are born, while mature and aged 
 manhood exist. Rude art, either adapted to represent men or 
 animals, or combining different parts of animal and human forms, 
 would arise, as a desire for ornamentation increased. Such 
 monstrous combinations with no satiric aim at all, but conceived 
 in a really serious and religious sense, have been found in all 
 ages, and are properly designated and classified amongst gro- 
 tesque objects. 
 
 The Grotesque. Group r. 
 
 The similarity already alluded to, found in natural blocks of 
 stone, rocks, stalactites, stalagmites, old stumps of trees, and 
 their gnarled trunks, to particular forms of the human being 
 or those of animals, must in all ages have attracted man's 
 observation. 
 
 Caves and secluded places, whether affording shelter to man 
 from the fury of a storm, or offering cool retreats to him from the 
 scorching rays of the sun, would, especially in a rude state of 
 society, be much visited, if indeed they were not permanently 
 adopted as dwelling-places. Thus those suggestive natural forms 
 would in time be imitated, and certain incongruous combinations 
 be the result. In this way a man's head might appear to be joined 
 to the massive trunk of some animal, such as that of a bull, or of 
 a lion, or an elephant, just as the natural forms might chance 
 to be, and just as the imaginative power of the spectator might 
 be exercised at the time. 
 
 Such places of retreat, whether natural or artificial, are called 
 " Grots," or " Grottoes," from the French word " Grotte," or 
 Italian " Grotta ; " thence by a common method of termination, 
 "Grotesque" is easily obtained. The term " Grotesque " then 
 is employed to denote any effort of art with odd or monstrous 
 combinations of form, resembling in any degree those curious 
 assemblages of forms, found by chance in caves or grottoes. 
 
 It has often happened that Nature's curious work has been 
 imitated in artificially constructed grottoes, wherein the ornaments 
 
4 
 
 AN ESS A Y ON 
 
 have been of a monstrous kind, rude or elegant, according to 
 the means and art-education of the owner. Such ornamentation 
 is also called grotesque. 
 
 Thus we see that any naturally impossible combination of 
 forms may be classed with the grotesque. Examples of these 
 grotesques may be found in the works of painters and sculptors, 
 and abound in ancient Gothic cathedrals amongst the carvings 
 of the stalls, and such parts as are susceptible of ornamentation, 
 while the illuminated manuscripts of all ages teem with grotesque 
 ornaments. 
 
 Heraldry, with its pompous nonsense, as it appears to us in 
 the present day, is the great field for grotesque subjects. Here 
 we have fish, flesh, and fowl mixed up in the most absurd 
 manner possible, besides monstrosities that never existed except 
 in the brain of an insane herald. Wyvernes, griffins, dragons, 
 are here capering and leaping about in impossible attitudes, in 
 company with unicorns, lions, tigers, leopards, wild cats, and 
 foxes. 
 
 As if in ridicule of the herald's imaginings, we find in the 
 works of Callot, Delia Bella, Peter Breughel, and Teniers the 
 most heterogeneous assemblages of forms, all pure grotesque, 
 but intended to be "diabolic." In Peter Breughel's "Tempta- 
 tion of St. Anthony" are demons which could be created only 
 by a wildly grotesque imagination revelling in funny absurdity. 
 One of his designs consists of a horse's head stuck upon a pair of 
 human legs, which are encased in armour. A man crawling 
 spider-like by means of his hands and feet, aided by supplemental 
 legs, is another instance. 
 
 Teniers has cats, dogs, bats, and monkeys, in all imaginable 
 attitudes ; horses' skulls joined to a rhinoceros's body ; skele- 
 tons, and all sorts of queer "joint-stock companions," to tempt 
 poor old St. Anthony, and to terrify him. Grotesques such 
 as these have supplied the popular periodical Punch, as well 
 as other comic works, with ideas for the initial letters used in 
 their various witty articles. At the same time, the grotesque 
 ornamentations found in ancient illuminated manuscripts have 
 suggested the ornamental title-pages and marginal designs in 
 the above, and for numerous other illustrated books of the 
 present day. 
 
 One of the most recent examples of the grotesque is afforded 
 by an amusing work neatly drawn in pencil by Mr. E. W. Cooke, 
 R.A., and beautifully reproduced by the process patented by 
 the Autotype Company. In this curious work are found the 
 
GROUP 1. 
 
 (Page J^. 
 
 DRAWN AND ETCHED BY R. W. BUSS. 
 
 GROTESQUE. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 5 
 
 most extraordinary combinations of fish, flesh, and fowl, joined 
 in such a ridiculous, and yet, to a certain extent, scientific manner, 
 as to surprise all who have not studied the grotesques of 
 monkish illuminators and the old masters in art. 
 
 The illustrations on Group i. are given as examples of the 
 grotesque. The large shield is copied from one designed by 
 a Chinese artist, and borne by Chinese warriors. It is suffi- 
 ciently ugly and extraordinary to produce risibility, but not 
 to make our "Jack Tars" take to their heels in a terrible 
 fright, even when aided by the clashing of swords and frantic 
 yells of the Chinese " braves." Our "Jacks," on the contrary, 
 caught these tremendous "braves," and tied together four or 
 five of them tightly by their long tails, thus securing the 
 celestials as prisoners. On each side is a monstrous combina- 
 tion of man and fish fighting each other in the water. These 
 examples are selected from a MS. in the Harleian Collection 
 at the British Museum. Below is an ornament copied from an 
 illumination in another ancient manuscript also in the British 
 Museum (Harleian MS.) A cat and a hawk are joined together 
 by the tails, with a grinning mask between them. The bird has 
 a monk's head, and may be a portrait of the Superior of the 
 ecclesiastical fraternity to which the waggish illuminator be- 
 longed, while the cat bears a suspicion of being a sly hit at 
 some lady greatly admired by the worthy abbot, but of a capri- 
 cious and quarrelsome temper. The various heads beneath are 
 copied from Egyptian mummies or embalmed animals in the 
 antiquities at the British Museum. The curious male and female 
 figures are of Byzantine date, and become grotesque from the 
 monstrous heads and diminutive limbs, added to a general 
 feeble execution of the sculptured group. Above are two heraldic 
 animals, the unicorn and the wyverne. 
 
 The unicorn, so familiar to us in our national coat-of-arms, 
 appears to have a very ancient origin, as well as his companion, 
 the lion, for in Mr. Wright's interesting history of the 
 "grotesque" we find them comfortably seated playing at 
 chess, — delineated by an ancient Egyptian artist, on a papyrus 
 now preserved in the British Museum. 
 
 These remarks and the illustrations given will enable the 
 reader to classify properly drawings of this kind. 
 
 It sometimes happens that the comic designer strays into the 
 grotesque when national personification is required, this being 
 for the most part symbolical. Such as the lion for England ; 
 the Gallic cock for France ; the eagles, single and double, 
 
6 AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 for Germany and Austria, while the Polar bear is awarded to 
 Russia. 
 
 When Hanover became annexed to the British Empire, this 
 nationality was represented by a white horse, galloping at 
 full speed, and drawn in various extraordinary attitudes — accord- 
 ing to the caricatures of the day, many of which are strongly 
 suggestive of Jacobite tendencies. 
 
FOLIO II. 
 
 Caricature. — Invention and mere Delineation. — Invention of Michael Angelo. — Leonardo da Vinci 
 and Raffaelle. — Grand Art. — Social Art. — Reforms in Society greatly aided by Satire. — Effects 
 of Ridicule. — Laughing Animals. — Fescennine Verses. — Satura.— Horace. — Juvenal. — Belief 
 in Metempsychosis. — Natural Features and Dispositions of Men. — Pure Satire not necessarily 
 Comic. — Duelling. — Illustration on Group 2nd.— A Satirical Subject by R. W. Buss. — 
 Example of Mezzotinto Engraving. — W. Hogarth and Pure Satire. — Origin of Caricature : the 
 Term Explained. — The Dilettanti, W. Hogarth, and Henry Fielding the Novelist. — Sir George 
 Beaumont and his Dictation to Artists. — Hogarth on Caricature on Group 3rd. — Examples of 
 Etching and Illustrations of Caricature, from Leonardo da Vinci, Ghezzi, Raffaelle, and 
 Annibale Caracci. — Hogarth's Explanation.— Fielding's Explanation. — The Bench, Group 
 3rd. — Principles of Caricature. — Group 4. The Antique, Nature, Caricature. — Caricatures 
 of Pitt and C. J. Fox, after J. Gillray. — Exaggeration of Face, of Figure, illustrated from 
 Gillray's Works. 
 
 AVING disposed of the senseless scrawlings of children 
 and the closely allied feeble attempts at delineation by 
 the ignorant savage ; also of those whimsical and 
 ' capricious combinations produced by the pencils of 
 trained artists, by putting them into the class of Gro- 
 :sque ; we are now enabled to enter upon the consideration 
 f the art displayed in, and the object of, that highly 
 popular branch of the fine arts called Caricature. 
 
 Design or drawing being an effort to delineate the apparent 
 forms of man, animals, or inanimate objects, in its simplest 
 aspect, does not aim at more than the mere representation of 
 such objects. When, however, numerous efforts have been made, 
 the eye has repeatedly examined these natural forms, and become 
 familiar with them. Concurrently the hand has received a 
 certain amount of training. Then the state of the representative 
 art in the juvenile student has greatly advanced, and the truth 
 of resemblance is much closer than heretofore. At this point the 
 majority of art-amateurs stop ; they are like a person able to 
 write, that is, to trace the written character, but wanting inven- 
 tion or imagination upon which these written characters may be 
 employed. To invent, to imagine incidents or events, capable 
 
AN ESSAF ON 
 
 of being presented to the eye by delineation on a flat surface, is 
 an important step in art, from the mere representation of the 
 forms of objects. 
 
 This invention is an active agent in the mind of an art- 
 student, and of the utmost importance to him, for without this 
 faculty the power of reproducing images or scenes once presented 
 to the mind through the eye cannot exist. 
 
 The power of reproducing events by the "mind's eye" is 
 called invention. It is invention that gives importance to the 
 works of the great masters in art ; and according to its mental 
 excellence and facility, stamps the possessor as a man of genius. 
 This quality it is which elevates the educated artist above the 
 rude and savage delineator of mere outward form. By selecting 
 and combining natural forms in harmonious compositions, the 
 artist creates new sources of enjoyment for himself and for his 
 fellow-men. This power of re-creating events it is which has 
 justly elevated the art of design, or of painting, to the high 
 position it occupies in civilised nations. 
 
 Invention, however, is compounded of memory, of imagina- 
 tion, and of judgment, the latter quality controlling the two 
 former. In the works of the greatest masters, such as Michael 
 Angelo, Raffaelle, Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens, Titian, Flaxman, 
 and of other great artists, ancient and modern, we see this 
 faculty of invention fully displayed. 
 
 The true occupation of the artist is to delight, to interest, and 
 to elevate the mind of man. Such object is properly sought in 
 the representing of subjects drawn from sacred sources, or from 
 the great events of history, or poetry, which require the most 
 exalted taste and skill to convey the peculiar sentiments intended 
 to be inculcated, in a manner corresponding to the dignity of the 
 subject selected. Such are the wonderful inventions of Michael 
 Angelo in the Sistine Chapel, of Raffaelle in the Vatican, and in 
 the cartoons, and of Rubens in his great work, illustrating the 
 marriage of Henri Ouatre with Marie de Medicis, now in the 
 Louvre at Paris. The amateur or art-student may verify for 
 himself these propositions, as at the Kensington Museum of 
 Art are reproductions in photography of these intellectual 
 treasures from the Sistine Chapel and other art sources. Over 
 these the advanced lover of art may pore, and with the greatest 
 ease minutely examine, and connect these mighty productions 
 in a regular series, in a manner far more agreeable and effective 
 than in an exceedingly uncomfortable examination of the great 
 originals in Rome. Here, by means of photography, the student 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 9 
 
 may appreciate the intense depth of thought and feeling- infused 
 by Michael Angelo into these works, and rendered with a 
 gigantic power of drawing. 
 
 The object of these pictures is to display the system of the 
 divine government of the world from its creation, with that also 
 of the elements which surround and uphold it, to its final destruc- 
 tion ; including the conduct and eternal fate of man as deduced 
 from the sacred records and understood by Christians, a theme 
 so elevated as to be parallel only to the great poems of Dante and 
 of Milton. 
 
 The Museum at Kensington possesses the original cartoons of 
 Raffaelle, and excellent copies of his works in the Vatican, which 
 sufficiently attest the intellectual elevation attained by the " Divine 
 Raffaelle." 
 
 The legitimate objects of art are, however, not confined 
 necessarily to the sublime efforts of these and other great artists, 
 but a style of art more closely allied to the feelings, events, and 
 imagery of common life is highly to be esteemed and admired, 
 exciting, as it does, emotions at once amiable and agreeable by 
 the display of parental or social affection, and of pure and inno- 
 cent enjoyment. Such is the aim of the numerous easel-pictures 
 and designs contributed to the annual displays of modern art 
 in the great capitals of Europe and America. 
 
 Thus it appears that the true artist aspires to be a teacher of 
 his fellow-mortals. This legitimate and laudable aspiration may, 
 however, be effected by a class of art which adopts the agency of 
 ridicule and satire to the exposition of the follies of fashion, the 
 indulgences of vice, or the more agreeable display of virtuous 
 conduct. Such is the intention of comic and satire art, ex- 
 emplified in England by the works of Hogarth, Collett, North- 
 cote, Wilkie, G. Cruikshank, Rippingille, E. M. Ward, R.A., 
 W. P. Frith, R.A., and many of the excellent artists of the 
 present day. 
 
 This latter department of art is also in close connection with 
 that slighter style called caricature, for most comic painters now, 
 as in former times, wield the etching needle, as well as the brush. 
 Their lighter and more rapid productions are caricatures evoked 
 by passing events, while their elaborated compositions are devoted 
 to placing on canvas, by the aid of colour, events of a more 
 important and permanent character. 
 
 The very nature of the subjects often requires materials low 
 in character, yet, by humour and pathos, they become admirable 
 by their application to moral purposes ; examples of this are to be 
 
 c 
 
AX ESS A IT OX 
 
 found in the works of William Hogarth, of Wilkie, and of nume- 
 rous artists of the English school. It is a great mistake to sup- 
 pose that the representation of persons in the lower ranks of life 
 constitutes caricature. True tragic feeling may be displayed by 
 a man in a fustian coat as powerfully as by a nobleman clad in 
 velvet. Hood takes a poor starving seamstress for the subject 
 of his " Song of the Shirt." A dead pauper "rattled over the 
 stones" is the ignoble theme chosen by Hood for the " Pauper's 
 Funeral." Yet tragic feeling is preserved in these celebrated poems. 
 
 At all times and in all ages there are existing ample proofs 
 of the desire and the fact of ridicule being exercised freely by 
 mankind. From the rudest state of society to that of the most 
 polished, a tendency to ridicule and a love of it appear to have 
 existed. 
 
 Not only has the humorous vein been indulged in by those 
 individuals who possess a keen sense of the ludicrous, but a corre- 
 sponding sensitiveness to ridicule on the part of the object of it has 
 been found, giving rise too frequently to personal encounters of a 
 deadly nature, still existing under the name of duelling. Catlin, 
 the Indian traveller, and illustrator by pen and pencil of the 
 native American Indians, relates that, having painted a chief in 
 profile, an ill-natured but witty fellow-chief said the sitter was 
 only half a man, for the painter had been too true in thus repre- 
 senting him. This sarcasm on a savage warrior was instantly 
 resented by the wit being called out. A duel fought with loaded 
 rifles left the wit dead on the field. 
 
 In rude ages, the chieftain and his ruder warriors indulged in 
 sarcasms and jokes upon their enemies or their dependants for 
 their mental or physical weaknesses ; in fact, ridicule is so in- 
 herent in mankind that it must have existed in the first family 
 circle. Ridicule indulged in by the King of France at the cor- 
 pulence of William the Conqueror provoked a war with that 
 country, and the death of William. 
 
 Laughter has ever been considered as a necessary element in 
 human enjoyment ; and why not ? seeing that mankind is the 
 only portion of the Almighty's works furnished with the efficient 
 muscular apparatus for this especial purpose. The gift of speech 
 and the power of laughing constitute man's superiority over our 
 great Simian progenitor so scientifically described by Mr. Darwin. 
 
 It may be objected here that animals do laugh. The keeper of 
 the hyaenas at the Zoological Gardens would maintain that the 
 horrible noise made by these repulsive animals is a veritable 
 cachinnation ; but such hilarity, however, would be far from cheer- 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 ing to the ears of a traveller. Horses are said proverbially to 
 laugh ; in old pictures and prints there is a comic risible expres- 
 sion represented very frequently, it may be admitted ; but whoever 
 really saw a horse laugh ? Again, a cat is said to laugh ; cats, 
 in nature, are certainly not much given to risibility. Monkeys 
 make a noise which even Darwinian love for the Simian quad- 
 ruped cannot really be called laughing, though the antics 
 of this libel on mankind never fail to cause laughter. This 
 faculty of laughing, therefore, being pre-eminently the property 
 of man, has been employed variously in all ages. As a mere 
 innocent pastime, pleasantries have been indulged in, even in the 
 most loving circles. Ridicule has been employed to warn indi- 
 viduals of any ludicrous habit or vicious indulgence, and thus has 
 assumed a didactic aspect. Too often ridicule has been employed 
 in a malignant feeling, merely to give pain to its object. 
 
 The agent in these different states of feeling has been named 
 " satire." 
 
 Fescennine verses are the originators of satirical works. On 
 the occurrence of the festivals of Ceres and Bacchus, certain 
 pantomimists amused the people with a coarse kind of per- 
 formance wherein verses indulging in great licence were repeated 
 or sung. Such verses, from being brought from Fescennia, in 
 Etruria, were called Fescennine. This species of composition 
 has prevailed in Italy from the earliest times to the present day, 
 and is indulged in at various festivals, but especially at the time 
 of the vintage. This rude extempore versification had no dramatic 
 construction, but was simply an effusion of verse by the satirists, 
 having no other qualities but raillery and fun at the expense of 
 their neighbours. Such productions also were called " satum" or 
 " satira" a word signifying a collection of various things, of food 
 composed of various ingredients, and it was also applied to such 
 laws as consisted of many enactments of a different nature. The 
 object of these rough verses by the peasantry was to ridicule 
 each other, and that not in the most delicate way possible. 
 
 In the course of time such species of poetry became peculiar 
 to the Romans, and was successfully cultivated by Ennius, whose 
 works, written on a variety of subjects, and in many different 
 metres, were therefore called satires. Lucilius was the first 
 writer who constructed satire upon true principles ; in his works 
 he not only satirises the vices and follies of men in general, but 
 frequently private individuals. They formed the model on which 
 Horace wrote his satires. By Horace the foibles and follies of 
 mankind are attacked in a style of playful raillery. 
 
AN ESSAY ON 
 
 Juvenal's satires are of a more severe and vigorous character, 
 provoked by the corruption of morals under the early emperors, and 
 the cruel punishments inflicted by Domitian on the wise and good. 
 
 The object of such efforts of art is to hold up to ridicule certain 
 vices or follies ; being similar to that of the Roman satirists, the 
 term thus became permanently established in the language of art, 
 and satiric pictures have been produced by numerous artists, but 
 by none so completely and so felicitously as by William Hogarth. 
 Juvenal by his pen, and Hogarth by his pencil, chastised vice with 
 severity, and at the same time encouraged virtue ; both also lie 
 open to the objection of descending too minutely into the details 
 of vice, although with a virtuous intention. 
 
 In this pictorial satire the persons represented are drawn true 
 to the life, such as we find in the works of our classical authors, 
 and in our comedy. 
 
 The satire consists in the ludicrous nature of the scenes 
 in which they move, and the incongruous actions in which the 
 figures are engaged. Of personal exaggeration there is very little, 
 not more than we find in Shakspere's comedies or in Dickens's 
 novels ; in fact, this pictorial satire, like dramatic satire, has for its 
 object " to hold the mirror up to nature," and " to shoot folly as 
 she flies ;" therefore, the more truthful the picture, drama, or 
 novel may be in the representation of the personages employed, 
 the more completely will this object be accomplished. 
 
 Truth of representation may be adhered to, and yet the satire 
 be strong and biting, for Nature herself in numerous instances 
 anticipates the satirist, by presenting us with men and women 
 whose features and figure resemble those of animals to such a 
 degree as to suggest the possibility of the "transmigration of 
 souls." This belief in the metempsychosis has been greatly 
 aided, if not originated, by the correspondence of features and 
 actions found in mankind. We all, in the circle of our acquaint- 
 ances and friends, can cite instances of this animal resemblance. 
 A thick-set, bull-necked, broad-faced man may be a brave 
 struggler with the adverse waves in life, a great and profound 
 author, a celebrated mathematician, or a prize-fighter, with the 
 soul of a bull. A thin-faced, sly man, with a cruel expression, 
 may be a cynical author, a savage critic, a swindler, or a murderer, 
 with the soul of a tiger or a cat. A long-nosed face, with large 
 slanting eyes and furtive expression, may represent a clever 
 anonymous satirist, or an amateur in petty larceny, with the 
 soul of a fox or a hyaena. A little, flippant, trickish, shallow 
 fellow may be a fop or a pickpocket, with the soul of a 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 13 
 
 monkey ; while a big, burly, bold, white-headed man may be a 
 great author or artist, or a warrior, with the soul of a lion. 
 Instances of this kind may be cited by all of us, but for our 
 purpose these will suffice. The satirist in such cases has simply 
 to adhere to truthful personal delineation ; but satire is also 
 produced by placing - the actors in ridiculous situations or 
 engaged in incongruous actions. 
 
 To illustrate my argument of truthful personal representation 
 made satirical, I, at the risk of an accusation of egotism, take leave 
 to introduce an engraving from one of my original pictures. The 
 object I had in view was to show up the extremely foolish, the 
 irreligious, the illegal, illogical, and wicked practice of duelling. 
 This wretched remnant of barbarous and superstitious ages sup- 
 poses that a bullet or a sword can decide the justice or the 
 injustice, the truth or the falsehood, of any question between 
 man and man. That superiority of bodily strength or skill in the 
 use of a weapon may thus be ascertained, is probable ; but that a 
 bullet or a sword has the power of discriminating between right 
 and wrong, is an assumption as false as it is wicked. This genteel 
 game of " homicide," however, our English law calls murder, and 
 happily for society the practice is now abandoned in England. 
 But as gentility and barefaced murder have so frequently been 
 associated by noble lords, persons in the lower ranks of life have 
 aped this privilege of the upper classes; consequently a linendraper, 
 quarrelling on a racecourse with a blackleg, challenged the latter, 
 and on fighting a duel, one was shot in the brain, the other fear- 
 fully wounded. This scene I depicted soon after the murder and 
 mutilation, and named the picture " Satisfaction ! " 
 
 Group 2. 
 
 Here, there is no personal exaggeration whatever ; the satire 
 lies in the injuries both sustain ; while the real question of truth, 
 of right or wrong, remains utterly unsettled, unless we consider 
 both combatants as idiots properly punished. This I humbly 
 submit is an example of true pictorial satire. Of this stupendous 
 folly a remarkable instance has been afforded at this present 
 time by a duel fought on Monday, July 7th, 1873, at Essanges, 
 on the Luxembourg frontier, between the Bonapartist, M. Paul 
 de Cassagnac, and M. Ranc, a noted Communist. Cassagnac 
 received a wound from his adversary's sword which penetrated his 
 arm as far up as the elbow. The seconds allowed the duel to 
 proceed, when in the second encounter M. Ranc was severely 
 
»4 
 
 AN ESS AF ON 
 
 wounded in the upper part of his arm. This entirely disabled M. 
 Ranc. Ill blood had existed between the parties for seven or 
 eight years, and nothing would appease the anger of those gentle- 
 men but a senseless appeal to cold steel. The intended duel was 
 trumpeted forth in the Paris press, and got up in the best 
 theatrical style, this silly proceeding being dignified as a struggle 
 between the Bonapartist and the Communist principles ! The 
 grand battle came off in the presence of a very large crowd, and 
 the police officers ! and with what result ? That each combatant 
 was wounded, decided nothing, except that in skill with the 
 murderous weapons they were on an equality. As for honour, for 
 political honesty, for pure patriotism, for right or wrong, this duel 
 leaves everything of this kind as before. 
 
 Exaggerated personal peculiarities with a satirical intention, 
 although indulged in by artists and sculptors of all ages, appears 
 not to have been practised to any great extent or classified in 
 England until the latter part of the eighteenth century, when the 
 term "caricature" was applied to such pictorial and personal 
 exaggeration. Like many other terms in art it has been derived 
 from Italy, and imported into this country by our amateurs of art, 
 but the earliest mention of the word occurs in Sir Thomas Brown's 
 "Christian Morals," where he uses the word " caricatura repre- 
 sentations." Indeed, the word itself did not appear in Italy until 
 the latter half of the seventeenth century ; but that it was current 
 soon after, in English educated society, is clear from the notice 
 given by W. Hogarth and Henry Fielding, dated 4th September, 
 1 758. When a vessel or vehicle is overloaded or overcharged, the 
 act of doing so is termed " caricare," an Italian verb to charge 
 or load. Now a portrait in which a feature or the features are 
 exaggerated, overdrawn, or overloaded, is said to be "carica- 
 tured," or " overcharged." In this way, when diameter or the 
 true likeness of any one is overdrawn, it becomes " caricature" 
 
 Outre is also a synonymous term used by French artists. 
 The popular explanation of this art "caricature" I consider due 
 to Hogarth and Fielding, both of whom, by the dilettanti of that 
 day, were accused of caricaturing society in their works. 
 
 Since the publication of Hogarth's print of " The Bench," and 
 Fielding's preface to his novel of " Joseph Andrews," the term has 
 been understood and universally applied to any exaggerated pro- 
 ductions of pen or pencil. 
 
 From the fastidious Horace Walpole, down to the modern 
 twaddle in art heard in any ordinary drawing-room, art is but 
 superficially understood. As one example, the late Sir George 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 '5 
 
 Beaumont, an amateur of great pretension, and one highly- 
 esteemed " in exceeding soft society" as a great authority in art, 
 had in his collection a few pictures by " Artois," a mannerist of 
 the French school. These Sir* George copied and bored over, till 
 he believed that Artois' pictures were better than nature. Con- 
 sequently, all landscape painters with whom he came in contact 
 were in a manner over-persuaded to copy his valuable Artois 
 pictures as a sure guide to nature. The writer was one of his 
 victims on the altar of Artois. Fancy such a man as Turner or 
 Constable being beset by such nonsense ! A brown tree with 
 grey and a blue sky should always be present ! Rule first ! The 
 true colour of landscape foliage was that of rich brown wood, 
 highly polished. Rule second ! Because George Morland had a 
 white horse in many of his pictures, therefore a white horse, or 
 some similar amount of white, should be ever introduced. Sir 
 George, in one of his artist-dictatorial fits, took Constable 
 (nature's own child in landscape) to see the true colour of landscape 
 foliage, namely, a brown Cremona fiddle lying on a fresh green 
 grass plot ! Such dilettantism as this it was that chafed the great 
 Hogarth and equally great Henry Fielding. Arraigned for truth 
 to nature at the bar of these dilettanti, let us hear the two cele- 
 brated culprits in defence of themselves. 
 
 Of Hogarth's lighter productions the examples of heads on 
 Group 3, " The Bench," are here introduced. While the question 
 of "character" compared to "caricature" was being argued, 
 Hogarth, in furtherance of his views, took up two of his etchings 
 and had a strip of work in each plate burnished out, so as 
 to admit of his illustration of caricature being etched upon the 
 blank part. At the bottom of this Group 3 is an overcharged 
 head, in fact a caricature by Leonardo da Vinci; with that is a 
 silly looking head by Annibale Caracci, and a rudely drawn 
 face produced by childish efforts in art. The larger head is by 
 a contemporary Italian artist, Ghezzi, famous for caricatures. 
 The illustrations on the right are from Raffaelle's cartoon "Paul 
 preaching at Athens," the beggar being introduced from "the 
 Beautiful Gate at the Temple." These are specimens of cha- 
 racter, whilst the head of the beggar is caricatured on the left 
 side of the print. In his engraving entitled "The Bench," pub- 
 lished on the 4th of September, 1758, Hogarth endeavours to 
 explain the different meaning of the words character, caricature, 
 and outre in painting and drawing. " There are hardly any two 
 things more essentially different than character and caricature ; 
 nevertheless, they are usually confounded and mistaken for each 
 
16 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 other, on which account this explanation is attempted. It has 
 ever been allowed that when a character is strongly marked in 
 the living face, it may be considered as an index of the mind ; to 
 express which, with any degree of justness in painting, required 
 the utmost efforts of a great master." 
 
 Such is Hogarth's definition of character. Outre signifies the 
 exaggerated outlines of a figure, all, or in part, overcharged or 
 caricatured. A giant or a dwarf may be called a common man 
 outre. So any part, as a nose or a leg, made bigger or less than it 
 ought to be, is that part outre. 
 
 The other accused satirist, Henry Fielding, thus' defends his 
 friend in his preface to the satiric novel, "Joseph Andrews." 
 " He who should call the ingenious Hogarth a burlesque painter, 
 would, in my opinion, do him very little honour; for sure it is 
 much easier, much less the subject of admiration, to paint a man 
 with a nose or any other feature of a preposterous size, or to 
 expose him in some absurd or monstrous attitude, than to express 
 
 the affections of men on canvas We shall find the true 
 
 excellence of comic painting consists in the exactest copy of 
 nature, whereas in caricature we allow all licence in distortions 
 and exaggerations whatever." Henry Fielding must be admitted 
 to be a great authority, not only as a novelist, but as a master of 
 burlesque. 
 
 In the print of "The Bench," Group 3, by Hogarth, we find 
 a wonderfully characteristic portrait of a judge be-wigged and 
 be-robed. His pomposity is alarming, and his profundity un- 
 fathomable. His lordship on the right is either thinking very 
 hard indeed, or else has a dozing fit upon him ; whilst his neigh- 
 bour unmistakably gives up the cause, and resigns himself to 
 sleep. The judge in the dark wig appears to be accompanying 
 the chief baron in his portentous summing-up. As in the other 
 case, Hogarth has had a part of the work burnished out, so as to 
 allow him still further to illustrate his argument in respect to 
 caricature. In the centre of the top is an exaggerated etching of 
 the sleepy judge, wherein his naturally sharp features are rendered 
 still sharper, while the likeness is preserved throughout the cari- 
 cature. The three heads next are specimens of character from 
 "The Last Supper," by Leonardo da Vinci; the head to the 
 extreme right is another caricature of our sharp and sleepy judge. 
 A caricature of one of Leonardo's heads also introduced in " The 
 Last Supper," with one illustration of character from Raffaelle's 
 "Sacrifice at Lystra," caricatured excellently well in the etching 
 at the side, complete this plate, and Hogarth's illustration of the 
 
GROUP 3. 
 
 (Page 16. 
 
 HOGARTH. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 subject. Although Hogarth thoroughly understood and, as we see, 
 clearly illustrated the principles of caricature, his engravings 
 which come under this denomination are not so exaggerated in 
 drawing as one might suppose they would be. The principles he 
 laid down were carried out subsequently more completely by 
 W. H. Bunbury Esq., a man of a good county family, and a 
 really clever amateur, but it was under the pencil of James Gillray 
 that they attained a complete and full development. 
 
 The illustrations on Group 4 are given by way of 'showing the 
 treatment of forms by the prince of caricaturists, James Gillray. 
 On the upper part of the plate are three heads, drawn by myself. 
 One is from the antique, representing the beau-ideal of manly beauty 
 in the Apollo Belvidere ; the next represents the same style of 
 features in a living individual, or in nature ; while the third has all 
 the original points exaggerated. Thus they form a regular sequence, 
 Art, Nature, and Caricature. Doubtless, the third head might 
 be still more exaggerated, and thus assimilate more closely with 
 Gillray' s practice. 
 
 The central head on Group 4 is an example of character. 
 It is a faithfully drawn and carefully etched head of the great 
 William Pitt, by his admirer and own caricaturist James Sayer, 
 of whose caricatures notices will appear in the course of this 
 work. Pitt is here represented in his place in the House of 
 Commons, replying to his great political opponents, Charles James 
 Fox and Lord North. 
 
 The object of introducing this drawing by Sayer is to 
 exemplify as before "character" as contrasted with "carica- 
 ture." On each side is an example of what became of the features 
 of the "Heaven-born minister," when under the exaggerating 
 influence of Gillray's satirical touch. Adhering closely to his 
 wig and bag, Pitt's nose has been seized by Gillray and pulled 
 out to a ridiculous extent in both instances. Here we have 
 the true exemplification of caricature. The head to the left is from 
 Gillray's print, "Pitt uncorking old Sherry," alluding to an 
 expose of Sheridan's political conduct. The slender figure of 
 Pitt and his thin neck are also under caricature influence. The 
 illustration on the right is from " The Garden of Eden," where 
 the slender figure of the great minister and his prominent nose 
 are comically rendered by Gillray. Beneath the head of Pitt is 
 an exaggerated likeness of his great political opponent, Charles 
 James Fox. The likeness is well preserved, but by a few skilful 
 touches the massive, swarthy, hirsute head of Fox becomes 
 perfectly demoniacal. He wears the detested " cap of liberty," 
 
 D 
 
18 AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 with the tricoloured cockade of the Paris revolutionists. Fox's 
 projecting eyebrows and two locks of hair are ingeniously made 
 to represent horns. This is from a caricature in which Fox is said 
 to reveal his true character as a diabolical traitor to his king and 
 country. The group of legs on the right is an example of 
 Gillray's richest style of caricature. The corpulence of the Marquis 
 of Salisbury, Lord Chamberlain to King George III., is here 
 ridiculed in the balustrade - shaped legs, and general contour 
 of the noble lord's understanding. On the right is a caricature of 
 Pitt's naturally slender limbs, here represented spider-like in shape. 
 These are the legs belonging to the head of Pitt, when " Un- 
 corking old Sherry," copied from the popular caricature by J. 
 Gillray. These illustrations of " nature, or character," and of the 
 application to them of the principles of caricature, it is considered 
 will be amply sufficient to guide the reader to a correct judgment 
 of the efforts of caricaturists, especially if he should confine his 
 investigation of this subject to its development in " Free England." 
 
DRAWN AND ETCHED BY R. W. BUSS. 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF CARICATURE. 
 
CARICATURE DIVIDED INTO INVOLUNTARY OR UNINTENTIONAL, 
 AND VOLUNTARY OR INTENTIONAL. 
 
 FOLIO III. 
 
 Involuntary Caricature — Illustrations. — Savage and Fashionable Monstrosities — Classical Monsters. 
 ' Christian Monsters. — Bayeux Tapestry. — False Art of Watteau, Boucher, Thornhill, &c. — 
 Stage Dandyism : Mrs. Siddons, J. Wallack, Charles Kean, H. Fuseli, R.A. 
 
 ,HE principles of caricature thus laid down apply to all 
 the comic or satiric productions from the earliest period 
 to the present hour. But a satiric intention is not 
 always present in these instances, whether ancient or 
 modern. Comicality may and does exist in early 
 efforts in art ; but on examination this ludicrous appearance 
 will be found not due to a desire to ridicule or to satirise 
 any individual, but simply to a feeble power of drawing. Ex- 
 aggeration or over-charged drawing does not necessarily involve 
 a satiric intention, although one quality of caricature may be 
 present. Thus ludicrous efforts of art, devoid of satiric intent, form 
 one large class of examples, and may be described as, "Involuntary 
 or Unintentional Caricature" whilst such efforts as, combined 
 with exaggerated forms, have a satiric intention, fall under the 
 head of " Voluntary or Intentional Caricature.' 1 '' 
 
 These two broad divisions of ludicrous efforts in art, or of comic 
 appearances, such as those effected by the adoption of absurd yet 
 fashionable eccentricities, as wry necks, wasp-like waists, the 
 Grecian bend, affected lameness, pigtails, monstrous loads of false 
 hair, and other absurdities, will embrace a large number of 
 instances of unsuspected caricature ; while the student can readily 
 place all intention to ridicule, or satirise, in the other broad division 
 of avowed caricature. 
 
 Involuntary or Unintentional Caricature. 
 
 Involuntary or unintentional caricature results whenever an 
 untrained hand essays in any manner to imitate human or brute 
 
2 0 
 
 AN FSSAF ON 
 
 forms. To obtain a specimen of this class of art it is only necessary 
 to place a black-lead pencil, a piece of chalk, or a slate pencil in 
 the hand of a child, and ask for a delineation of a man, a horse, or 
 a ship ; if the child have the slightest idea of drawing, there will be 
 produced something in the way of art quite monstrous and ludicrous. 
 Exaggeration, and consequent caricature, will be inevitable, and 
 this exaggeration will be greater or less according to the practice 
 of hand and the power of observation. The uncivilised man, or 
 savage, or barbarian, or heathen (according to our civilised ideas), 
 will in regard to art be on a par with a child. Of this involuntary 
 caricature, thousands of specimens are being daily produced by 
 children of all nations, wherever any material for delineation exist. 
 Uncivilised nations, however, appear to be more used to model 
 forms in clay or carve them in wood, than to delineate them ; 
 hence we see these attempts to imitate the human form assume 
 extraordinary aspects. This unexpected and ludicrous amount of 
 exaggeration arises not merely from art-ignorance, but from a 
 natural and laudable desire to present even in a rude way the 
 figure of a god, and this with a truly serious intention, not in the 
 most remote degree satirical. 
 
 To illustrate this point of unintentional caricature, on Group 5 
 are several examples selected almost at random from the practices 
 of savage nations, as well as from those wherein a high degree of 
 civilisation has been attained. The most prominent subject on 
 this group is an idol from the South Seas. In this example we have 
 a very rude imitation of the human figure, hardly superior to that 
 of a child's first scrawling in regard to truth of resemblance ; but 
 by way of compensation the invention of the sculptor has given a 
 large head to the figure ; and, as vigilance to watch an enemy, or 
 to catch prey, is a great desideratum in savage life, these qualities 
 are supposed to be represented by a pair of wonderfully exaggerated 
 eyes, reaching backwards, and descending to the heels of the 
 figure ; an enormous mouth fitted with rows of savage-looking teeth 
 indicate a masticating power essential to tough anthropophagy. 
 As the poor uneducated heathen has fashioned this log of wood to 
 be an object of worship, he has naturally bestowed upon his god 
 those qualities which in his ideas are most useful and desirable, 
 and we may suppose according to some obscure idea of beauty he 
 may possess. A similarly disordered sense of beauty is exemplified 
 in the head of an idol brought from the Pacific Islands. It is an 
 imitation of what is a godlike form according to the creed of a 
 savage ; as in the previous example, the eyes and the mouth 
 are hideously exaggerated for doubtless the same reasons. 
 
GROUP 5. 
 
 (Page £1; 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 This model is made of framework covered with small red 
 feathers closely and ingeniously laid, the eyes are formed of 
 two black balls fastened on oval plates of mother-of-pearl, and 
 the teeth are of white wood. This is also an example of unin- 
 tentional caricature. 
 
 The other strange-looking head is from a portrait of a 
 savage chief, drawn for and engraved in an edition of Captain 
 Cook's Voyages. It is the head of an "exquisite" of Prince 
 William's Sound, and is an example of serious exaggeration 
 under a mistaken idea of the beautiful. The physiognomy 
 of this savage chieftain is not naturally handsome according 
 to European ideas of beauty, yet this repulsive aspect is ren- 
 dered still more so by the tattooing process, and the paint in 
 which he has indulged. But the most extraordinary caricature 
 proceeding is his desire to have two mouths instead of one. 
 In civilised society one mouth is considered as ample provision 
 of this kind for beauty, for sustenance, and for the pecuniary 
 means of individuals ; but these savage nations of the Pacific 
 insanely insist upon having two mouths. For this desirable 
 end, an incision is made in the chin, just below the lower lip, 
 and for a time kept open by plugs ; when the part has healed, 
 this additional mouth is still farther improved by having one or 
 more iron nails inserted by way of ornament on " court days " and 
 "presentations" to their savage majesties. This is an instance 
 of unintentional personal caricature by exaggeration of what is 
 considered as beautiful. Since Captain Cook's time, however, 
 civilisation has done its work in the South Seas, so that in 
 regard to this illustration it is a thing of the past. 
 
 Another example of personal caricature is given in this drawing 
 of a Chinese lady's foot. In the insane wish to produce a style of 
 beauty, the natural and exquisite organ of locomotion is, according 
 to Chinese custom, cramped by bandages and other means in such 
 a way as to prevent free movement, and that beautiful action of 
 the toes upon the foot, which free and unrestrained nature would 
 permit. To venture upon venerable jokes, it would seem that 
 Chinese gentlemen were determined "to limit the understanding 
 of their ladies," and to insist that they do " stand upon trifles." 
 
 Distortion produced by false notions of beauty are common 
 enough amongst uncivilised nations, and of these modern travellers 
 give us numerous instances. The "Botucados" of South America 
 insert large plugs of wood into the lower lip, producing a most 
 frightful aspect ; others enlarge the lobe of the ear by inserting 
 shells. But while we ridicule these barbarous practices, we must 
 
22 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 not forget that civilised nations are open to adverse criticism on 
 this point. What excuse can be offered for the insane practice 
 of compressing- the delicate organs of respiration by tight lacing, 
 a constriction of the waist which absolutely produces deformity, 
 reduces the waist to half its natural and proper size, and some- 
 times reverses the action of the heart, lungs, liver, and stomach. 
 Health is destroyed, the circulation of the blood impeded — 
 hence cold feet, and the ladies' horror, red noses. The example 
 of tight lacing here given bears a close analogy to the form of 
 the savage god above, and contrasts with the natural form of the 
 female trunk. The waist is by nature placed a little below the ribs ; 
 but fashion, idolatry, and dressmakers have persisted in caricatur- 
 ing the female form, by placing this part in the most absurd manner, 
 ranging from the arm-pits down low upon the hips ! Nor need 
 we ridicule the Chinese lady's foot very much, while our "dear 
 girls" destroy the beautiful action and form of their feet by 
 wearing stupid bits of wood called heels, which forces the weight 
 of the body down in front, crushes the toes into a bunch, pro- 
 duces corns and bunions, and makes the votaries of fashion walk 
 on the points of their toes. 
 
 Nor is the skull distortion of savages confined to them, for 
 as regards external appearance, the modern lady's skull is ap- 
 parently as violently distorted as any of the heads of savages 
 exhibited in the Museum of the College of Surgeons. Lumps 
 of wool, horse hair, and hair cut from the heads of hospital 
 patients or from paupers, are made up into chignons, and, 
 stuck on our "dear creatures'" heads, produce an external 
 shape of skull sufficient to drive a phrenologist stark mad. 
 Fashion has in all ages been the great agent in producing 
 personal caricature, from the ridiculous waggle, called the 
 "Grecian bend," to holding of the head awry, and other such 
 absurdities. Nature, when developed by air and exercise, always 
 shows more real beauty than conceited man will readily permit. 
 He docks his horses, deprives them of their beautiful flowing 
 manes and tails, nicks their tails, and reverses their right position ; 
 he docks his poodle-dogs to imitate in ridiculous fashion the tufts 
 and manes of lions ; and, not content with that, he in himself imitates 
 the dog's tail, tuft and all, but he hangs the tail on to his head, 
 instead of its right place, according to the Darwinian theory and 
 the brute anatomy. Numerous other fashionable monstrosities, 
 equally absurd, and many other modes of caricature, might be ad- 
 duced, but for the present purpose the examples given on Group 5 
 are sufficient as specimens of unintentional personal caricature. 
 
GROUP 6. 
 
 (Page 2,3. 
 
 Jlnubis. Centaur. Janus. 
 
 R W BUSS DEL. ■ 
 
 C LASSICAL MONSTERS. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 *3 
 
 Classical Monsters. 
 
 The subjects on Group 6 lead us on delicate ground, as it is 
 that of classical lore ; nevertheless, if exaggerated forms and 
 extraordinary combinations constitute caricature, degenerating into 
 the Grotesque, here we have ample illustration of involuntary or 
 unintentional caricature. True it is, the forms are in better drawing, 
 better chosen, and better combined than those of the preceding 
 examples ; yet these classical monsters, or minor gods of the 
 ancients, are as much caricatures as the hideous wooden deities of 
 the savages. What can we say of a god with two faces and one 
 brain, or two halves of that cerebral organ joined together back to 
 back ? Yet this is the god Janus, to whose honour a temple was 
 reared, and who figured to great advantage in peace and war ! 
 True, this combination expressed a poetical and classical belief or 
 tradition ; yet the symbol is nothing more in art than a monstrosity. 
 
 In the centre of Group 6 is a chubby boy blindfolded, 
 with wings to fly, but without the proper and necessary 
 muscles to move them ; this pretty little monster is no other 
 than Cupid, so dear to love-sick mortals ! Flying in Paphian 
 bowers, gathering sweets from flowers, and aiming darts at 
 mortals' hearts, may be all very pretty and very sentimental, but 
 cannot remove the dear little juvenile out of the category of 
 caricature. The bull - headed man, the Minotaur, is another 
 monstrosity, as is also the one of a bull's body with a man's 
 head, symbolizing a cannibal taste on the part of* the Minotaur, 
 yet it is a caricature so violent as to verge upon the Grotesque. 
 Then again we have the Satyr, a hook-nosed, bearded, and horned 
 man, joined at the waist to the half of a goat, to which animal 
 the head on Group 6 bears a great resemblance. The mermaid 
 again is another absurdity, a beautiful woman to the waist, but 
 below, instead of legs, joined to the tail and fins of a fish. The 
 Centaur, half a man and half a horse. The Triton also, a 
 human head and trunk joined to a horse's legs, fitted with large 
 flaps for water-progression. The dog-headed god of Anubis is 
 another monster. 
 
 Now let us remark a little upon these " monsters made easy " 
 by classical authors, and accepted by the civilised world. 
 
 Here are combinations far more impossible and absurd than 
 those in the wildest " freak of nature." Bodies joined to bodies 
 with different and double vital systems and digestive organs, 
 human to brute forms, with double or single brains assigned 
 to one head, and so on. These symbols of classical beliefs, 
 
AN ESSAY ON 
 
 absurd as they are, have nevertheless descended, ad infinitum, 
 to us from antiquity, and formed the principal stock of ideas for 
 caricaturists, even to the present hour, as will be manifest on an 
 examination of their works. 
 
 The Satyr of antiquity has been adopted by Italian and German 
 artists to represent the Satan of Christian belief. The examples 
 here given are but a few amongst an immense number of classical 
 monsters belonging to the coins and sculptured gems of antiquity. 
 
 Christian Monsters. 
 
 On Group 7, the principal illustration is our old friend the 
 classical Satyr with a new face. The early illustrators of Christian 
 subjects drew upon the remains of classical art for many of their 
 impersonations, and at once pressed into their service the Satyr 
 of antiquity, and christened him Satan. The figure of Satan was 
 modified in the wildest way by German artists, who added to the 
 classical Satyr, grim faces on the arms, breast, and shoulders of 
 his figure, and expanded the hand into a tiger's paw embellished 
 with long claws. Large bat-like wings, a long serpent-like tail, 
 with a savage sting in the end of it, completed the toilette of 
 the Author of Evil. They had not the advantage of modern 
 discoveries by which the gorilla might have fairly been taken as 
 the representative of the Enemy of Man. This serious exaggera- 
 tion on Group 7 is taken from an old German block engraved in 
 the early days of engraving and printing. 
 
 Numerous different examples of Satan are dispersed over the 
 works of the early Italian and German artists, in which curious 
 fanciful forms appear. The abode of the wicked is by them 
 depicted as an immense dragon's mouth vomiting flames, into 
 which Satan and his fiends are driving sinners. Death, another 
 Christian impersonation, is derived from the invention of early 
 artists. 
 
 This idea has been represented in various ways, all of them 
 being skeletons of the human form, or the bony structure partly 
 covered with muscles. Such.are the " Danse Macabre" of early 
 monkish times, and the more modern treatment of the subject by 
 Hans Holbein in his celebrated "Dance of Death." 
 
 These representations of Satan became modified by the pecu- 
 liarities of Fauns of antiquity, blended with a sensual expression, 
 derived from living examples of licentiousness. Such are the fiends 
 introduced by early artists, adopted by Luca Signorelli, and by 
 Michael Angelo in his gigantic picture of "The Last Judgment," 
 
OR AW N AND ENGRAVED BY R. W. BUSS. 
 
 CHRISTIAN MONSTERS. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 25 
 
 painted on the wall of the Sistine Chapel, in Rome. In the forms 
 of these fiends we find elongated ears, horns, and a hideous 
 gorilla-like expression in the face ; a sort of rudimental tail to the 
 body, while the nails of the hands and feet are improved into 
 formidable claws, to assist their canine fangs in flesh-tearing. 
 Examples of this exaggeration are given in Group 7, from Luca 
 Signorelli, Michael Angelo, and Rubens. In all three they are 
 engaged in the interesting occupation of feasting on the flabby 
 flesh of voluptuous sinners. 
 
 I believe the only idea really originating in Christian art or 
 legend is that of a cherub, and an outrageous little monster it 
 is, in spite of our art-education teaching us to admire such a 
 violent exaggeration. Here is a baby's head, with a pair of 
 duck's wings, flying about — a brain, with no body, no spine, no 
 arms, no legs ; nor has the cherub any respiratory or digestive 
 organs. 
 
 The monstrous combinations of human and brute forms are 
 incongruous enough, but in the cherub we reach the highest or 
 the lowest point. of absurdity. No symbol has been more freely 
 used than this caricature, even by our greatest artists ; yet, not- 
 withstanding, fond mammas gaze delighted on this absurdity. 
 When applied to portraits of their departed babes the monstrosity 
 is unquestionable. 
 
 In the class of involuntary or unintentional caricature may be 
 included all the feeble efforts in art found in illuminated MSS., in 
 early sculpture, and in coins. 
 
 The illustrations of this class of art are taken from that 
 important and very venerable piece of needlework, known and 
 valued so highly as the Bayeux tapestry. This work is not 
 tapestry at all, but simply a large sampler worked in different 
 coloured worsteds, on canvas ; but by no less a personage than 
 Queen Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror. While his 
 Dukeship came over to England and settled our business in 
 "our tight little island!" Mrs. Duke William amused herself 
 by stitching this historical caricature. It is twenty inches wide, 
 two hundred and fourteen feet long, and was intended as decora- 
 tive drapery for a church, frequented by Queen Matilda. It 
 is, as it deserves to be, most carefully preserved in the museum 
 of the grand old Norman city of Bayeux. Outlined upon canvas 
 by some monk of very humble art-power, her own being still less, 
 she no doubt made the originally bad drawing much worse ; the 
 result is the largest, the most valuable, the most historical, the 
 most national, and the most funny caricature in the whole world ! 
 
 E 
 
26 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 King Edward the Confessor is represented herewith his fingers 
 near his nose, executing that optical feat known vulgarly as 
 " taking a sight," a proof, by-the-bye, of the antiquity of this 
 popular and facetious amusement of boys in general. Duke 
 William, in mail, with the nasal defence on his iron skull-cap, 
 is haranguing his Norman robbers ; but it must be confessed, 
 under his lady wife's needle, he seems to possess neither sense 
 nor spirit. While smiling at Queen Matilda's involuntary carica- 
 ture, however, it must not be forgotten that it preserves to us 
 a mass of information on historical, political, and military affairs 
 of the Norman period, unattainable from any other source. 
 
 So highly prized is it, and has been for many years, that 
 Napoleon I., when contemplating, in 1803, the invasion and 
 conquest of England, had it brought to Paris from Bayeux, and 
 exhibited with great state, for the purpose of stimulating the 
 French to the expedition against "perfidious Albion." 
 
 The illustrations given are sufficient to enable the student to 
 classify under the head of involuntary or unintentional caricature, 
 nearly the entire mass of early drawings contained in the old 
 illuminated MSS. and feeble art of early date. 
 
 Before taking leave of this division of the subject, it may be 
 well to refer to instances of personal involuntary caricature, and 
 applications of exaggerated form to many works which would bring 
 these beautiful efforts of art under the class of involuntary cari- 
 cature. Greek sculptors, for example, sought by combining all 
 the fine points of the male or female figure, to embody in the 
 "Apollo," the "Venus," the "Hercules," and other antique 
 statues, an ideal beauty of form surpassing that possessed by any 
 individual. 
 
 " A faultless monster which the world ne'er saw ! " 
 
 is the description given by a poetical critic on antique beauty. 
 Here is an undoubted case of exaggeration, the leading quality 
 of caricature ; yet, as it may be deemed heretical to classify under 
 that head the beautiful statues of antiquity, we must withhold 
 such an apparently condemnatory verdict. If exaggeration or 
 overcharging produces caricature, the antique overcharges or 
 elevates nature ; while what we commonly understand by cari- 
 cature debases nature. Be it so, for the comfort of classical 
 enthusiasts ! 
 
 If we recognise the principle that exaggeration of forms or of 
 incidents constitutes caricature, then we have an immense mass of 
 involuntary caricature in directions where it would be little sus- 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 2 7 
 
 pected. What else than caricatures are the shepherds and shep- 
 herdesses of Watteau and Boucher, whether in the flesh or merely 
 on canvas? Courtiers of both sexes, patched and powdered, attired 
 in satins, leading a fictitious pastoral life, tending sheep with well- 
 washed and scented fleeces, gilt horns, and hoofs ! and pretending 
 to be country lads and lasses ! What can be more absurd than 
 opera-house shepherds decked out in gay ribbons and velvet, 
 silk stockings, and shiny shoes ! rings on their fingers and diamond 
 buckles on their shoes ! All this is false, for real shepherds 
 wear smock frocks, corduroys, and hobnailed boots ; eat hunks 
 of fat bacon on bread, and drink small beer ; while instead of 
 playing on their pipes, they smoke them ! Again, the gods and 
 goddesses of Verrio, of Thornhill, and other ceiling painters, 
 tricked out in velvets, satins, and shot silks, like ordinary mortals, 
 and playing on big and little fiddles, flutes, and trumpets ! All 
 this is absurd. It is in fact nothing more nor less than involuntary 
 caricature ! What else can be said of the excruciating beauty 
 of the musical pictorial embellishments, and of the exaggerated 
 charms of the ladies who figure in the magazines of fashion 
 published for dressmakers ? 
 
 A pompous style and attitude assumed by an ugly little man 
 or woman, becomes a caricature. A soldier fleeing from battle — 
 a fat, unwieldy man or woman dancing and aping the elastic step 
 of youth : all such are instances of caricature, although un- 
 intentional. 
 
 Of a similar nature are all delineations or paintings in which 
 great displays of learning are used to accomplish ridiculously easy 
 results. Horace Twiss declared that Mrs. Siddons stabbed the loaf 
 when she cut bread and butter ! and in deep tragic tones said, 
 " Give me the bowl," when she wished for some salad ! " Taking 
 a sledge-hammer to kill a fly," "Much ado about nothing," are 
 quotations illustrative of the intrinsic qualities of many works of 
 art, and of our daily experiences. 
 
 Henry Fuseli, R.A., one of the most learned members of the 
 Royal Academy of London, was sometimes engaged to illustrate 
 domestic subjects, for which his anatomical and peculiar study 
 totally unfitted him. Respectable country gentlemen under his 
 pencil appeared like maniacs ; little boys and girls like angels or 
 fiends in his pictures from Milton or Dante. 
 
 Of a similar kind was the absurdity committed by James 
 Wallack, a leading actor, who dressed a farmer, in one of Jerrold's 
 pieces dramatized from Sir David Wilkie's admirable and natural 
 picture of "The Rent Day." This sturdy clodhopper, a simple 
 
28 
 
 AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 farmer, Wallack dressed in a beautifully made coat, waistcoat, 
 and breeches, silk stockings, and black patent leather shiny boots ! 
 brilliant rings on his fingers, and a black wig in full curl. So 
 with our actresses, no matter what may be the proper costume, all 
 must be sacrificed to the prevailing fashion, so that they may 
 prove attractive on the stage. Such ideas, whether in painting, 
 acting, or in writing, are senseless exaggerations, altogether out 
 of place, and are neither more nor less than caricature. Carica- 
 ture effects, before the reform in costume on the stage had been 
 accomplished, were abundant. 
 
 How ridiculous must Macbeth have appeared, attired in a red 
 coat trimmed with gold lace, powdered wig, with a long tail 
 tied round with ribbon, a long sword, military boots, and spurs ! 
 Again, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, whose costume belongs 
 to an early period of Danish history, was played in a Court suit of 
 black velvet, bag-wig — well powdered — ruffles, lace cravat, buckles, 
 and dress sword ! Then think of the absurd trick of kicking down 
 a chair to express astonishment when the ghost of the murdered 
 king appears to Hamlet in the closet scene. Othello, the Moor 
 of Venice, costumed like a modern flunkey, with his face blacked 
 and his hair powdered ! These and many other instances might 
 be adduced to show how fruitful a source of caricature were barn- 
 representations, as well as those of our national theatres, even 
 when the great works of our dramatists were presented, and sup- 
 ported by our greatest actors. To John Kemble, Charles Kemble, 
 and the antiquary, J. R. Planche, the reform in stage costume 
 and its accessories is due. 
 
 The late Charles Kean, during his management of the 
 Princess's Theatre, placed many plays on his stage with so much 
 antiquarian accuracy that each scene was a study for historical 
 painters. In this he was assisted by the eminent antiquary the 
 late Henry Shaw, F.S.A., &c. 
 
FOLIO IV. 
 
 VOLUNTARY OR INTENTIONAL CARICATURE. 
 
 Voluntary or Intentional Caricature from the Earliest Period to the Invention of Printing. — Satire, 
 an Aid to Reforms in Political or Social Matters. — Means of Drawing and Modelling in a 
 Rude State of Society. — Colour. — Egjptain Painting. — True Fresco compared to Tempera. — 
 Pictures on Papyri. — Etruscan Vases. — Examples of Caricature. — Original of Punch. — Dark 
 Ages. — Christian Art. — Carvings in Wood and Stone. — Manuscripts. — Tapestry. 
 
 [E have seen that feeble drawing, or delineation, in- 
 WJWiM ev ^ ta ^y sm k s into caricature, whether intended so 
 s f <§^f j§£ or not. Examples of various kinds have been adduced ; 
 ^||^§| DU t in all these cases it must be borne in mind that 
 
 fthe exaggeration arises simply from defective art- 
 education, is one of the earliest stages of delineation, and 
 one in which for a time all early efforts may be considered 
 equal in talent. But after several efforts, the individual who 
 has a power of observing forms has his eye and hand trained : 
 therefore, the results are better. Ridicule, that quality so 
 common to mankind, now, in many instances, comes into play ; 
 hence arises a satirical vein so essential to real or voluntary 
 caricature. 
 
 The habit of observation, grafted on to improved practice in 
 drawing, perceives at once a mouth very capacious or of extremely 
 limited extent ; a long or a short nose, or a snub ; eyes large 
 or small, dark or light ; vision straight or oblique ; hair long 
 and lank, or short and curly. Peculiarities such as these 
 become, in the satirist's hands, exaggerated wholly or partly; 
 thus arises the class of voluntary or intentional caricature, what- 
 ever may be the degree of power indicated by the delineation. 
 This vein of satire, although employed to ridicule the personal 
 appearance of an individual, may be associated with a higher aim, 
 that of ridiculing or satirising his actions. Then comes the 
 caricaturing of his figure and general demeanour. A still higher 
 
AN ESSAY ON 
 
 aim is that of satirising political delinquents, and lashing- the 
 vices or ridiculing the follies of the individual, or of a class of 
 which he is the type. This is the quality which originates 
 social or political caricatures, and may itself be pungent and 
 well directed, even when expressed by feeble delineation ; when, 
 however, to a close, observant power, a keen sense of ridicule, 
 a just insight into the moving springs of action in individuals or 
 in classes, is added rapid and correct delineation of the figure, 
 caricature then becomes an art at once difficult in invention and 
 execution. 
 
 Under the head of "voluntary caricature" a wide range presents 
 itself, as it embraces the art of caricature and the various modes 
 of executing works of this kind, from the creation of man to the 
 invention of printing. What instruments would, in a rude state 
 of man, be available for delineating form ? Chalks of various 
 colours, burnt wood or charcoal, earths dissolved in water, the 
 juices of plants, would supply means to the juvenile painter. Clay, 
 in a plastic state, would afford the incipient sculptor means of 
 practice in his art. In this way, both unintentional and intentional 
 caricatures must have been executed. 
 
 A more advanced degree of observation would suggest the 
 covering of surfaces, with colour between the outlines. The 
 colour, however, might easily be rubbed off: this would suggest 
 some mode of binding it to the surfaces on which it might be 
 applied, and thus render pigments adhesive and durable. This 
 step in art, so far as linear drawing and colouring are concerned, 
 is one of easy accomplishment, and common to nearly every 
 nation, civilised or savage. Modelling would also run parallel 
 to drawing and painting ; for soft clay, or earth, and the finger 
 are means ever present. 
 
 The earliest known specimens of drawing date before the 
 heroic ages. At an early date brushes had been invented, and 
 colours ground to a fine powder, so as to mix freely with water. 
 Egyptian painting shows that the colours employed were simple 
 earths, which in the course of time have remained unchanged. 
 These colours, or earths, were white, black, yellow, red, blue, 
 and green, either used in their natural hues, or blended together 
 as might be required. Wood, canvas, or a wall, was the material 
 upon which large pictures were executed ; for smaller efforts, 
 the leaves of the papyrus were employed, whence comes our 
 word " paper." The outline sketched in charcoal was then 
 re-drawn in red colour, and when the design was completed, the 
 spaces between covered with the required colours. These colours, 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 if mixed with animal gelatine, would adhere to the surfaces on 
 which they were applied. A binding material is also found in the 
 juices contained in the shoots of certain plants, gums and other 
 exudations from trees furnish such a means, also the albuminous 
 part of birds' eggs, and isinglass. These various means are 
 all included in the general term "distemper" similar to scene- 
 painting, or by the Italian term "tempera." In one or other of 
 these methods, the Egyptian paintings were executed, which exist 
 to the present hour. But a freshly plastered surface, such as 
 a wall or other superficies, would contain lime in its caustic 
 state. Now, if on a surface so prepared colours be laid, the 
 lime absorbing the colours would, combining with the oxygen 
 of the air, produce a thin skin, or coating of carbonate of lime ; 
 that is, simply marble, which would fix the colours without 
 employing gums or gelatine. This process is real "fresco," 
 or "fresh" painting, and is so named by Italian artists. If the 
 wall becomes dry before the work is finished, the pellicle of 
 carbonate of lime is formed ; then, any colour applied not being 
 absorbed, will rub off, unless fixed by one or other of the binding 
 materials mentioned above. Now upon this showing, the praise 
 of Egyptian fresco pictures rests upon very questionable grounds, 
 unless the entire subject was such as could be readily executed 
 on the fresh, active plaster, and completed in the course of four 
 or five hours. 
 
 In the majority of cases, Egyptian pictures would be simple 
 tempera or distemper, seldom fresco. Such, then, were the 
 materials employed by artists upon caricatures, unintentional 
 or intentional. Specimens of both kinds are preserved in 
 various European museums, especially in the British Museum, 
 and are copied in various books of travel. Of these, in many 
 instances, the satirical animus is evident. We find in Assyrian 
 bassi-relievi and sculptured or incised pictures evident intention 
 to exaggerate or underrate with a satirical aim. The warriors 
 are all of preposterous size, quite out of proportion to their 
 enemies in this respect, so that the gigantic captain is carica- 
 tured, or, what is more likely, his enemies are ridiculed, by being 
 represented as mere pigmies. Their prisoners are also made 
 diminutive for the same reason. 
 
 The muscular development of Assyrian figures is of a remark- 
 ably extravagant character. Gigantic winged bulls of exag- 
 gerated form, or lions with human heads, guarded the entrances 
 to Assyrian palaces or temples. An eagle-headed human being 
 is frequently introduced, probably emblematical of the Sun. This 
 
3 1 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 caricature art of Assyria dates several hundred years before the 
 Christian era, and appears to have symbolised strength and 
 swiftness. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Wright, in his " History of Caricature," quotes, 
 from Sir Gardner Wilkinson's " Manners and Customs of the 
 Ancient Egyptians," passages which show them to have had 
 a strong sense of humour. On one of the great monuments at 
 Thebes, a wine party is painted, in which both sexes are repre- 
 sented. Some of the ladies have partaken so freely of the juice of 
 the grape as to require support ; in modern times, they would 
 have been fined five shillings " by the worthy magistrate," had 
 they ventured into London streets. This fact is remarkable as 
 being the earliest pictorial satire on a fearful vice, whose victims 
 have been lashed by Hogarth, by E. V. Rippingille, and our 
 veteran teetotaller, George Cruikshank. 
 
 The celebrated Etruscan vases have been discovered in 
 abundance in Sicily, Southern Italy, and ancient Etruria. They 
 are formed of dried or baked clay, and are elaborately painted. 
 They are almost invariably found in tombs, but do not 
 appear to have contained the ashes of the dead. In beauty of 
 form and propriety of decoration, they are models to potters. 
 The paintings on them were produced about from 200 to 500 
 years before the Christian era. The immense number of vases, 
 the variety of their size, form, and decoration, has employed 
 the antiquary fully to classify them. Our purpose is not to 
 do this, but to assign the two given specimens to the so-called 
 severe style, though comic in intention. The red colour is the 
 natural one of the clay ; the outlines are drawn with a brush 
 and black pigment. Behind the figures, the background is a 
 solid black, and the whole is covered with a fine varnish. 
 
 Comic scenes are more frequently introduced in the designs 
 of a later date, than in those of the earlier period. Our designs 
 in Group 8, being intended merely to show the caricature draw- 
 ing, have not the black background, which has therefore been 
 purposely omitted. Many of the designs on the vases are very 
 beautiful, lively in composition, free in action, and the draperies 
 arranged with great taste. The faces of the figures are mostly 
 of beautiful form, and in fine proportion. Our great sculptor 
 Flaxman studied closely the designs on Etruscan vases, and in 
 a similar style designed his Homeric subjects, as well as his 
 illustrations to Dante's " Inferno," all so celebrated for their 
 high qualities in art. These celebrated vases exhibit design 
 and painting to great advantage ; indeed, the art in many 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 33 
 
 instances is of the most elevated style of design and execution. 
 They vary greatly in merit, and also in the mode of applying 
 the colours, but the majority of them have the designs traced in 
 black vitreous pigment upon the yellowish red body of the vase. 
 The figures thus outlined are then thrown up from the body of 
 the vase by the solid black background ; this black is also a 
 vitreous pigment which, by being baked, becomes indelible, and 
 fused into the body of the vessel itself. 
 
 The art of Etruria affords examples of decidedly intentional 
 caricature, two examples of which are given in Group 8. One 
 is an exaggeration worthy of James Gillray, of modern times, 
 and is full of fun and caricature drawing. A poor stupid creature 
 is here represented utterly and absolutely unfit to be a warrior, 
 corpulency and weak limbs unite to deprive him of the liberty and 
 power of free action so essential to a soldier, in addition to which 
 he wears a crushing helmet, a tremendous crest, shield, and 
 spear. At whom this caricature is levelled does not appear, 
 but it is an unquestionable satire upon that large class of 
 empty boasters so numerous in this world, whether in ancient or 
 modern times. The other example is that of a dwarf, himself 
 a caricature of humanity. It possesses all the unamiable appear- 
 ance of these ill-favoured and ill-natured specimens of stunted 
 manhood. It may be merely a portrait of some pet-dwarf, or 
 it may, by a few ridiculous touches, be intended as a satire on 
 the fashion of keeping dwarfs for amusement, much as monkeys 
 or pet-dogs are kept in modern times. Classical times were 
 famous for the keeping and petting of dwarfs by wealthy and 
 eminent personages. The Emperor Theodosius kept a " homun- 
 culus," who was so diminutive that he resembled a partridge 
 and could sing a tune ! Alypius of Alexandria was said to be 
 only one foot five and a half inches high ; though little in stature 
 he was great in mind, for he was an excellent logician and 
 a great philosopher ! This practice of keeping dwarfs, beginning 
 in classical days, has but recently been discontinued in European 
 courts. The large figure is a caricature, engraved in the 
 Etruscan antiquities, published in the great French Encyclo- 
 paedia. It represents a philosopher thinking his hardest ; the 
 artist has happily hit off the mock gravity and affectation of 
 deep and penetrating thought. Such a mountain of pretended 
 intellect could only produce a " ridiculus mus." The lower 
 illustration is from a bronze figure of an ass, clothed in 
 the Roman toga, and is an unquestionable caricature of a 
 Roman consul, or other public man. It was discovered by the 
 
 F 
 
5 4 
 
 AX ESSAF ON 
 
 Count de Caylus, and is interesting as an example of fun and 
 satire in art existing in classical times. The centre illustration 
 in Group 8 is peculiarly an object of interest, as it is supposed 
 to be the original of our " guide, philosopher, and friend" Punch! 
 The large nose and comical expression in this bronze figure 
 certainly suggest to us the highly popular tyrant of domestic 
 life, and model wife-beater. This head, drawn from the bronze 
 figure, was first published by Ficorini, and would appear to settle 
 the contested question as to the origin of Punch. This figure 
 is a caricature of a Roman actor called Marcus. There is 
 also an antique gem, having engraved upon it a head with 
 the exaggerated features, now so well known as those of 
 Mr. Punch. The comic personages of the Italian stage ex- 
 travaganzas are considered to be derived from caricatures of 
 Roman actors. Pulcinello, the Neapolitan Punch, is attributed 
 to the invention of Silvio Fiorelli, an actor, about the beginning 
 of the seventeenth century. Dr. Johnson, however, gives it as 
 his opinion that Punch is an exaggeration of the character in the 
 old moralities, called "Vice," itself a satire on the doings of 
 mankind, and also preserving to us the puppet or "motion," 
 recently revived in England as the "Marionettes." The 
 remaining example is a drawing from an ancient figure of Sar- 
 dinian origin. It is evidently of early date, is strangely exag- 
 gerated in drawing, and decidedly comic in effect ; but it still 
 admits of a doubt whether this results from feebleness in the 
 artist, or an intention to satirise an ancient general or other 
 officer. These are but a few examples of ancient caricature, 
 sufficient for our purpose, which is to hang on a thread, as it 
 were, instances of "voluntary or intentional caricature" before 
 the so-called "dark ages." 
 
 When the dense cloud which for centuries hung over art 
 gradually passed away, it disclosed a new style of art in its 
 various branches, founded upon the ruins of that of classical ages, 
 but still bearing a distinctive character from that which preceded 
 it. Christianity had now become the acknowledged belief of 
 those who held power. Cathedrals, churches, baptisteries, abbeys, 
 monasteries, and other religious edifices, now appeared, instead 
 of pagan temples, dedicated to a host of immoral and fabulous 
 gods and goddesses. In many instances, heathen temples were 
 appropriated by the Christians, and refitted for the ceremonials 
 of the new faith. In the decorations and architectural details 
 of the cathedrals, wonderful constructive power was shown by 
 the architects, and a prodigality of invention and design by the 
 
Etruscan. Etrusaan. Ifoman. 
 
 DRAWN AND ETCHED BY R. W. BUSS. 
 
 ANCIENT CARICATURES. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 35 
 
 ornamentists. It is in this department of art that satire abounds. 
 Hardly a gargoyle or boss exists that has not some satirical 
 allusion. The misereres, the stalls, and other ornamental portions 
 are highly satirical. Nor is this result to be wondered at, when 
 we know that sculptors, carvers, and common workmen were 
 entrusted to compose figures or groups, and to execute them in 
 stone or wood. Themselves uneducated, except in the art-routine 
 of manipulation, they thus slily revenged themselves on the well- 
 fed jolly priests, who domineered over them in true lordly style, 
 and rebuked the men for their slightest transgressions against 
 the ordinances of the Romish Church. 
 
 Henry III., in England, a timid and pious ruler, founded 
 many cathedrals, and enriched them with ornamental sculpture 
 and painting. This king imported a number of foreign artisans, 
 and to them the details of the ornamentation of the cathedrals 
 were entrusted. A "saint manufactory" was set up on a large 
 scale, and legends carved or depicted, with but a minimum 
 of taste or talent. As might be expected, the figures were 
 rude, clumsy, and ungraceful, having ill-proportioned bodies 
 to which strangely distorted limbs were joined ; the expres- 
 sion on the faces was comic, if not satirical. It is certain 
 that the art of painting, on a scale larger than that of 
 illuminated manuscripts, was introduced in England under 
 Henry III., and practised by foreign artists. Almost inces- 
 sant wars, famines, and pestilences, drove artists and other 
 studious men to seek the quiet of the cloister, so that painting, 
 after a time, there found refuge from the violence of Northern 
 hordes. 
 
 Mosaics and some MSS. show that the arts were not extinct. 
 The vellum books of monkish scribes being embellished with 
 designs of various kinds, showing different degrees of talent, 
 some ridiculously feeble in execution at first, through numerous 
 stages, to elaborate and beautifully painted miniature pictures. 
 The art of painting, applied to walls and canvas, or wood, was 
 now adopted by religionists as pictorial expositions of the articles 
 of the Christian faith. The acts of the Saviour, his apostles, 
 and of the early fathers, were the chief subjects executed. 
 
 For MSS. the vellum was carefully prepared from calfskins, 
 then roughened by pumice-powder, and thus it became a 
 ready surface to receive the outline and finish of colour. A 
 black liquid or pigment was used for the outline, and, when 
 required, colours ground very fine, and well washed, to free 
 them from impurities, were diluted with animal or vegetable 
 
36 
 
 AN ESSAV ON 
 
 gluten, and water. In numerous manuscripts wonderfully 
 elaborated ornament was introduced, exquisitely drawn and 
 coloured, the gorgeous effect of colour heightened by gold in 
 low relief. The embossed forms were modelled in solid white 
 paint, and, when hardened by drying, were gilt, and bright- 
 ened to a brilliant metallic lustre by the process of burnishing. 
 The text, written with quill or reed pins, was in red, black, or 
 other colour, according to the ink employed. Such were the 
 means of art for some ages, and during the early times of 
 Christianity. When so much depended on the single unassisted 
 hand of the artist, cleric, or layman, it was inevitable that works 
 of art, good or bad, must have been scarce, and valuable, 
 more or less, according to circumstances. Caricature, therefore, 
 with or without satirical intention, must have been confined 
 within very narrow limits during these early times, and the 
 satirist's vocation but imperfectly understood. Still the percep- 
 tion of the ridiculous and the love of satire, so fully developed 
 in man, were, as we see, freely exercised, though fated to circulate 
 amongst but few admirers. Every national museum, every col- 
 legiate library in all European capitals and other parts of the 
 world, possesses many, or a few, of these beautifully illumin- 
 ated manuscripts. These remnants of early ages are considered 
 of inestimable value, and are most carefully preserved and 
 jealously guarded. 
 
 Painting in churches was freely applied to the walls, 
 vaulted ceilings, mouldings, and round the massive columns. 
 Of these pictures, many specimens exist, where the eternal 
 whitewash pail of " Church wardenism " has been superseded by 
 pure water. As works of art, they are in themselves contemp- 
 tible, and on a level with the MSS. of the time, but doubtless, 
 when viewed in connection with the architecture and coloured 
 mouldings, contributed to a splendid effect of colour, light, and 
 shade. Strong in good intentions, but weak in art-education, 
 these pious monks produced, it must be confessed, but ludicrous 
 pictures. The same may be said of all the tapestry of the time, 
 used in the much-vaunted good old times to cover the bare, cold, 
 and comfortless walls of houses. Early tapestry, with its grim 
 horrors, exists in many old English castles and halls. The 
 specimens in the smaller Banqueting Hall at Hampton Court 
 exhibit the ludicrous drawing and grimly grotesque combinations 
 of figures so characteristic of early efforts in art. 
 
 This first epoch in caricature may be concluded by three 
 illustrations selected from ancient manuscripts. One is a satire 
 
GROUP 9, Page 87. 
 
 DRAWN BY Ft. W. BUSS. 
 
 M. S. S. AND 
 
 EARLY CARICATURES. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 37 
 
 on the preposterous height of ladies' head-dresses in the reign of 
 Edward IV. (See Group 9.) The waggish illuminator has 
 drawn the pig upon stilts, in the margin of a MS. copy of 
 Froissart's Chronicle, now in the Harleian collection at the 
 British Museum. 
 
 The other example is selected from a MS. in the King's Library, 
 also at the Museum. It is called the horned head-dress, and 
 shows to what absurdities fashion will lead " the gentler sex." 
 It is a satire on ladies more fond of dress and display than of 
 feminine virtue. A famous monk, Thomas Conecte, attacked this 
 monstrosity so vigorously, that in the middle of his sermon many 
 of the women tore off their horned caps and made a bonfire of 
 them within sight of the pulpit ! Even the rabble were so roused 
 by his preaching, that they pelted with stones any fair one wear- 
 ing this absurd head-dress. But alas ! for religion and common 
 sense when opposed to fashion ! No sooner had his reverence 
 departed, " than the women who, like snails in a fright, had 
 withdrawn their horns, shot them out again as soon as the danger 
 was over." The centre illustration is a very curious one, as it 
 belonged to Mary Tudor, and is selected from her psalter. Her 
 Majesty, bigot as she was, must have been insensible to satire or 
 she could not have endured this caricature. It is drawn on 
 vellum, in outline, and but slightly coloured. The subject is a 
 satire on the clergy. A fox, personating a bishop, addresses a 
 cunning discourse to an assemblage of stupid birds, who listen to 
 him in perfect innocence, while the wily fox debates within himself 
 which of them shall be his first victim, and in what way he may 
 accomplish the destruction of the whole lot. 
 
 This phase of caricature art, of which numerous examples 
 are given in Mr. Wright's exhaustive work, was succeeded by the 
 great invention which was to revolutionise society, to distribute 
 knowledge over the civilised world, and in its more humble 
 capacity to prove a wonderful aid to the art of caricature and the 
 general diffusion of these satirical productions. 
 
FOLIO V. 
 
 CARICATURE FROM THE INVENTION OF WOOD ENGRAVING TO 
 THXT OF LINE ENGRAVING. 
 
 Invention of Printing. — Chinese Origin. — Playing Cards. — Earliest Woodcut. — Value of MSS. — 
 Pr.nting by Gutenberg, Fust, Schceffer and Coster. — Earliest known Political Caricature. — 
 Printing in England by Caxton, Pynson, and Wynkyn de Worde. — Wood Engraving as 
 practised by the Chinese. — Present mode of preparing the Blocks and of Engraving. — Colouring. 
 — Tittle Tattle stencilled. 
 
 ^HE invention of the art of printing, like most other great 
 inventions, was the concentration or accumulation by one 
 powerful mind of many previous steps in one direction. 
 It consists of the employment of a sister art, that of 
 sculpture, for the production of a matrix or means of 
 multiplying any particular design or inscription. The idea 
 of multiplying designs, by means of sculptured stamps, 
 appears to have been of very early origin in China, and it is 
 probable that Chinese block-books may have been brought to 
 Europe by travellers or mariners. This point, however, remains 
 to the present hour, an unsettled one. 
 
 The new invention appears to have been first applied in Europe, 
 about the year 141 8, to the production of the pips or ornaments for 
 playing-cards. The mere outlines were printed, consisting of bells, 
 vases, flowers, or other devices for the suites ; these were filled 
 in with colour applied by the hand. A great trade in cards soon 
 arose, as Nurnberg, Augsberg, and Ulm produced them in great 
 quantities for exportation. The first woodcut with a date to it 
 appeared in 1423, not very long after the date of printed playing- 
 cards. The subject is St. Christopher carrying the infant Saviour 
 across a river. As a work of art it is simply ridiculous, — an in- 
 voluntary caricature ; but funny as it may be in this respect, it is 
 very valuable as an example of the first separate subject engraved 
 on wood. The only known copy is now in Lord Spencer's library. 
 
AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 3^ 
 
 From the existence of seals, signets, coins, and stamps for 
 various purposes from the earliest times, it appears extraordinary 
 that impressions from these matrices never suggested the applica- 
 tion of stamps to the multiplying of books or of designs, especially 
 as the labour of the scribe was expensive and tedious, when 
 employed on manuscripts of the best kind. 
 
 It is very possible that printing, like many other arts and 
 inventions known to modern times, may have been stumbled on 
 by individuals ; but for want of discernment, perseverance, money, 
 or other favourable circumstances, as repeatedly lost. At this 
 time, manuscript books were very valuable, and only to be 
 obtained by wealthy men ; add to this the coloured or illuminated 
 designs they contained, and the possession of a manuscript book 
 will be seen to have been indeed amongst the most highly prized 
 property. The Bible and numerous works of devotion must have 
 been locked up at this time in the cabinets of royal, noble, or wealthy 
 personages, and, except from passages read by the clergy, the mass 
 of the people remained in ignorance of the contents of this gift of 
 God to man. A natural result of this state of things was a desire 
 to imitate these costly books by some means, through which copies 
 could be multiplied at pleasure. Honesty compels the confession, 
 that to a desire to pass off imitative manuscripts as real ones, 
 civilisation owes one of its greatest blessings — Printing. 
 
 At this date playing-cards were printed and in use, and possibly 
 Chinese block-books were occasionally met with. The idea 
 of transferring a portion of manuscript to a wooden block, and 
 then cutting away all the white part so as thus to procure a 
 stamp, which when blacked with a greasy material would give 
 an impression on vellum or paper, appears to have been 
 self-suggestive, and lying ready for adoption. The great 
 honour of having acted on this idea is divided between John 
 Gutenberg of Strasburg, John Faust of Mayence, Peter Schoeffer 
 of Gernsheim, and Lawrence Coster of Haarlem. These may at 
 first have been block-printers, for the " Biblia Pauperam," or 
 " Poor Man's Bible," dates from 1423, and is a block-book, printed 
 only on one side. The designs cut on wood are intensely funny, 
 and are unintentional caricatures. Gutenberg began to print 
 about 1436, and has the honour of inventing movable letters, cut 
 in wood. Metal types are attributed to Faust and Gutenberg ; 
 but Peter Schceffer is the inventor of casting movable letters in 
 moulds. These early printed books are beautiful specimens of 
 imitative manuscripts and of designs, which by the after appli- 
 cation of colour resembled the illuminations in MSS. 
 
AN ESS A Y ON 
 
 Caricature as an art may be said to have only been awaiting 
 the wonderful and glorious invention of printing to burst forth 
 into immense popularity. Upon the authority of Mr. Thomas 
 Wright, the earliest known intentional political caricature dates from 
 1499. ^ was drawn on a block and engraved with much ability. 
 The subject is called the " Political Game of Cards." The Pope, 
 Louis XII., Henry VII., the Swiss Representative, the King of 
 Spain, the Doge of Venice, the Duke of Milan, and other per- 
 sonages, are seated at table, trying to outwit each other at cards. 
 
 William Caxton has the great honour of introducing the blessing 
 of printing into England in 1467. The illustration of early printing 
 in Group 9 is from the press of Caxton, and is selected from 
 his " Polychronicon," a small folio dated 1482. Neither the 
 name of the designer nor of the engraver is known, but the 
 comic intention is evident. The design illustrates this passage 
 in the " Polychronicon." These strange fellows " lye down 
 ryghte in the somer time, and defende themselves with the 
 shadow of their feet from the hete of the sonne." A copy of 
 this curious little book realised ^365 at the sale of Mr. Perkins's 
 library. Under this caricature is one from Brandt's " Ship of Fools," 
 date 1494. This cut is selected from an English version, printed 
 by Pynson in 1509 ; a copy brought ^130 at Mr. Perkins's sale. 
 The satire consists of a wealthy fool, who buys books for show, 
 not being able to read one word in them. Another fool with 
 cap and bells is being puffed up by Satan, who uses the common 
 domestic machine, the bellows, for the purpose. This is from an 
 old book, printed by Wynkyn de Worde, date 15 17. Caxton's 
 types indicate their purchase in Holland or Flanders ; doubtless 
 these illustrations were procured in one of those countries, and 
 brought by him to his printing office in Westminster. As at 
 that time no designer on wood, or wood engraver, was to be 
 found in England, these rude cuts must have been executed by 
 Dutch or Flemish artists. Engraving on wood was greatly 
 advanced by Italian and German artists, Ugo da Carpi, and even 
 Raffaelle, Louis Cranach, and Hans Burgmair. Their designs 
 were freely drawn, and very superior to those rude engravings 
 in Caxton's books. 
 
 The new art of printing was of essential use to caricature, from 
 the ease with which copies of books could be multiplied ; conse- 
 quently, books of this date are found profusely illustrated with 
 designs of a rude kind of execution. 
 
 The earliest wood engravers, the Chinese, pursue this method. 
 The required inscription or design is painted or written on 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 41 
 
 thin paper, then pasted down on a smooth block of pear-tree 
 wood ; on removing the paper the block is impressed with the 
 original writing, but reversed. By using sharp chisels, called 
 gravers, the white parts of the block can be easily removed, 
 leaving the black letters standing up, or in relief. Now, if a 
 black greasy pigment be dabbed over this engraved block, 
 and a piece of damped paper laid on it, and pressure applied, 
 an impression of the black letters reading in the right way, 
 from left to right, will be obtained. This mode of engraving 
 by excision of the white parts gives an impression from the 
 surface, and is, therefore, called surface-printing. 
 
 Designs can be transferred in a precisely similar manner to 
 the block, and then engraved. 
 
 The present method consists of a very smooth block of box- 
 wood, of the thickness called " type height," that is, on a level 
 with type. A little powdered Flanders brick and white chalk 
 are spread in a damp state over the block ; when dry, the super- 
 fluous powder is rubbed off by the finger. The design is then 
 made on the block, using an HH. black-lead pencil. The wood 
 engraver removes the white parts by the use of different gravers, 
 and finishes the work. In the present book examples of rude wood- 
 engraving are given in Groups 1, 7, 9. This kind of engraving 
 was to a great extent disused in England about 1600, except 
 for the rudest work, such as ballads, broadsheets, and the lowest 
 productions of the press. For its revival in England reference 
 must be made to Folio 1 i. 
 
 In the collection of satirical prints at the British Museum is a 
 curious example of many coarse woodcuts upon one broad-sheet. 
 It is entitled "Tittle Tattle," date 1604 ; it satirises the mischievous 
 habit of gossiping on every possible occasion — births, marriages, 
 deaths, marketing, dining, drinking, at church, in fact always and 
 everywhere. This scarce and well-directed caricature has traces 
 of rude colour applied to it by stencilling, that is, by having holes 
 cut in parchment, of shapes and sizes corresponding to the forms 
 of the print. The required colour was then spread with a soft 
 brush passed over the parchment, and only applied where the cut 
 spaces permitted it. Colour was thus employed for the early 
 times of wood-engraving, especially for the decoration of playing- 
 cards and books of devotion, as a substitute for illumination 
 in MSS. 
 
 G 
 
FOLIO VI. 
 
 CARICATURE FROM WOOD-ENGRAVING TO LINE-ENGRAVING. 
 
 Invention of Engraving on Metal. — Nielli. — Thomaso Finneguerra. — Artists of the 15th Century.— 
 First Book Published with Prints from Metal Plates. — Pure Graver Work. — Invention of 
 Etching. — Date, 1 5 1 5, of Earliest Etching. — "Biting In," and "Stopping Out," applied. — 
 Etched Example. — "Batman's Doom," 1518. — Holbein's "Dance of Death." — Nobody. — 
 Coarse Wood-cuts. — The English in 161 7. — "Mad Fashions," 1642. — W. Hollar, 1626. — 
 James I. — Gunpowder Plot. — Laud. — Charles II. with his Nose to the Grindstone. — 
 J. Callot, 1592.— His Influence on the Art of Etching. 
 
 ARICATURE, or design generally, drawn and engraved 
 on blocks, received a severe blow by the invention 
 of engraving on metallic plates. This enormous step in 
 art, though almost superseding separate prints from 
 wood blocks, wonderfully aided the progress of carica- 
 ture, and of the entire arts of design. 
 Monumental brasses, executed by means of gravers and 
 chisels, appeared much earlier, or about 1284, and were introduced 
 in the walls and on the pavements of English and continental 
 churches. These early works are all so comic as to belong to 
 unintentional caricature. 
 
 Vessels of gold or silver had been engraved for ages with various 
 designs ; and wood engraving and printing had been invented a 
 few years before, all leading to a result which seemed to invite and 
 to provoke discovery; yet it was not until 1460 that Thomaso 
 Finneguerra, a Florentine goldsmith, accidentally discovered that 
 the lines of an engraving on a silver dish or vessel he had just 
 completed would, on being filled in with a black greasy pigment, 
 yield a beautifully clear impression. This is neither more, nor less 
 than line-engraving. Impressions from such engravings on silver 
 and gold are collected, and bound in several volumes, lettered 
 " Nielli," from the peculiar black and hard composition with which 
 
AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 +3 
 
 the lines were filled. These are in the Print Room at the British 
 Museum, and are full of fancy in invention, but rather formal 
 in execution, being pure "graver-work." This novel application 
 of the graver created a sensation amongst the artists of the 
 fifteenth century ; and Marc Antonio, Baccio Baldini, Botti- 
 celli, and Andrea Mantegna, engraved numerous designs more 
 or less successfully. The first book, ornamented with designs, 
 engraved on copper plates, was an edition of Dante's " Inferno," 
 dated 1481. 
 
 Engraving on metal plates is a totally reverse process to 
 engraving on wood. The impression or print is obtained in the 
 former case, from furrows or lines cut in the metal. These lines 
 hold the ink, and when the face of the plate is polished, damped 
 paper laid over the plate, and the whole forced under a roller, 
 the ink is absorbed by the paper, and the result is a print with 
 black lines, the surface of the plate white or dark according to 
 the nature of the work. This is called " incised''' or " cut 
 in," engraving ; while the other, wood-engraving, is called 
 " excised,'' 1 or " cut out," engraving, the impression being, 
 obtained from the surface of the letters in relief, and called 
 " surface-printing." 
 
 The newly applied art of engraving in line on metal, besides 
 requiring gravers to cut the lines more or less deep and wide, was 
 greatly aided by the "dry point," which is merely a sharp steel point 
 used to make scratches on the metal. Skies, delicate grey tints, and 
 general softening of effect are produced by a judicious use of the 
 "dry point." Engravings, caricatures, or other works executed 
 in metal between 1461 and 15 15, may be classed as pure line 
 engraving, which style has, more or less, always been adhered 
 to by artists having great command over that difficult instrument, 
 the graver. 
 
 Group 10, engraved by John Vickars, date 1641, is an example 
 of a caricature on the Pope. It is executed in the clear style 
 which indicates the use of the graver only. Time is here quietly 
 carrying off the Pope, loaded with his ecclesiastical paraphernalia; 
 nor does his holiness appear much troubled by his transit, as he 
 is simply going home, after in vain trying to settle down with his 
 Romish doctrines in England. This couplet is inscribed under 
 the print : — 
 
 " This burden back to Rome I'll beare again. 
 From thence it came, there let it still remain." . 
 
44- 
 
 AN ESS AT ON 
 
 Invention of Etching. 
 
 The year 1 5 1 5 is an important one to the student of caricature 
 or pictorial satire, as well as to art generally. This was 
 the date of the invention of etching, by which the difficult and 
 laborious use of the graver could be entirely superseded. By 
 means of etching, any designer unskilled in the management 
 of the graver could produce effects quite adequate to his wishes. 
 It permitted the introduction of numerous figures, variety and 
 quantity of detail, gradations of tone, and entire freedom of drawing. 
 To etching, the art of caricature owes almost all its success, 
 in later times ; for its reign in regard to graphic satire lasted 
 three hundred years. Its importance to caricature can be judged 
 of by the fact, that any graphic satirist could, without employing 
 a line-engraver, produce his satiric work in perfect freedom, 
 and with the freshness and spirit ever belonging to original 
 efforts. 
 
 Michael Wolgemut, the master of Albert Diirer, is said to 
 have invented the art of etching ; but this is doubtful. The 
 celebrated "cannon landscape" by Diirer is the earliest etching, 
 with his signature, dated 15 18. Two others, dated 15 15 and 
 1 5 1 6, are attributed to him ; all show an infant state of this art. 
 
 The following sketch of the practice of etching will explain its 
 great importance to the subject of caricature. The satirist having 
 made his design on paper, must transfer this design to the metal- 
 plate. The plate of iron, steel, or copper being highly polished, 
 is warmed and smeared over with "etching ground," a mixture 
 of wax, asphaltum, gum mastic, and resin, tied up in a small 
 bag of silk, about the size of a walnut. This is equally and 
 smoothly distributed over the plate by means of a " dabber," 
 which is made by enclosing some wadding in a piece of silk, 
 tied tightly up, the part so tied being used as a handle. While 
 the plate is warm, its surface is blackened by four or five wax 
 tapers, twisted together. On cooling, the plate presents a black, 
 varnished appearance, and is ready to receive the transfer ; this 
 can be done in various ways, but the simplest is to rub the back 
 of the drawing with vermilion ; the reddened side should be 
 laid on the plate, and secured at the corners with wax. If, 
 with an ivory point, the outlines be traced over, they will, 
 on removing the original drawing, be found transferred to 
 the varnished plate. The " etching " now properly begins, 
 by drawing on the transferred lines with a steel point, quite 
 through the etching ground, and then putting in the shadings 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SA TIRE. 
 
 45 
 
 with lines, single or crossed, as may be required. This part 
 of the work is most important, and requires a considerable 
 amount of practice in doubling" the line where great strength 
 is required, and in regulating the force applied to the steel-point 
 or etching-needle. The etching completed, the next process is 
 to corrode the lines, or " bite" them, as it is called. This may 
 be done by immersing the plate in a flat dish filled with nitric 
 acid, diluted with one half of water. Corrosive action imme- 
 diately begins, bubbles arise, which should be swept away with a 
 feather. How long the corroding or " biting in " should continue, 
 depends upon the kind of work etched, and the effect required : 
 here also great practice is necessary. To remove the etching 
 ground, the plate should be washed with water and dried ; on 
 applying heat the varnish can be wiped off, the plate cleaned 
 with spirit of turpentine, and polished with whiting. The plate 
 is then ready to be "proved " at the copper-plate printing-press. 
 This account of etching and " biting-in "is of the most simple 
 kind, and represents the art as it was practised at its first inven- 
 tion. Albert Diirer, and other artists of his time, thus produced 
 designs resembling in a great degree those executed by the 
 graver. Very pretty and delicate effects can thus be obtained, 
 but strength and variety of line require an after process, which 
 was soon discovered, and is called " stopping out." This consists 
 in covering overall those parts of the etching sufficiently "bitten" 
 with a varnish, which will resist the action of the acid ; this 
 varnish is named "Brunswick black." The part not "stopped 
 out," on being again exposed to the acid, will be again corroded, 
 and the uncovered lines made deeper and wider, according to the 
 strength intended ; by again covering up or " stopping out " other 
 parts, and again exposing the plate to the action of the acid, still 
 greater sirength of line can be obtained, and by repeating this 
 process, very beautiful and powerful results may be secured 
 without one touch of the graver. This is the mode of execution 
 by which, for more than two centuries, thousands upon thousands 
 of caricatures and other pictorial satiric efforts have been pro- 
 duced. Etching, combined with lines cut and finished by the 
 graver and " dry point," constitutes the practice of line-engraving 
 in its highest state. 
 
 The example of caricature by the aid of etching (on Group 1 i) 
 is free in its drawing and invention, and clearly shows the appli- 
 cability of this process to produce satirical prints. " Batman's 
 Doom" is the name of the print, its date is 1581, its object 
 evident. It is curious, also, as being one, if not the earliest, 
 
46 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 instance of various vessels and other objects so grouped as to 
 form a head or portrait. In this fancy-portrait of the Pope 
 are introduced the papal artillery, bell, book, censer, and candle, 
 for anathematizing nations or individuals. A fish forms the 
 nose, the holy wafer an eye ; the lips and cheek are formed by 
 vessels used by the priests. The tiara is a bell, the other parts 
 are books, a throne, and portions of ecclesiastical vestments ; thus 
 far is mere symbolism. 
 
 Satire appears by a bishop-wolf devouring a lamb, emblematic 
 of papal cruelty ; a serpent holding a rosary denotes cunning 
 and superstition. The ornaments on the left side consist 
 of an ass in spectacles, poring in vain over a book — Igno- 
 rance ; a hog decked out with a college-cap — Gluttony ; but 
 the great point of the design is below, on the platform ; where, 
 in clouds, appear the wounded feet of a crucified Saviour, the 
 only part not hidden by the Popish implements. The evident 
 intention of this caricature is to show how the traditions, doctrines, 
 and ceremonials of the Romish Church have obscured, from the 
 sight of men, the true and pure gospel of Christ. The feet of 
 our Lord rest upon the royal heraldic supporters, a lion and 
 a dragon, symbolizing the support of Protestantism by Queen 
 Elizabeth. At this time attacks on the Romish Church were 
 permitted in England and other countries which had protested 
 against the doctrines of that Church. 
 
 But Protestant supporters and caricaturists did not carry 
 everything their own way, for satiric hits flew about from 
 Romanist to Protestant, and vice versa, like snowballs amongst 
 boys on a wintry morning. Luther was caricatured, to an 
 extraordinary extent in German}', as a fat, jolly monk, decked out 
 with a fool's cap and bells. In another example, Satan is playing 
 the bagpipes, the bag being a head of Luther, and the pipe his 
 nose, upon which the demon discourses diabolic music. Luther 
 and his wife were also mercilessly caricatured and satirised. 
 
 One of the most remarkable inventions of the caricaturist 
 is that of " Nobody ; " Group 12 ; its date is 1600, when 
 political matters had been sadly muddled, and this celebrated 
 personage was punished. This is one of the happiest and most 
 original inventions, and from its capability of fun became at 
 once adopted by satirical writers and artists. An anonymous 
 comedy was published, called Somebody and A r obody, in which this 
 gentleman makes his appearance. This important personage 
 is a great favourite with all of us, high or low ; whether in 
 the " Circumlocution Office," or where the study is " How not to 
 
GROUP 12. 
 
 (Page 47. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE 
 
 47 
 
 do it." " Nobody " has existed, and still exists, not merely in old- 
 fashioned England, but in all countries, to " meddle and muddle." 
 " Nobody " became the rage ; he was painted on sign-boards, and 
 figured in masques and masquerades. " Nobody" has had his life 
 and actions celebrated principally by the etching-needle. So much 
 has he been delineated by pen and pencil, that we almost persuade 
 ourselves that he must be " Somebody." However, an examina- 
 tion of his peculiar conformation undeceives us. Legs and thighs 
 joined on to a head, and arms surmounting a huge pair of trunk 
 hose, convince us that he is indeed " nobody." This is the original 
 of a large family of " Nobodies " produced by subsequent carica- 
 turists. This whimsical idea has been adopted more frequently 
 than many others, because the idea is applicable to all times 
 and to all countries, simply by changing or modernising the 
 costume. 
 
 In Group 12 is presented a design much used by artists, 
 serious and satirical, ancient and modern. It is a personifi- 
 cation of Death, by a skeleton complete, or one partially covered 
 with muscles. It belongs to the Middle Ages, and originated 
 about the beginning of the thirteenth century, in a legend 
 relating an interview between three living and three dead men. 
 Saint Macarius is supposed to have invented the legend. About 
 the early part of the fifteenth century, some satirist applied the 
 idea to all ranks of society ; skeletons, as the emblems of death, 
 were dancing off wildly with the living ; this became known as 
 " The Dance of Death," or " The Danse Macabre," from St. Ma- 
 carius' s name. The idea became extremely popular, skeletons 
 being painted on the walls of churches, and even on covered 
 bridges. The illustration selected is from the series called " The 
 Dance of Death." It represents a wealthy German nobleman 
 and his newly-married wife ; he appears greatly enamoured of 
 her ; but her gaze is directed to a grotesque skeleton beating 
 a drum, indicating that the death of the lady is near. The 
 engraving is beautifully executed in line by the Chevalier de 
 Mechel, after Holbein's design. The entire series consists of 
 forty-seven subjects, in the course of which Death is present 
 with emperors, kings, statesmen, warriors, merchants, thieves, 
 drunkards, gamblers, monks, nuns, lovers, old men, and children. 
 
 The coarsely-executed wood block is curious as a violent 
 caricature on the fashions and ideas current in 1642 or 1643. As 
 a work of art in drawing and execution it is simply contemptible, 
 but its invention is remarkable and original. It is entitled " Mad 
 Fashions, or, Fashions all out of Fashion," or an "Emblem of 
 
4 3 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 these distracted Times; " it would appear to have been designed 
 and engraved by John Taylor. The idea is that the world is 
 turned upside down, and that everything is wrong and contrary to 
 its natural order. It is a caricature upon the acts of the 
 Republicans, in their endeavours to make Charles I. keep his 
 promises, by which, according to the caricaturist's ideas, the 
 world was turned upside down. In these " Mad Fashions," an 
 unfortunate wight has lost his eyes, or rather these necessary 
 organs of vision are wrongly placed, being at the side of his 
 head instead of in front, so that he cannot see his way straight- 
 forward ; this is a sly satire at the English people, who, blinded 
 by rage at the false promises of their king, could not see their 
 way in a truly loyal course. Civil war, or rather uncivil war, had 
 broken out, and the order of society reversed ; this the caricaturist 
 indicates by the man's legs being where his arms should be. The 
 insecurity of his position is shown by his walking on his hands, 
 his shoulders growing from the lower part of the body. No doubt 
 this rude woodcut was an emanation from the Cavalier side of the 
 warlike question then agitated between Charles and his Parliament. 
 To the adherents of " Sacred Majesty" of course all went wrong, 
 so in this graphic squib, the cart goes before the horse, the horse 
 drives the cart. The barrow wheels the man, the man rolls along 
 with a wheel under his head. The hare hunts the hounds, the 
 mouse pursues the cat. Fishes fly in the air, and the flame of a 
 candle burns downwards — which crowns these absurdities. 
 
 Our native caricaturists at this time appear to have possessed 
 but very little talent in design or in execution, their efforts for 
 the most part being confined to very rough woodcuts intended for 
 illustrations to the broadsheets then published. Of this kind is a 
 rude woodcut copied from a curious satirical work entitled " Coryat's 
 crudities," dated 15 17. The illustration ridicules the numerous 
 changes of fashion, which then took place. The "gents" of that 
 period seemed to have been sadly puzzled how to make them- 
 selves sufficiently conspicuous and ridiculous in dress. These 
 votaries of fashion, unable to determine upon the next absurdity, 
 are said by the caricaturist to stand naked while they are deliber- 
 ating upon the cut of their clothes. These lines are also 
 supposed to be uttered by the naked gentleman : — 
 
 " I am an Englyshman and naked I stand here, 
 Musing in my mynde what rayment I shall weare ; 
 For now I will weare this, and now I will weare that, 
 Now I will weare I cannot tell what ! " 
 
 The gentleman stands shivering, and presents a ridiculous 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 4*< 
 
 picture of uncertainty. He holds a pair of shears in one hand, 
 and has a roll of good woollen-cloth on his arm. In the back- 
 ground are rolls of cloth, and an attempt to represent the flax 
 or the cotton plant. The caricaturist is supposed to be Andrew 
 Borde, of merry reputation, and jester to Henry VIII. 
 
 Caricature in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 centuries scarcely existed, except by the importation of carica- 
 tures and caricaturists from Germany, Holland, and France. 
 Wenceslaus Hollar, a native of Prague, in Bohemia, was born in 
 1607, and brought by the Earl of Arundel to England, where he 
 became a permanent resident. For delicacy and finish he was 
 unrivalled as an etcher and engraver. His works amount to two 
 thousand four hundred subjects. He caricatured, or rather 
 savagely satirised, King James L, accusing the King of poison- 
 ing the young prince by the agency of a quack, Dr. Lambe, 
 date 1626. This appears to be a vile calumny on James I. The 
 scandal of the time asserted that Carr, on his trial, was expected 
 to accuse the King of attempting to murder his son, and that two 
 men with cloaks were stationed behind Carr ready to stifle him, if 
 he uttered one word of the accusation. The " British Solomon " 
 was bad enough, but not so bad as to murder his own child. 
 
 "Gunpowder treason and plot!" presented a glorious and 
 never-ending subject for caricatures, pictures, burlesques, satires, 
 lampoons, and novels, from the time of Martin Droeschuet, to our 
 own George Cruikshank. The press teemed with caricatures or 
 symbolic representations of the political events of that date, 
 November 5, 1605. Of course the Pope and his great supporter, 
 Satan, with an array of priests, and the Kings of France and 
 Spain, are all engaged in their plot, while Guido Fawkes, or poor 
 old Guy, sneaks off with matches and a dark lantern to the cellar 
 under the old Houses of Parliament. 
 
 W. Marshall, date 161 7, engraved a plate caricaturing the 
 practice of smoking. 
 
 Group 12 contains the caricature head of a wolf, dressed in 
 the highest style of fashion, 1646. It is called "England's 
 Wolfe," a satire on the successes of Prince Rupert, and is very 
 well drawn. On the other side, dated 1647, the head of Folly is 
 given, from a print in the British Museum called the picture of 
 "an English Persecutor," being ridden by Folly; it is freely 
 drawn. In the centre of the lower part of this group is a repre- 
 sentation of " The Pope Ass." It is a German print, and states 
 that the pope can expound Scripture as well as an ass can play 
 on the bagpipes. 
 
 11 
 
AN ESSAY ON 
 
 About this date appeared a personal caricature of the notorious 
 Sir Giles Mompesson, the original of Sir Giles Overreach in 
 Massinger's play of A New Way to Pay Old Debts. He 
 appears to have been a greedy monopolist and a bad man. 
 Parliament condemned him to be publicly degraded from his 
 rank, March 17, 1620. It is a line engraving well and firmly 
 executed. 
 
 On Group 1 2 is a caricature of William Laud, the notorious 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, a greedy pluralist and persecutor of 
 the Puritans. His insolence, cruelty, and bigotry brought him 
 to the block in 1645. His Grace of Canterbury delighted in 
 having men's ears cropped, noses slit, and foreheads branded, 
 besides inflicting fine and imprisonment on his unfortunate 
 victims. Conduct so vile raised the popular indignation against 
 him to such an extent that an enraged mob attacked him in 
 his palace at Lambeth, when he ran great risk of being killed. 
 The coarse woodcut on this group is one of a set of four ; they 
 are entitled " Lambeth Faire," a new play, called " Canterbury," 
 in four acts. The artist's name is unknown, nor does it matter, 
 for the cuts are very bad. In " Act I. the Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury having variety of dainties, is not satisfied till he be fed 
 with tippetts of men's ears;" in "Act II. he hath his nose to the 
 grindstone;" in "Act III. he is put into a birdcage with his con- 
 fessor;" in "Act IV. the jester tells the King the story." The 
 illustration is from Act II. He hath his nose to the grindstone 
 truly enough when the Archbishop was a state prisoner in the 
 Tower of London. "He hath his nose to the grindstone" is 
 inscribed on the print. 
 
 This grindstone idea, "grinding the noses of the poor!" is a 
 popular one, and has been many times repeated. Another 
 instance is given in the same Group, No. 12. The design is 
 etched in an open style, and tolerably well ; it forms the top of a 
 broadsheet, with letterpress doggerel lines beneath, published 
 July 14, 1 65 1. The original is in the collection of caricatures at 
 the British Museum. 
 
 Before the Presbyterians in Scotland offered the young Prince 
 Charles the crown, they compelled him to consent to many 
 humiliating conditions, ridiculed in this caricature. The title of 
 the print is, " The Scots holding their young kinge's nose to the 
 grindstone." Here Jack Presbyter holds the nose of the young 
 King on to the grindstone, while the Scots, or Jockie, turns it. 
 
 Jockey. I, Jockey, turn the stone of all your plots, 
 
 For none turnes faster than the turne-coat Scots. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 5< 
 
 Presbyter. We for our ends did make thee king, be sure, 
 Not to rule us, we will not that endure. 
 King. You deep dissemblers, I know what you doe, 
 And for revenge's sake, I will dissemble too. 
 
 The remaining design is an etching of considerable merit ; it 
 represents, after the antique, Janus, a double-faced god — a com- 
 pound of Romanism and Protestantism. Satan, the fiend of 
 Signorelli and of Michael Angelo, pleased at the meeting, grins 
 horribly a ghastly smile and prepares to seize the Romanist at 
 once, leaving the Protestant. 
 
 On the continent Callot, 1592, achieved great fame as an etcher 
 and engraver of caricature and burlesque. He at first confined 
 his practice to the graver alone, but afterwards he etched with 
 wonderful rapidity and freedom. With great power as an artist, 
 a vagabond feeling, caught during a sojourn of seven or eight 
 weeks with a band of gipsies, so completely overcame him, that 
 he vainly essayed serious art, and produced instead extraordinary 
 comic and burlesque designs. His talent was quite wonderful for 
 this capricious style of art, and he is considered as one of the most 
 eminent French artists. His death took place in 1635. 
 
FOLIO VII. 
 
 Engravings in Line, and Etchings by Dutch Artists. — Romayn de Hooghe.— Caricatures on 
 Cromwell. — W. Marshall, 1648. — Dutch Hostility. — Admiral Blake. — The Pope and Satan. — 
 Enactments against Caricatures. — Richard Cromwell. — Charles II. restored. — Charles II. 
 by Gaywood. — England as a Cow. — Whig and Tory. — Death of Charles II., 1685. — Prince 
 Rupert learns Mezzotint from Louis von Siegel. — James II. — The Popish Successor. — 
 Faithorne, 1680. — Landing of the Prince of Orange, November 5, 1688. ■ — Caricatures on Mary 
 of Modena, Father Petre. and the Pretender. — "Perkin's Triumph," by Mosley. — Flight of 
 James II. — His Death in 1701. 
 
 W5IP%HE great improvement in engraving- and etching on 
 (y*y5w co PP er or ' ron plates* and the ease by which satiric 
 vf^ll&l designs could be executed, gradually supplanted design- 
 ^^y^sl in S and engraving on wood, consequently this formerly 
 W&) very popular mode of illustration declined in talent till 
 m** it became so bad, that it was only applied to coarse broad- 
 sheets and the cheapest productions of the press. The exile 
 of the Stuarts, the sympathy of their supporters, and the resi- 
 dence of Charles II. in Holland, gave employment in caricature 
 to Dutch artists. Hundreds of elaborate and well-engraved 
 caricatures appeared in London, emanating from numerous clever 
 Dutch artists, but these works were generally published anony- 
 mously, or with fictitious names. Their object was to support 
 the exiled King and to satirise Cromwell. 
 
 The school of Callot produced Delia Bella and Romayn de 
 Hooghe, whose works contain crowds of figures engaged in war- 
 tumults and in public processions. For years the works of these 
 great masters had found their way into England, yet very little 
 effect, if any, was produced on our native art, for it still remained 
 in a very low state. During the seventeenth century, Hollar 
 lived permanently in this country. A fine portrait engraver, 
 Faithorne, though a native of England, studied his art in France, 
 but as he engraved no caricatures a longer notice of this fine 
 
AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 53 
 
 engraver of portraits is not needed in this place. All the real art 
 at this time emanated from Hollar. He lived in Gardiner's Lane, 
 Westminster, working for the booksellers at the rate of fourpence 
 per hour, measuring his time by an hour-glass. In spite of his 
 great popularity and the immense number of his works, he fell 
 into distress, and died on March 28, 1677. 
 
 A badly-engraved anonymous print, satirising the Romish 
 party, alludes to the Gunpowder Plot. It presents the regular 
 idea, the Pope and his priests concocting the Plot under a tent. 
 
 An elaborately-etched plate appeared in 1649. The artist's 
 name is not put, but it is doubtless by a Dutch engraver, engaged 
 by the Cavalier party in the interest of the exiled Prince Charles. 
 In this satiric production, Oliver Cromwell, who was thoroughly 
 hated by the Dutch, is represented standing near a large oak-tree. 
 Clouds open over his head, and he is struck by lightning. A 
 motto, " Sero sed serio," appears. Cromwell orders the tree to be 
 felled; his Ironsides pull it down, and apply an axe to its root. 
 The tree is loaded with the royal emblems, such as the crown, a 
 Bible, Magna Charta, royal coat of arms, and the celebrated book, 
 " EIKON BASIAIKH." Acorns are shaken off the tree and 
 hogs eat them greedily. This elaborated work is entitled " The 
 Royall Oake of Brittayne." 
 
 A very large engraving, entitled " Magna Brittaniae Divisa," 
 1642, was published under the name of " Plans Vander-pill " — an 
 assumed name, and the first of a long list of whimsical assumed 
 names of artists. Caricature, or rather satiric symbolism, was 
 exercised not only by W. Hollar, but by Bickham, Loggan, 
 Herricks, Vaughan, Cross, R. White, W. Marshall, and others, 
 who published under assumed names. 
 
 Some little talent is shown by native etchers, but it must be 
 conceded that for elaborate composition, freedom of drawing, 
 excellent touches of personal caricature, and richness of light and 
 shade, the works of Dutch artists were superior to those of England. 
 W. Marshall, 1648, etched a design called " England's Miracles." 
 Charles I. is represented in a boat ; the print is interesting 
 to the student of graphic satire as being the original idea of 
 introducing the heads of public men as crests to the waves of the 
 sea. This idea was adopted in after times by Gillray, by Sey- 
 mour, and other modern caricaturists. 
 
 In one of the caricatures circulated at this period, Cromwell is 
 represented as an ape, with the British Lion asleep in a cradle ; 
 date 1649. "The Coming Descent of England" is the title. 
 This subject is well designed, and etched on copper ; the lines 
 
5 + 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 have been polished up, and deepened by the subsequent use of 
 the graver. The Pope, in 1649, nas a novel appearance imparted 
 to him by caricaturists, for in a print of this date he has three 
 heads. Another caricature represents a head of the Pope as far 
 as the mouth, the chin being - joined by a head of Satan. This 
 idea has been used by subsequent caricaturists. 
 
 Caricature, from the death of Charles I. to the latter part of 
 Cromwell's career, was not very active; but still the Royal party 
 occasionally and quietly indulged in attacks on the Lord 
 Protector. It would appear that the principal subjects of the 
 satirical prints of the time were suggested by supporters of 
 the Royal party, and confided to Dutch artists. These works 
 were then printed at Amsterdam, imported here, and clandestinely 
 circulated by booksellers favourable to the Royal cause. Crom- 
 well, by his firm and decided action with the Dutch, who took 
 advantage of the English on every occasion, brought down upon 
 his head a torrent of invective and savagely-conceived carica- 
 tures. The Dutch, having espoused the Royal cause, treated 
 the supporters of the Commonwealth, with Cromwell at its 
 head, with marked disrespect ; the consequence was, that Crom- 
 well commenced hostilities against Holland, and, in 1652, 
 the Dutch Admirals Van Tromp, De Ruyter, and De Witt, met 
 the English Admirals Blake and Ayescue. In one ' action Van 
 Tromp was defeated by Blake and lost eleven ships. This caused 
 the Dutch to sue for peace, and to be, if possible, more virulent 
 against Cromwell than they were before. We may here allude 
 to a new form of caricature. The old idea of playing-cards, 
 designed originally for amusement, was now extended to the 
 diffusion of political opinions. One set of these caricature cards 
 was published in England, and most probably engraved in Holland. 
 The object was to ridicule the principal parliamentary leaders. 
 Another pack related to the Popish Conspiracy and the Rye 
 House Plot ; one to the Mississippi Scheme ; and one to the 
 South Sea Bubble. Most of these, doubtless, were by Dutch 
 artists. 
 
 Owing to the lapse of time and the general neglect of carica- 
 tures, because it was customary then, as in the present day, to 
 regard those productions as worthless, caricatures of the date of 
 the Stuart and Cromwellian periods have become scarce, and can 
 only be met with in a few private collections, and the large one 
 at the British Museum. For this reason the specimens here 
 given will possess an interest independent of their merits of 
 execution. On Group 13 is a well -executed portrait of that great 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 5 5 
 
 Brewer of political storms and strong beer, Oliver Cromwell. He 
 is represented in full armour, with the baton of military command. 
 His sword is labelled " Rex terrse ;" his position is a difficult one 
 to maintain, standing, as he does, on a slippery globe, inscribed 
 " Locus lubricus." This bubble or globe is produced by Satanic 
 agency, and, issuing from flames, indicates an origin by no means 
 complimentary to the great Protector. This portrait of Cromwell 
 is taken from a large print, entitled " The Royall Oake of Brit- 
 tayne." The portrait of Oliver is not overcharged in the draw- 
 ing, but the satirical element is found in the emblems of Satan, 
 and the allusion to the uncertain or slippery foundation of the 
 Protector's power. 
 
 As might be expected, at this period of political earthquakes, 
 when Englishmen of different parties were deadly foes to each 
 other, satire was freely used, and, in its nature, was coarse, savage, 
 and malignant. The faithlessness of King Charles I., and his 
 high-handed acts, drove his Parliament into rebellion and brought 
 him to the scaffold. Although the unfortunate King Charles had 
 suffered the penalty of death for his political errors, the satirists, 
 no longer having a live king to satirise, blackened his memory to 
 their hearts' content. A caricature, called " The Kingdom's 
 Monster Uncloaked from Heaven," appeared about 1648; in which 
 the unfortunate King was savagely attacked. This effort had far 
 more malignity of feeling than wit or humour. Amongst other 
 violent effusions of the caricaturists of that period is a malicious 
 print, which appeared three years after the King's execution ; its 
 title is " The King of the Dead " — a cruel and low attempt to 
 desecrate the memory of Charles. Cromwell himself, and his 
 principal officers, however, came in for their full share of abuse 
 and ridicule from the witty Cavaliers, and the Dutch artists they 
 retained as caricaturists. 
 
 Like all men who forcibly seize the reins of government, 
 Cromwell could but ill brook the satirical truths in songs, lam- 
 poons, and graphic satires put forth by the press in a manner by 
 no means delicate. He therefore found it expedient to enact severe 
 penalties against all persons who published libels or satires on his 
 Highness. The consequence of this was, that a large number of 
 satirical and libellous pamphlets and prints were written in 
 English and Dutch, accompanied by caricatures, at the cost of 
 the Royal party in England, and the intimates of the exiled 
 princes in Holland, but cautiously sold in London. Some of 
 these graphic satires were engraved on wood in a very coarse 
 style of art, others etched upon copper with more care. As may 
 
56 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 be supposed, caricatures personally offensive to the Protector were 
 secretly imported from Holland, and privately circulated amongst 
 the friends of the dead King and the exiled one. The curious 
 illustration on the upper part of Group 13, is part of a larger sub- 
 ject published by the partisans of Cromwell, having an inscription 
 in Dutch and another in English. Readers of history know that 
 Cromwell delivered a rigmarole, called a speech, most unparlia- 
 mentary in its tone and decidedly personal. Pointing to the door 
 with his cane, he said "Begone!" after which his Ironsides 
 entered the House of Commons, and Cromwell performed the 
 coup d'etat imitated in France ; after which the members sneaked 
 out one by one. Oliver ordered the mace to be removed, and 
 locking the doors of the legislative chamber, quietly pocketed 
 the keys and walked away ! The spectacled owle bearing a candle, 
 may be taken as a symbol of parliamentary sagacity, and an 
 allusion -to some speech or act which does not appear in the history 
 of the times. The spectacles and owle are introduced into one or 
 more caricatures subsequent to this date. The peacock holds a 
 Diogenic lantern, and a broom by which the Commons House was 
 clean swept ! Such was Oliver's short way of dissolving the Long 
 Parliament. A large and well-engraved portrait of the Protector 
 is on Group 13 ; it is by a Dutch artist, and selected from a broad- 
 sheet of the time. Cromwell here figures as a Pope, wearing a 
 triple crown, indicating the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and 
 Ireland. The crown is put on his head, and held there by a 
 heraldic monster — a griffin ! Peacock's feathers are added, to 
 ridicule the vanity which placed the great Protector on the throne 
 of the heaven-born Stuarts. 
 
 At this period, England, by the firmness and daring of Crom- 
 well, had reached a high point of national glory. At no part of 
 England's history was this country more respected abroad, and 
 Hallam states, in his "Constitutional History," "that the maritime 
 glory of England may first be traced from the era of the Common- 
 wealth, in a track of continuous light." The great Admiral Blake 
 made the Dutch tremble in their shoes, and the English flag every- 
 where respected. Cromwell's courage, resolution, and total 
 independence of any foreign sovereign, made him also act with 
 promptitude, and strike with force, on any slight or insult offered 
 to England. As might be expected, a host of talented Dutch 
 artists exerted their utmost abilities in reviling the great Protector, 
 and accusing him of the most abominable cruelty. In these cari- 
 catures, Cromwell is represented as trampling upon some writhing 
 human form, symbolic of England, Ireland, Scotland, France, or 
 
GROUP 13. 
 
 (Page 56. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 57 
 
 Holland. Sometimes he is drawn in the act of disembowelling' his 
 victim. Perfidy crowns him with vipers in one print, while in another 
 he is associated with a wolf, or some other savage beast of prey. 
 No names of artists appear" to these attacks, as it was decidedly 
 unsafe to put any. Boldness and freedom of execution vie with 
 the audacity of the satire. The feelings entertained abroad of 
 Cromwell's continental policy are forcibly expressed in a freely- 
 executed etching, in which he is represented squeezing a French- 
 man to death under his left arm, while, with his right arm, he is 
 drawing out the bowels of a Dutchman ! This is an allusion to 
 the chastisement the Dutch had received at sea, and the heavy 
 fine of ^300,000 sterling which they had to pay. In this carica- 
 ture, Cromwell tramples on a Scotchman, while an Irishman 
 crouches between his legs. A halter and an axe are hanging up 
 ready for him, and two larg-e bags, crammed full of gold squeezed 
 out of the malignants, are assigned to the Protector. A curious 
 state of a serious portrait of Cromwell is in the British Museum 
 collection. To suit the temper of the time, the artist has turned 
 this portrait into a caricature, by adding spectacles, reddening his 
 nose, and adorning his mouth with a pipe ; an owl sits on Crom- 
 well's shoulder, and on his hat is a fine display of stag's horns. 
 
 Cromwell's death, at the age of sixty, on September 3, 1658, 
 the anniversary of his victories at Dunbar and Worcester, was 
 the commencement of a total change in the political state of 
 England. His son Richard ruled as Protector but for a short 
 time. A caricature of Richard Cromwell represents him as a 
 cooper, breaking up a cask with a sledge-hammer. The cask is a 
 very large one, and is so shattered that it allows the escape of a 
 multitude of spectacled owls bearing candles ; a symbol, doubtless, 
 of the sagacity of members of the House of Commons alluded to 
 on page 56. Richard Cromwell, on the death of his father, 
 Oliver, became Lord Protector, but unable, by his quiet, amiable 
 disposition, to cope with the restless men by whom he was sur- 
 rounded, resigned his high position April 22, 1659. This weak 
 son of a great man lived in honourable retirement, at Cheshunt, 
 until 171 2, when he died, at the age of eighty-six. 
 
 A struggle for power by a few political adventurers now 
 produced so much disorder, that General Monk marched from 
 Scotland at the head of a considerable army, and was instru- 
 mental in the election of a new Parliament. After much delibe- 
 ration, the members decided to invite the King Charles II. to 
 the throne of his father, and on May 29, 1660, his Sacred 
 Majesty arrived in England. Then came the bonfires, drunken- 
 
 1 
 
5» 
 
 AN ESSAF ON 
 
 ness, obscenity, and servility of the glorious Restoration ! The 
 Merry Monarch graciously permitted the decaying bodies of 
 Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw, to be dragged from their graves 
 and gibbeted at Tyburn ! In Pennant's " London," one of the 
 valuable books in the Print Room of the British Museum, is a 
 print of which a copy is given on Group 13. A decayed head of 
 Cromwell is here represented, crowned with laurel but impaled on 
 a. spike, as if ready for Temple Bar. It reposes on an axe, and is 
 decorated with a halter joined to a reversed crown and sceptre ; a 
 sword and pair of scales indicate that justice has at last been done. 
 The etched centre head on Group 13 is a portrait of Charles II., 
 by Gaywood, a pupil of the celebrated Hollar ; the date is 
 1660. This portrait is selected from a print which is remarkable 
 for representing England as a cow. His Majesty is feeding her, 
 while some bishops and a king are riding on her back and whip- 
 ping her. In this way the caricaturist records the restoration of 
 the bishops, and the infamous degradation of England to the 
 King of France. The execution of the print is laboured, and it 
 has but small claims as a work of art. The remaining illustration 
 is a cleverly-etched design representing Sir Thomas Fairfax. He 
 was accused of permitting himself to become a tool in the hands 
 of Cromwell. The satirist has placed him under a gibbet, and he 
 holds up the bleeding head of Charles I. ; in his right hand he 
 grasps a blood-stained axe ; behind him is a tiger, emblematic of 
 savage feelings. One of the caricatures of this period represents 
 Charles II. sitting on his throne, the crown falling off his head; a 
 sly hit by the puritanical party, alluding to his licentiousness and 
 his degraded position as a pensioner of the French King. 
 
 Charles, the hero of a so-called glorious Restoration, by his 
 accession to the throne of England, quieted the Cavalier party, 
 was on friendly terms with France and Holland, and had in a 
 great measure silenced the Puritans. It would appear that little 
 encouragement was given to native caricaturists, as these pro- 
 ductions were mostly obtained from Holland. Few motives were 
 found by the Dutch artists for the exercise of their talents, as 
 the funds at the disposal of the Royal supporters were otherwise 
 engaged, the Cavalier party now being in the ascendant. When 
 we think of the rampant and barefaced vice exhibited by the King 
 and the whole court, it can scarcely be believed that caricature 
 did not attack actions and events so tempting to the graphic 
 satirist. Caricatures in abundance must have been produced ; but 
 from the ephemeral nature of these designs, they were probably 
 laughed at for a time, then thrown aside and allowed to be destroyed. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 59 
 
 The blessings of Whiggism and Toryism originated in this 
 delightful reign. Whig was a term applied to the country party ; 
 it was also a name for sour milk, and for the conventicles in Scot- 
 land. Tory was derived from the name given to Irish banditti in 
 1679. 
 
 Finding a Parliament rather troublesome, Charles tried his 
 hand on his father's fatal experiment, and for four or five years 
 ruled despotically without one. How long this might have 
 continued it is useless to inquire, as apoplexy settled the question 
 on February 6, 1685. 
 
 To Prince Rupert, the impetuous captain of Charles I., and 
 the wiser counsellor of Charles II., is wrongly attributed the 
 invention of a style of engraving called mezzotint. He was 
 appointed governor of Windsor Castle, and in that ancient palace 
 devoted himself to chemical experiments, painting, and engraving. 
 It is said that on cleaning the barrel of his gun, the white rag, when 
 drawn out, was found to be quite black with the powder and 
 corrosion of the barrel, and that the thought struck him that 
 some kind of engraving might be similarly produced. This 
 pretty story about mezzotint being invented by Prince Rupert 
 is very doubtful ; but probably a blackened gun rag suggested 
 to Von Siegel the possibility of that style of engraving. 
 
 Prince Rupert died on November 29, 1682. He engraved 
 about twelve plates in mezzotint. One of these (which is the 
 decollation of St. John, after a design by Spagnoletto) bears 
 the date of 1658. The real inventor of this beautiful style of 
 engraving was Louis von Siegel, a lieutenant -colonel in the 
 service of the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, from whom Prince 
 Rupert learned the secret when in Holland, and brought it with 
 him to England when he came over the second time in the suite 
 of Charles II. This style of engraving will be described in the 
 place where its application to caricature is mentioned. The 
 introduction of mezzotint engraving, and the very beautiful 
 portraits by Sir Peter Lely, are almost the only facts worth 
 remembering in art during this licentious reign. The Merry 
 Monarch having passed away, bigotry succeeded licentiousness ; 
 for his brother James, no better in morals than his departed 
 majesty, added to a loose life gloomy fanaticism. The open en- 
 couragement of Romish priests by James roused the fears of 
 Protestants, and renewed hostility broke out between the two 
 parties. 
 
 The Commons had in Charles II. 's reign brought into their 
 House a Bill of Exclusion, which, after more than one warm debate, 
 
6o 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 the House of Lords rejected; therefore, at Charles's death, James 
 became King. To promote the passing of the above Bill, the 
 first illustration on Group 14 was executed. It would seem that 
 the entire work is done with the graver. It is clever in its 
 invention, and free in its drawing. It is entitled " The Prospect 
 of a Popish Successor ! " London is represented as on fire; 
 the principal figure, James Duke of York, is selected on this 
 occasion for the example of caricature. The ancient idea of 
 double-headed Janus is here adopted and carried through the 
 entire figure. The Duke of York is divided vertically — half 
 devil, half papist. He wears the costume of the time, varied only 
 by a wooden sword. He has "put his foot" into the English 
 Crown. With vipers for hair, his face is represented blowing 
 a fiery blast through a trumpet decked with a rosary and a cross. 
 The other half is our old friend the Satyr of antiquity, dished up 
 as Satan, finished off with horns, tail, sting, proper to the arch- 
 enemy. Holding a flaming torch, and bent upon incendiarism, 
 he spreads conflagration and destruction all around him, which 
 is indicated by skulls and thigh bones. Near the incendiary torch 
 is this inscription, "This is a hopeful successor, is it not?" A 
 legend on the print is this: "Thus I'll govern Hereticks, or 
 Godfrey 'urn "—an allusion to the murder of Sir Edmondsbury 
 Godfrey at Primrose Hill in 1677, a f° u l deed, attributed as 
 a matter of course to the Roman Catholic party. This murder 
 gave rise to intense public excitement at the time. The body 
 of Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey was carried through the streets 
 in procession, preceded by seventy clergymen, and attended by 
 a vast multitude. 
 
 Caricatures on this event issued from the press. The Pope was 
 represented in bed, the ghosts of the devil, Godfrey, and other 
 victims of Papal persecution, haunting him. The engraver is 
 Faithorne, date 1680. Its title, " Hellish Plot ! " 
 
 Another of similar title has twelve compartments relating to 
 Pickering's Plot. 
 
 The scoundrel, Titus Oates, of meal-tub notoriety, is repre- 
 sented favourably in a line engraving done by T. Dudley, 1680. 
 
 Another engraving satirically represents Madame Cellier 
 sitting under the pillory and defending her face with a board from 
 the missiles. This woman was fined ^1,000 and pilloried, on 
 account of her participation in the Meal -tub plot, 1679. 
 
 These circumstances being fresh in the public mind, were 
 referred to whenever political changes were indicated. The 
 inscription on the print: "Thus I'll govern Hereticks, or Godfrey 
 
GROUP 14. (Page 61. 
 
 fi catholic family. (P r - Sacheverell. 
 
 ETCHINC. 
 
 CARICATURES ON the STUARTS. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 6i 
 
 'em," had, therefore, great point at that particular time. Meta- 
 phorically, this prophecy of the caricaturist was fulfilled, for the 
 unfortunate James, prompted by the Jesuit Petre, and the infamous 
 Jeffreys, spread far and wide the most rancorous feelings and 
 incendiary measures during the three years of his disastrous reign. 
 The legal scoundrel, Jeffreys, was a disgrace to any reign, and 
 most worthily was he gibbeted by the pencil of the caricaturist. 
 Disgraced, despised, and abhorred by all, this hell-born villain 
 fled from an infuriated mob ; but in his flight he received such 
 injuries, that he died in prison of his wounds. He is represented 
 in the disguise of a sailor, fleeing from a mob. Satan is quite 
 ready to give him a warm reception, and claims him as an especial 
 favourite. 
 
 On June 10, 1688, was born the celebrated and unfortunate 
 Prince of Wales, James Francis Edward, styled the "old Pre- 
 tender." He died at Rome, December 30, 1765. 
 
 The central head on Group 14, tells a volume of events which 
 happened only four months after the birth of this ill-fated prince. 
 It is a portrait of James II., selected from a large and elaborate 
 print entitled, " England's memorial of its wonderful deliverance 
 from French oppression, performed through the Almighty's infinite 
 goodness and mercy, by His Highness William Henry of Nassau, 
 the High and Mighty Prince of Orange." In this celebrated cari- 
 cature, a large orange-tree, decorated with shields bearing coats- 
 of-arms, drops an orange on the head of the King and his 
 infamous chancellor, Jeffreys. The orange knocks the crown off 
 the head of James, and this, by a felicitous piece of invention, cuts 
 a long story short. A speech supposed to be uttered by James 
 runs thus: " I may thank France for this ! " The King, Queen, the 
 Pretender, and Father Petre, are in another part leaving England. 
 The eye of Heaven watches the Protestant Church and keeps it 
 from falling. The King of France is shown trampling on his sub- 
 jects, and threatening them with sword and pistol. The date of 
 this print is 1688. It is no doubt the work of a Dutch artist in 
 the pay of his Dutch Majesty, preparing to be William III. 
 
 Louis XIV., an extravagant, overrated, bad king, drove from 
 France all men who could not patiently abide his tyranny. Indeed, 
 Holland then, like England now, was the great place of refuge 
 from persecution on account of politics or of religion. At that 
 time, Holland possessed some of the most celebrated painters 
 and most skilful engravers in the world of art. Of these, Romayn 
 de Hooghe was the most eminent amongst caricaturists. William 
 of Nassau found him, as well as other artists, ample employ- 
 
62 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 ment in caricaturing Louis XIV. and James II. The " Grand 
 Monarque," however much he despised the Dutch and their arms, 
 was far more sensitive to the bitter satire from the pencils of the 
 Dutch caricaturists. 
 
 November 5, 1688, is the great day of Protestantism in 
 England. After preparing his way by secret diplomacy and 
 open caricatures, the Prince of Orange landed on that day at 
 Torbay, and soon after ascended the throne of England as 
 William III. " My friends, I come for your goods," said his 
 highness. " Ay, and for our chattels too," growled a Papist. Good, 
 however, did result to England from the advent of the Dutch- 
 man — albeit, his taste at Hampton Court was not for high art, as 
 we can see to this day. One of William's great objects was to 
 cast doubts upon the legitimacy of the Prince of Wales ; and to 
 this end numerous caricatures were as usual imported from 
 Holland, in which the relations between Mary of Modena, James's 
 queen, and the Jesuit Father Petre, are handled with more 
 malignity than truth. Another of his highness's points was to 
 add to abuse of the Romish practices of James, the accusation of 
 the King of England living under the protection of Louis XIV. 
 
 In 1685, a caricature was published in which the Queen, Mary 
 of Modena, is represented in a confessional, to whose confidences 
 a wolf in the garb of a priest is listening with great pleasure and 
 satisfaction ; no doubt intended for Father Petre. The inscription 
 is in English ; but the work of the print is evidently Dutch. 
 
 Another design on Group 14 gives a portrait of Queen Mary 
 of Modena rocking the Prince of Wales in a cradle; her confessor, 
 Father Petre, is whispering confidentially into her ear. On the 
 table lies the symbolic orange. The print is named " A Catholic 
 Family." The illustration on the right of Group 14 is taken from a 
 caricature called " Perkin's Triumph; or, the Jacobite's Hope." 
 The design is freely etched, and is by Mosley. Perkin, the 
 Pretender, is seated in a chariot drawn by two tigers (typical of 
 cruelty), two dragons (symbolic of arbitrary power). Imper- 
 sonations of liberty, toleration, moderation, and property, are 
 trampled on by a crowd of Papists led by the Pope, his Cardinals, 
 and Inquisitors, carrying a gibbet, a pillory, and the usual em- 
 blems of torture. The date of this caricature is 1709. 
 
 According to the emissaries' reports and the Protestant belief, 
 the paternity of the Prince of Wales was assigned to Father Petre, 
 and therefore, by William's partisans, the young prince was 
 called " Peterkin," the son of Petre, and by abbreviation " Perkin." 
 According to another statement, the prince was really the son 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 6 3 
 
 of a miller, and surreptitiously introduced into the palace to be 
 passed off as the child of King James II. This latter bit of 
 scandal caricaturists have introduced by a toy windmill for the 
 young prince to play with. One of De Hooghe's caricatures 
 consists of a lobster carrying Father Petre, who holds the young 
 Prince of Wales in his arms; on the top of the child's head is a 
 windmill. On the lobster's tail is a Papal crown, with relics and 
 indulgences. The lobster has seized with one claw the English 
 Prayer-book, and with the other the law-book of England. In 
 this print, described in Dutch, the little prince is called " the 
 new-born Anti-Christ." Under William and Mary, England 
 enjoyed comparative quiet. The exiled James died at St. 
 Germains, on September 16, 1701. 
 
FOLIO VIII. 
 
 ENGLISH CARICATURE TO THE DATE OF W. HOGARTH. 
 
 William and Mary proclaimed King and Queen. — Battle of the Boyne ; Caiicatures on it. — 
 Dutch taste introduced in England. — Death of Mary, 1694. — Hemskirk. — Francis le Piper. — 
 Death of William III., 1704. — Accession of Anne. — Dr. Sacheverell. — Sciiblerus Club. — 
 History of John Bull. — Death of Anne. — George I., 1 714. — Robert Harley. — South Sea 
 Swindle.— Hogarth's Caricature. — Bubble Cards. — Picture by E. M. Ward, R.A.— Picart's 
 Caricature. — Bad Mezzotints. 
 
 HE landing of the Prince of Orange at Torbay on 
 November 5, 1688, took place amid the usual hand- 
 kissing, grasping of legs, hanging on at the coat 
 tails, and tugging affectionately at the cloak skirts, 
 which form the ordinary demonstrations of affectionate 
 fi|p loyalty towards any new object who can bid tolerably high 
 ^ for it. The worthy son-in-law of James II. having seen his 
 ex-majesty safe out of Whitehall, disguised in humble attire, took 
 up his residence at St. James's Palace, where he received the com- 
 pliments of the nobility, and the Lord Mayor of London — with 
 the usual fulsome addresses, ever producible when a royal nose 
 is to be seen. James, though a fanatic, was brave, and could act 
 with dignity, as in the instance when sitting to Sir Godfrey 
 Kneller for his portrait, news was brought of the landing of 
 William. The painter, confounded at the information, laid down 
 his brush, upon which the King quietly said, " Go on, Kneller, 
 and finish your work, I wish not to disappoint my friend Pepys." 
 
 Princess Mary arrived February 12, 1689, in London, and at 
 the banqueting-house sat in state with her Dutch husband. Here 
 the members of the two Houses read the celebrated " Bill of 
 Rights," and made a solemn tender of the crown to their 
 Highnesses. This pretty toy the Prince received in his most 
 
AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 gracious manner, and the next day William and Mar}'- were pro- 
 claimed King and Queen jointly, but the active partner in the 
 firm was to be William III. How the crown business was 
 managed does not appear ; whether William wore it on Mondays, 
 and Mary on Tuesdays, whether it was divided and made into two 
 crownlets or no, is not on this record. William's activity and 
 pugnacious disposition soon had play, for in 1690, he, at the head 
 of his army, had to fight his father-in-law in Ireland. James was 
 entirely defeated in an action known in history and President 
 West's picture as the Battle of the Boyne. This event gave rise 
 to a vulgar caricature, published in France in 1690. The 
 Jacobite party spread false reports at this time, one of which was 
 that William had been killed. In this caricature the corpse of 
 William is followed by Queen Mary and the supporters of their 
 cause; on the left-hand side of the picture is a view of Satan's 
 fiery palace, the occupier getting ready to give his Dutch 
 Majesty a warm reception. 
 
 King William having succeeded in his objects — that of ascend- 
 ing the throne of England and vilifying the exiled Stuarts — there 
 appears to have been a lull in the production of caricatures. 
 Hating most cordially the French King, William's great aim was 
 to wage war with him, consequently the satiric vein was now 
 directed to France, and Romayn de Hooghe produced caricatures 
 on Louis le Grand in a very bitter spirit, so much so, as to raise 
 the indignation of civilised Europe against " Le Grand Monarque." 
 In one of these Louis XIV is seated, costumed like Harlequin, on 
 a wild Ass. James II. in the Rabelaisian character of Panurge, 
 keeps him company. The two royal friends have their heads 
 joined together under one Jesuit's cap. " Panurge seconde par 
 Arlequin Deodaat a la croisade dTrlande," 1689, * s tne title of 
 a satiric print representing James II. and his adherents marching 
 to the place of embarkation. Father Petre heads the procession, 
 carrying Peterkin, the Pretender, in his arms. 
 
 William had little taste for anything but war, and that only in 
 a small way. His Majesty's taste for art maybe seen at Hampton 
 Court, in the closets furnished with Dutch pictures, Dutch 
 monsters, and hideously-formed Dutch china. His worth has been 
 thus summed up by a witty satirist : "William III. did not add 
 much to the reputation of British royalty in former days, for then 
 sovereigns were so bad that they would never have been allowed to 
 pass in times like these, when we examine the weight and quality 
 of the metal. He was by no means popular when alive, and bad 
 characters do not, like old port, improve by keeping." It was 
 
 K 
 
66 
 
 AN FSSA Y ON 
 
 at this time that the term "Jacobite" was first applied to any 
 supporter or friend of James II. and his family. Queen Mary died 
 in 1694, so that William now reigned sole monarch of England. 
 
 The blessings of a standing army in and a national debt on 
 England, are due to the government of this King, and his hostility 
 to Louis XIV. In 1701, James II. died in exile at St. Germains, 
 leaving his son, a boy of thirteen years of age, to carry on the 
 Stuart interest ; he was generally known in England as the 
 Pretender. 
 
 William, though no great patron of art, attracted to England 
 many of his countrymen, who practised art in its numerous 
 branches, caricature or satiric works included. Egbert Hemskirk 
 was eminent for painting drolls, wakes, quakers' meetings, and 
 comic subjects in imitation of the style of Brouwer. Francis le 
 Piper was an eccentric gentleman, who travelled much on foot, 
 sketching on the way. He produced numerous works at 
 taverns, where he spent nearly all his time, giving away to his 
 boon companions whatever he did. He etched many comic 
 designs, generally on oval silver-plates, with a firm hand and free 
 execution. Of these engraved plates his friends made lids for 
 their tobacco-boxes. 
 
 The death of William III. by a fall from his horse Sorrel, by 
 which he broke his collar-bone, called to the throne of England 
 the Princess Anne, wife to Prince George of Denmark, of 
 "Est il possible!" reputation. William's death took place on 
 March 8, 1704. His horse stepping on a mole-hill became 
 frightened and threw the King. The injury he received was not 
 of itself dangerous, but from his emaciated state, fever set in, and 
 death ensued soon after. The Jacobite toast now became " The 
 little gentleman in black velvet !" alluding to the mole. 
 
 The reign of Anne produced numerous great satirists and men 
 of letters. Caricatures were at that time not abundant, however ; 
 some were imported from Holland, others copied in England, 
 De Hooghe still being pre-eminent. Queen Anne is represented in 
 caricatures holding down the Gallic cock, that is France, with one 
 hand, while with the other she clips its wings. 
 
 The example selected from this date is on Group 14, and is a 
 caricature of the notorious Dr. Sacheverell ; it was engraved in 
 1 7 10. This renegade Whig parson attacked the Lord Treasurer 
 Godolphin, under the assumed name of Volpone, in a sermon 
 preached before the Lord Mayor at St. Paul's in 1709. For this 
 he was prosecuted and became a political martyr — a lucky thing 
 for him, as his sermon sold to the number of 40,000, and he was 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 subsequently appointed to the good living of St. Andrew's, 
 Holborn. The caricature is not badly executed, it being in fact 
 a portrait ; the satire is introduced by the devil and a popish 
 priest influencing the Doctor while composing his sermon. This 
 is only one of seventeen caricatures on this political parson. 
 
 The illustration at the upper part of Group 14, dated 1709, 
 and called " Perkin's (Peterkin's) Triumph," has been already 
 described. The subject of it was, unfortunately for the Stuarts, 
 applicable to the events of many ensuing years. Chronologically, 
 this is the right place for it, as well as for the caricature on Dr. 
 Sacheverell, for both belong to the reign of Queen Anne. One 
 of the caricatures by the eminent Romayn de Hooghe was 
 copied in London, and commemorated the eclipse of the sun, 
 May 12, 1706. Queen Anne's jolly countenance in the moon 
 eclipses that of the sun (Louis XIV.) on terra firma. The Queen, 
 surrounded by her counsellors and generals, is seated on her 
 throne, and, firmly holding down the Gallic cock, deprives this 
 pugnacious bird of its plumage. 
 
 In 17 10 an English engraver named Bickham published a 
 curious print which soon obtained great popularity. The idea 
 was that of small prints, cards, portions of written letters partly 
 overlying each other. By the aid of the graver and etching- 
 needle he produced an imitation so closely resembling the original 
 group, that it was regarded as something quite surprising. These 
 curiosities may even now be seen in some old farmhouses. 
 
 1711 is the date of the same idea applied to political carica- 
 ture. Four knaves in the playing-card suits are placed over a 
 portrait in such a manner as to partly show it. The print is care- 
 fully etched, and the imitation of the original grouping of cards 
 over a print well carried out. 
 
 Anne's reign was brilliant in military annals and in literature. 
 During her rule, native art progressed considerably, and sub- 
 sequently shed lustre on the fame of England. 
 
 The satires from William and Mary's reigns to the date of 1733 
 were innumerable, for not merely was the want supplied by 
 French and Dutch artists, but numerous able native caricaturists 
 were now in full practice. To this period may be referred the 
 gradual abandonment of systematically encouraging foreign artists 
 to the injury of native talent. Caricaturists derived great aid from 
 the contributions of those wits forming the celebrated " Scrib- 
 lerus Club." Its members undertook to write a satire on the abuse 
 of human learning in every branch. The humorous style of 
 Cervantes was to be adopted. Pope wrote the first book of the 
 
63 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 "Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus." "Gulliver's Travels" was 
 Swift's contribution, also the "Art of Sinking in Poetry," the 
 " Virgilius Restauratus," and " Stradling versus Stiles." But to 
 the humorous pamphlet entitled " Law is a Bottomless Pit, or the 
 History of John Bull," caricature owes the origin of several most 
 popular impersonations. In this burlesque history, the war is 
 described which broke out on the accession of a branch of the 
 house of Bourbon to the throne of Spain in 1700, and was termi- 
 nated by the peace of Utrecht in 1 7 1 1 . Dr. Arbuthnot, the 
 author, has treated it wittily as a law-suit between England, 
 Holland, and Austria against France and Spain. John Bull re- 
 presents England in this pamphlet, and we all know how his sturdy 
 form has been adopted by caricaturists from that period to the 
 present hour. How many fanciful variations John has passed 
 through, though still remaining the same honest straightforward 
 burly fellow, with a particular liking for beef! Louis Baboon is a 
 pun upon Bourbon, and signifies Louis XIV. ; Holland is called 
 Nick Frog; Charles II. of Spain as Lord Strut; the Duke of 
 Marlborough is called Hocus the lawyer, who ate the oyster and 
 gave each of his clients a shell ; Mrs. Bull is the English Parlia- 
 ment ; John Bull's mother is the Church of England ; Sister Peg, 
 the Scottish Kirk ; Lord Peter is the Pope ; Martin the Lutheran 
 party, Jack the Calvinistic party. Similar to this, in intention, is 
 Swift's celebrated " Tale of a Tub," and Dickens's witty paper in 
 Household Words, upon the disputes at John Bull's fireside, about 
 the High and Low Church question. 
 
 On the death of Anne, the first George, Elector of Hanover, 
 came to the throne of England, September 28, 17 14, and was at 
 once absorbed by the Whig party. Obstinate, but tolerably 
 sagacious in the management of affairs, he contributed to the 
 happiness of England by maintaining a comparatively serene 
 atmosphere in religion and politics. Possessing but little taste 
 for literature, science, or the fine arts, he gave no encouragement 
 to their professors, but the impetus they had received in Anne's 
 reign carried them on through this dull period. Freedom of the 
 press, however, gave a stimulus to comic art, and especially to 
 caricature, until these productions became almost indispensable to 
 the public enjoyment. 
 
 Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, Speaker of the House of 
 Commons, Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and 
 Lord High Treasurer at various times, was the first victim of the 
 caricaturist. A great political intriguer and devoid of principle, 
 he, through Mrs. Masham, gained favour and place under Queen 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 69 
 
 Anne. Upon a charge of fraud he was committed to the Tower, 
 but tried and acquitted in 1720. Harley is called " Robert the 
 political juggler," and is represented as a hump-backed, ill-made, 
 bandy-legged fellow. The Tories now revenged themselves on 
 the Whigs, who were basking in the Royal sunshine; so they 
 flooded London and the country with multitudes of caricatures, 
 low libels, and seditious papers, sold at a halfpenny or a penny 
 each. High Church and Dissent were at war with each other, 
 and mixing up politics with religion. The name of the notorious 
 Dr. Sacheverell became a war-cry for the mob. They attacked 
 the houses of Dissenters, and did very serious mischief to their 
 property and to their persons. Rioting of this kind went on for 
 a long time, only thinly covering the real plot, which was for a 
 bold dash by the Pretender and his party to recover the English 
 crown from the Hanoverian King. Horace Walpole assures us 
 that nothing could be more gross than the ribaldry vomited out in 
 lampoons, libels, caricatures, and abuse of all kinds against the 
 Sovereign and the new Court. 
 
 An event now took place which may be considered as the true 
 basis of the really English school of caricature — the terrific smash- 
 up of the South Sea Scheme in 1720. Shares in this Company 
 paid at first 10, 20, 50 per cent., then 126, after that 325, and at 
 last 1,000 per cent. This tremendous rise was effected by gigantic 
 lies, spread widely, about the inexhaustible wealth in the countries 
 of the South Seas. The public went mad in their anxiety to 
 obtain shares in this wonderful company. The Prince of Wales ; 
 the King's mistresses, Erengard de Schulenberg, Duchess of 
 Kendal, and Charlotte Kilmansegge, Countess of Platen, in 
 Germany, and Darlington, in England ; the Duke of Marl- 
 borough ; Sir Robert Walpole ; Harley Earl of Oxford, and a 
 long list of nobility and gentry made many thousands in this 
 gigantic swindle. Doubts arising respecting the stability of the 
 South Sea Company, a committee was appointed to examine and 
 report upon the Company's accounts, when the books were proved 
 to be full of false entries, blanks, erasures, and numerous altera- 
 tions, while some of the books were missing, either by robbery or 
 destruction. A universal panic ensued, banks stopped payment, 
 and ruin was everywhere. Some of the unfortunate victims fled 
 from the country, others committed suicide, and a hideous state 
 of public credit ensued. To cover up this villainy, the treasurer 
 ran away with the most important book, and sought refuge in 
 Brabant, where he was arrested, but, by the influence of the King's 
 mistresses, he was not given up to the English Government. In 
 
7° 
 
 AN ESSAV ON 
 
 this awful state of social ruin, every one being affected by it, a 
 sensational state of feeling ensued, which sought relief in satire. 
 Caricatures by English, French, and Dutch artists abounded. 
 "The Brabant Screen" was a favourite mode of expressing the 
 screening or protecting influence of the King's women in withhold- 
 ing the great robbers from just punishment. Hogarth made his 
 talent useful on this occasion, and etched with great care a 
 caricature on this atrocious swindle. There is much clever 
 invention in this early work by Hogarth, its execution is rather 
 laboured, and in its drawing there is an evident study of the style 
 and works of the famous Callot, the great French caricaturist. 
 
 Group 15 contains a photographic reproduction of this design. 
 A roundabout set up in the city has wooden horses all well 
 supplied with riders, among whom are a divine, a shoellack, and 
 a peer. An eager crowd keeps the wheel revolving ; a ladder 
 stands ready for fresh adventurers ; at its foot an aged man 
 advises caution to his son who is desirous to mount and try his 
 luck. Satan sets up a golden stall near Guildhall. Fortune is 
 hung up, her body consists of gold. Satan cuts off lumps of 
 the precious metal and flings them to the eager crowd. On the 
 left of the subject a Roman Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and a 
 Methodist parson, play together a game of chance for riches. 
 
 Honour personified, is tied up to a whipping-post and scourged 
 by a scoundrel, who has a mask and pistol. An ape decorated 
 with an ancient cap and flenrs de lis, indicates the Mississippi 
 Scheme in Paris ; the ape covers himself with the robe of Honour, 
 and exposes him to the lash of villainy. 
 
 The South Sea Scheme was but an imitation of one pro- 
 pounded in Paris by a Scotch financier named Law, in 17 17-19. 
 The object of this scheme was to monopolize for the French the 
 trade of the River Mississippi, in North America. Law, " The 
 Paper King" as he was named, soon fell into difficulties, and 
 before long his reign closed, the scheme collapsed, and, like the 
 South Sea Bubble, spread ruin far and near. 
 
 Honour and Honesty, represented by Hogarth in this pictorial 
 satire, are sacrificed to the public greed for gold. Honesty 
 is being broken on the wheel by Self-interest armed with a 
 bludgeon ; at his girdle are a fishing-net, an empty file for 
 receipts, and pick-locks ; an apparently devout clergyman is 
 reading the service for persons at the point of death. Trade 
 starved, has dropped down merely to die. A large building is 
 opened as a raffling-office for husbands with fortunes, and the 
 staircase is crowded with fair applicants. The pedestal of the 
 
r- 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 South Sea Bubble, and its collapse, are well depicted by Mr. E. M. 
 Ward, R.A., in his picture of the grand smash of this company. 
 It is painted in the true Hogarthian feeling, and is one of the most 
 interesting pictures in the National Gallery. 
 
 The history of this disgraceful swindle, the pamphlets, squibs, 
 songs, lampoons, and caricatures published about it, would make a 
 good and interesting volume. Farces were also played to suit the 
 temper of the times ; in fact, the Legislature, Pulpit, Bar, Stage, 
 and society generally were so painfully interested in the collapse 
 of the many schemes of the day, that hardly any other subject 
 was listened to. French, Dutch, and English caricaturists were 
 all hard at work, some inventing, others copying, to supply the 
 demand for caricatures upon these numerous bubble-schemes. 
 In talent, the French were the best. Picart was an engraver of 
 great talent. His large engraving on the public mania for 
 schemes of all kinds, including that of the Mississippi and South 
 Sea, evinces great power of invention, drawing, and engraving. 
 Fortune and Folly are drawn in a triumphal car by a wooden- 
 legged Mississippi governor, a lame-legged governor of the 
 South Sea Scheme, the agents of the companies, having tails 
 like foxes, turn the wheels, each spoke representing a company. 
 Of course Satan is active here, blowing soap-bubbles. Nume- 
 rous well-designed groups are placed conveniently in this large 
 engraving. This was but poorly copied in England by the 
 engraver. It however forms one of a large number of the cari- 
 catures published in 1720. These, with satirical plays and songs, 
 were collected and published in folio, under the title, " The Great 
 Picture of Folly." The avidity for caricatures was so great that, 
 in several instances, old woodcuts were re-published, old plates 
 touched up and altered, with fresh descriptions engraved on them, 
 and issued to the public as recent productions applicable to 
 passing events. Sir Robert Walpole, who profited by the South 
 Sea Scheme, and had opposed it in Parliament, now came with 
 wise measures to gradually alleviate the distress in society caused 
 by the villainy of the South Sea officers, and the people high up 
 in power and influence surrounding the King. 
 
FOLIO IX. 
 
 Decline of " The Legitimate Drama" under Charles II. — Amusement and Excitement afforded 
 by Italian Opera, Masquerades, and Pantomimes. — Gay's Beggars' Opera.— Hogarth's 
 Caricature. — Expected Invasion by the Pretender. — Military Fever. — Camp in Hyde Park. — 
 Death of George I., 1727. — Hogarth's Patriotic Caricatures. — Calais Gate. — England and 
 France. — Accession of George II. — War with France. — Retirement of Sir Robert Walpole. 
 — " March to Finchley." 
 
 k HE Legitimate Drama," as it is called, suffered great 
 moral and literary debasement under Charles II., from 
 which it had been but slowly rising, when the South-Sea 
 Bubble, and numerous other similar schemes, by unduly 
 raising their shareholders to sudden wealth, and more 
 lddenly reducing them to destitution, unhinged the public 
 mind and public morality ; hence a craving arose for sensa- 
 tional and novel amusements, by those whom fickle Fortune had 
 not left penniless. 
 
 Italian opera had begun to steal into England, and though 
 in a lame style of libretto and of music, yet found supporters for 
 the mere love of novelty. Added to this gradual innovation of 
 music on the English stage were masquerades, managed by John 
 James Heidegger. These saturnalia had special immoralities 
 which commended them to the votaries of pleasure, and were 
 carried to such a pitch of licentiousness that an attempt was made 
 in Parliament to suppress them. Harlequinades and Newgate 
 dramas added to the general disorder, and it was in this state of 
 society that Hogarth seized his etching-needle and produced 
 several caricatures. Hogarth, in a caricature with but shallow 
 invention and slightly etched, ridiculed Wilkes, Booth, and Cibber, 
 for pandering to the taste for opera, pantomime, and plays, 
 founded upon incidents supplied by the Newgate Calendar. Rich, 
 the manager of the theatre in Lincoln's Inn, produced, in 1723, 
 
 L 
 
74 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 " Harlequin Dr. Faustus." The following year was brought out 
 " Harlequin Jack Slieppard." This worthy had just been hanged, 
 so the play proved to be a great success. Horses, wild beasts, 
 dragons, tumblers, wire and rope-dancers, and all kinds of mon- 
 strous theatrical personages and effects, were resorted to by the 
 managers of that day to gratify the vitiated taste of the public. 
 
 To ridicule the rage for operas, pantomimes, and masque- 
 rades, with their accompanying immoralities, Hogarth etched 
 his plate of "Masquerades and Operas;" Burlington Gate, 
 date 1727. Curious enough, Hogarth, in introducing the well- 
 known gate of Burlington House, inscribed as an " Acfademy 
 of Arts," with Raffaelle and Michael Angelo on the angles, 
 while that pretender to taste, Kent, towers above them, has 
 anticipated that which has actually taken place, for Burlington 
 House is now partly occupied by the Royal Academy ! The fore- 
 ground of the masquerade ticket is occupied by two crowds ; that 
 to the left consists of a motley crowd, led by Satan and Folly to 
 the masquerade and opera ; a soldier on duty indicates royal 
 presence. Heidegger, the ugliest man then known, who conducted 
 these musical entertainments, is welcoming the crowd from the 
 window. A large show-cloth represents the Earl of Peterborough, 
 and two other noblemen, on their knees, beseeching Cuzzoni and 
 Farinelli to accept of eight thousand pounds ! The crowd on the 
 right hand appears more respectable ; they are hurrying in to see 
 the pantomime of " Dr. Faustus." A soldier on duty gives royal 
 sanction to the performance. In the centre, a large barrow, 
 wheeled by a woman, is conveying away a load of rubbish : this is 
 formed of plays by Shakspeare, Ben Jonson, Dryden, Otway, 
 Congreve, and other celebrated authors. The figures are neatly 
 drawn and etched, in imitation of the style of Callot, whose works 
 greatly influenced the comic productions of this date. These 
 plates are lightly-etched works, intended only as a transient hit at 
 the follies of the day; they have not much invention, nor are they 
 examples of Hogarth's best style even of caricature. 
 
 About 1727, the public taste, or rather the taste of the " upper 
 ten thousand," ran wild upon Italian opera and masquerades, to 
 the discomfiture of the managers of our national theatres, who 
 then, as now, were obliged to resort to pantomime, scenery, 
 dresses, and other spectacular means of keeping their houses 
 open. Hogarth took the part of the " legitimate drama," and 
 ridiculed this Italianised taste for opera and ballet. A dispute 
 arose, in 1728, between two of the Italian idols; consequently 
 opera, for a time, was under a cloud. In this state of exotic 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 75 
 
 singing, Gay, the poet, wrote his caricature opera — the well-known 
 "Beggars' Opera." With smart and witty dialogue, aided by Dr. 
 Arne's music, it drew the fashionable world to the theatre in 
 Lincoln's Inn Fields. Its subject, robbery and debauchery; its 
 characters, thieves and loose women, instead of disgusting the 
 nobility and gentry, as might have been expected, proved to be 
 one of the most complete successes ever known in theatrical affairs. 
 This caricature-opera was acted all over the kingdom. The songs 
 and designs of the characters were printed for ladies' fans, and 
 skreens were ornamented with prints of a similar kind. Lavinia 
 Fenton, the first Polly Peachum, became celebrated in songs and 
 prints, and soon after her successful debut became Duchess of 
 Bolton. Such was the rage for this stage caricature, that at 
 last public morality became alarmed, the " Beggars' Opera " was 
 denounced from the pulpit, the press abused it, until the Court at 
 length discountenanced it. This opera, as a caricature upon the 
 ever over-estimated Italian opera, is conceived and carried out by 
 Gay in a spirit truly resembling the satire of Fielding and Ho- 
 garth. The latter, however, finding a perfect mania had taken 
 possession of the public, high and low, for this questionable but 
 pleasing production, caricatured the absurd adulation, and the 
 noble and wealthy supporters of the mock-opera. 
 
 On Group 16 is a caricature upon the stage caricature of 
 Italian music, and its pretentious professors of both sexes. 
 Hogarth, in this satirical print, has hit the true point between 
 free, etching and line-engraving. The invention is good, the 
 composition also, and the drawing free ; the execution is unre- 
 strained, the shadings light, the whole effect clear and brilliant, 
 with no aid from the graver. As an etching it is greatly superior 
 to that of " The South Sea Bubble." Captain Macheath, the 
 gay superficial highwayman, has the head of an ass. Pretty 
 Polly Peachum figures as a cat, and Mrs. Peachum' s vulgarity is 
 well satirised by a pig's face. Old Peachum has a bull's head ; 
 and the other worthy, Lockit, has the face and head of a calf. 
 Lucy, the other chere amie of the Captain, has the head of a parrot. 
 A gibbet in the scene indicates the tone and character of the piece. 
 The orchestra is composed of great professors of the Jew's harp, 
 the salt-box from Bartholomew fair, the bagpipes, dulcimer, 
 and bladder-and-string. In a compartment to the right, Cuzzoni, 
 the idol of that day, dips her hands into bags of guineas, offered 
 to her on all sides. Under the stage, Apollo is packed away, 
 with his lyre broken. The rest of the print consists of admiring 
 noblemen, amongst a crowd of persons of a lower rank in life. 
 
AN ESSAV ON 
 
 The angel flying, and bearing off " Harmony," is borrowed from 
 one of Rembrandt's etchings. On the stage, the pretty music by 
 Arne, and the bustle of the scene, drown the caustic wit of the 
 dialogue. Its popularity exists to this hour ; for the part of Polly 
 is generally selected by a vocalist of power, and the dashing, gay, 
 thoughtless Macheath, is almost always one of the favourite parts 
 of a tenor singer. Doubtless, the success of the " Beggars' 
 Operas suggested the idea, in subsequent years, of dramatising 
 much of the choice literature found in the Aeugate Calendar. 
 
 By reference to Hogarth's illustrations of the principles of 
 caricature, in the previous pages, it will be seen that he also had 
 great command over the etching-needle and the process of 
 " biting in, "such as this print proves. 
 
 The year 1722 was one of alarm, on account of an intended 
 invasion by the Pretender. This prince had left Rome, and the 
 Duke of Ormond had left Spain to join the Pretender in his 
 descent upon England. A military fever took possession of every 
 one, to such an extent that a camp was formed in Hyde Park, and 
 all Papists, or suspected Papists, were ordered away, by royal 
 proclamation, from London. This preparation proved to be 
 needless, as no invasion was attempted. George I. died in 1727, 
 and was succeeded by his son, George II., who trusted to his 
 minister, Sir Robert Walpole, the administration of affairs. An 
 opportunity offering to make war on France, the King gladly 
 availed himself of it, in consequence of which Walpole retired from 
 office in 1742. AtDettingen, George II. showed to advantage, by 
 cheering the British troops on to the attack ; this last appearance 
 of a King of Great Britain on the field of battle, was therefore 
 creditable to royal courage. The Pretender, and the Jacobite 
 cause, with the French alliance, kept England in a ferment at 
 various times, and, by consequence, the anti-Gallic hatred at 
 boiling point. " No Pretender ! No Popery ! No Slavery ! No 
 Arbitrary Power! No Wooden Shoes ! " was the creed of every 
 true Englishman. Hogarth, no lover of George II., was, never- 
 theless, an Englishman back and bone, so he helped, as far as he 
 could, to keep up the hatred and contempt for France by his 
 " Calais Gate," and two freely-etched caricatures on Group 18 
 and 19. 
 
 " Calais Gate ; or, The Roast Beef of Old England," 
 
 Group 17. 
 
 Hogarth, Hayman, both painters, and Cheere, a sculptor, made 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 11 
 
 up a party to pass over from Dover to Calais, and very jolly they 
 were, until Hogarth was arrested as a spy, and taken before the 
 Governor. Hogarth, thinking himself as free to act in France as 
 in England, began to sketch the Old Gate at Calais, and to be 
 rather too independent and satirical in his manner, when he was 
 stopped by a sentinel. The Governor, however, decided that he 
 should quit France immediately, upon which Hogarth was escorted 
 by two guards on board a vessel about to sail to Dover. These 
 two soldiers twisted him round and round on the deck in an 
 insolent manner, and then told him he might go. Hogarth took 
 his revenge by ridiculing the French on every opportunity. In 
 this work, " The Roast Beef of Old England ! " he laughs at 
 the lean figures of the French soldiers, produced by "soup 
 maigre," and he contrasts meat of a "cag-mag" sort, with the 
 magnificent sirloin of British beef, under which the skinny cook is 
 staggering ; a fat friar casts longing eyes on the delicious mass. 
 Hogarth represents himself as being arrested ; the likeness is 
 good, and his arrest is indicated by the hand on his shoulder. In 
 the foreground, a poor half-starved Scotchman, gnawing a head 
 of garlic, indicates the condition of many deluded supporters of 
 the Pretender. The fishwomen, on the left side, are ludicrously 
 comparing the likeness of each other to that of some fish, fresh 
 caught. This incident of Hogarth's arrest has been well painted 
 by W. Frith, R.A. Hogarth disliked even the very mention of 
 his adventure at Calais. 
 
 " England," Group 18. 
 
 This is a specimen of the true anti-Gallic feeling, con- 
 sidered at one time to be perfectly natural and proper to be 
 possessed by a genuine Englishman. Hogarth is the first of 
 a long roll of caricaturists who have developed completely this 
 contemptuous dislike of our clever neighbours. A recruiting 
 party is regaling at an inn, bearing the sign of the Duke of 
 Cumberland, who, by a cross-reading, is " roast and boiled every 
 day." The table bears a round of fine English beef and a pot of 
 English beer, also the grand national song of "Rule Britannia." 
 A sailor with one lass, and a soldier with another, make merry 
 over a hideous caricature of the King of France, touched in by a 
 soldier in the Foot Guards. The girl measures the width of 
 British bone and muscle by her apron. The fifer in the fore- 
 ground reclines on his drum, and evidently enjoys the recumbent 
 attitude after a glorious beef dinner ; he plays, for his own delight, 
 
78 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 " God save great George our King!" To the right, a recruit, 
 just caught, stands on tiptoe in order to rise to the required 
 height, so anxious is he to serve his King and country. In the 
 background active drill is going on. 
 
 "France," Group 19. 
 
 The companion subject to "England" is "France," also 
 etched by Hogarth. 
 
 In a comfortless barn or stable, entitled " Sabot Royal," — 
 famous for that " soup maigre " — hangs a wretched apology for a 
 sirloin of beef, the best that poor France can produce. A shabby 
 lot of knock-kneed scarecrows bearing firelocks, prepare to embark 
 for old England to invade the country, to take "vengeance, and 
 the Bon bier et le bon Beuf de Angleterre." Truly Hogarthian 
 French ! Why should he, William Hogarth, every inch an English- 
 man, bother his brains with the lingo, only used by slaves who 
 wear wooden shoes ? A rather lanky, but elegant officer, while 
 animating his men, with the prospect of good English beef and 
 beer, contents himself for the present by cooking four frogs, which 
 he has spitted on his sword. A monk, fat and sleek, feels with 
 pleasure the edge of an axe made ready to chop off heretic heads; 
 his pleasure also extends to the contemplation of a sledge, wheel, 
 spiked-collar, thumbscrews, gibbet, and cat-o' -nine-tails, nicely 
 prepared for the English. Images are also included ; and these 
 the insular heretics are to be forced to worship. The barren soil 
 of France is being ploughed up by miserable cattle, assisted by 
 women. Soldiers unwilling to embark on this perilous enterprise, 
 are being prodded forward by their officer. This pair of prints is 
 brimful of invention, is well composed, and etched with great 
 freedom. The light and shade in both subjects is distributed with 
 good effect. 
 
 It was just about this time that Hogarth, standing at the inter- 
 section of the Hampstead Road, by the now-called Euston Road, 
 witnessed the march of the royal troops past that spot, marked by 
 the old Adam and Eve inn on one side, and the old King's Head 
 on the other. His keen eye and ready pencil booked for posterity 
 the confusion attending the rear of the regiment on its march to 
 Finchley. To describe it in detail would take too much space, 
 nor does it quite come into the class of caricature art ; it is, indeed, 
 comic and satiric in the highest degree. A baggage-waggon is 
 lumbering on its way, loaded with women, babies, knapsacks, and 
 camp-kettles, surrounded with drunken, disorderly soldiers, entirely 
 
FOLIO X. 
 
 Hogarth's " Gin Lane." — Criticisms on this Work by Charles Lamb and Charles Dickens.—" Beer 
 Street." — "Enraged Musician." — Street Noises. — Perspective Ignorance. — Line of Beauty. 
 — Paul Sandby, R.A. — " The Caricaturist Caricatured." 
 
 "Gin Lane," Group 20. 
 
 -^N Hogarth's time drunkenness was, as it still is, the curse 
 of England. In his day, gin-drinking prevailed to a 
 frightful extent; but while deploring this vice amongst 
 the lower orders, it ought not to be forgotten that 
 drunkenness produced by gin, differs not in its moral 
 aspect from that produced by wine, in the higher orders. 
 What made a five-bottle- man more respectable in his drunken- 
 fit, than a poor half-starved wretch, who could only afford a dram 
 or two ? But gin is vulgar, while champagne is genteel ! So 
 the wine-bibbing legislators set to work as usual "to meddle 
 and muddle" the question. It must be admitted that a dreadfully 
 depraved state of drunkenness had been reached, when the keeper 
 of a gin-shop in Southwark had the impudence to paint this 
 horrible announcement on his shop-front — 
 
 Drunk for I penny. Dead-drunk for 2 pence. 
 Clean straw for nothing ! 
 
 Sir Joseph Jekyll proposed an enactment by which a heavy 
 duty should be laid on gin, and that it should only be sold in 
 small quantities. This bill passed with little opposition ; upon 
 this the caricaturists set to work, and a lively time they had of it. 
 The downfall of Madam Gin was celebrated in verse and exhibited 
 in numerous caricatures. Mock funerals of " Madame Geneva," 
 
I 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 who died September 29, 1736, took place. A figure dressed up 
 as Madame Geneva was lying in state surrounded by mourners 
 in liquor shops : which were put into mourning ; of course the 
 mourners drank themselves out of their senses, got together in 
 mobs, committed excesses, and finished by being sent to prison. 
 Like all such Acts of Parliament, it effected little, if any good, 
 for the Act was evaded in every possible manner. Gin was sold 
 under all kinds of false names, some very coarse, some witty ; in 
 this way, gin was to be procured from bottles in the public streets, 
 and drunkenness prevailed in spite of law and informers. In 1743, 
 this Act was repealed. Amongst the flood of caricatures of all 
 degrees of merit, Hogarth's "Gin Lane," published in 1736, floated 
 to the top, and to this hour retains its immense reputation as an 
 exponent of the horrible consequences of drunkenness. The subject 
 "Gin Lane," possesses all the inventive power displayed so emi- 
 nently by Hogarth. A horrible phantom of a man starved and all 
 but dead, can scarcely sell the maddening liquor to others. Above 
 him, one of "the fair sex," intoxicated, drops her child from her 
 drunken clutch down a cellar. The wretched child itself is a victim 
 to drink and disease, and may perhaps be only maimed by its fall. 
 Its death, indeed, would be the most merciful visitation for the 
 unhappy child of such a depraved and disgusting mother. Above 
 this drunken wretch, a father and mother hasten to pawn their 
 cooking utensils and the father's saw, while their starving children 
 and a dog, gnaw a bone. A fearful row is going on at Killman's 
 (note the name !) liquor-shop, where are two charity girls drinking 
 gin, and a horrible woman forcing gin into a baby's mouth. In a 
 fit of drunken insanity, a man has spitted his own child, and is 
 dancing about frantically, with a pair of bellows on his head. 
 The houses are tumbling down, disclosing a wretched barber, who 
 in a drunken fit has hanged himself. In the middle of the street, 
 a beadle, quite in a business-like style, places the corpse of a 
 gin-poisoned woman in a coffin ; her orphan child is weeping. 
 Mourners in the distance indicate that a funeral has just passed 
 by. 
 
 Charles Lamb, the celebrated " Elia," has written an elaborate 
 criticism on this appalling scene. Of this extraordinary produc- 
 tion, Lamb says, truly : — " Some persons confuse the ideas of a 
 painter of common or vulgar subjects with the being a vulgar 
 artist. The quantity of thought which Hogarth crowds into every 
 picture would alone unvulgarise any subject he might choose. 
 Let us take the lowest of his subjects, ' Gin Lane.' Here is 
 plenty of poverty and low stuff to disgust, on a superficial view. 
 
 M 
 
82 
 
 AN ESSAF ON 
 
 I have seen many turn away from it, not being able to bear it. 
 The same persons would have perhaps looked with great com- 
 placency upon Poussin's celebrated picture of the ' Plague at 
 Athens.' Disease and death, and bewildering terror, in Athenian 
 garments, are endurable, and come, as the delicate critics express 
 it, ' within the limits of pleasurable sensation.' But the scenes of 
 their own St. Giles's, delineated by their own countryman, are too 
 shocking to think of ! " 
 
 To transcribe all that has been written upon this great work of 
 Hogarth is not within the object of this book ; yet the opinion of 
 an eminent moralist and judge of character, Charles Dickens, may 
 be given in regard to the subject itself, and its treatment : — 
 " The scene in Gin Lane is that just cleared away for the extension 
 of Oxford Street — an awfully foul-smelling and horrible mass of 
 thieves' dens, existing from Hogarth's own time. It is a remark- 
 able trait of Hogarth's picture, that while it exhibits drunkenness 
 in the most appalling forms, it also forces on attention a most 
 wretched, indecent, abject condition of life that might be put as a 
 frontispiece to our sanitary report of a hundred years later date. 
 But beyond the ' reeling houses ' mentioned by Charles Lamb, as 
 sympathising in the general drunkenness, we have indication quite 
 as powerful of what leads to it, among the neglected classes. The 
 best of the wretches are pawning the commonest necessaries and 
 tools of their trades ; and the worst are homeless vagrants, who 
 give us no clue to their having been otherwise in bygone days. 
 All are living, and dying, miserably ! Nobody is interfering for 
 prevention or for cure in the generation going out before us, or 
 the generation coming in. The beadle is the only sober man in 
 the composition, except the pawnbroker, and he is mightily indif- 
 ferent to the orphan child crying beside its parent's coffin. The 
 little charity girls are not so well taught or looked after but they 
 can take to dram-drinking already ! The church, indeed, is very 
 prominent and handsome, but quite passive in the picture ; it coldly 
 surveys these things in progress under shadow of its tower." 
 
 Charles Dickens was an intense admirer of Hogarth's great 
 productions, and at Gad's Hill had the staircase hung with a fine 
 set of impressions from his engravings. Many were the hours 
 the great novelist passed in contemplating the works of the great 
 English satirical painter. 
 
 "Beer Street," Group 21. 
 In this subject Hogarth exhibits the beneficial effects of 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 85 
 
 a draught of good, sound, wholesome English beer, when it 
 could be obtained. Had Hogarth lived to the present time, 
 and seen the analysis of his vaunted liquor, compounded of 
 water, coriander seed, cocculus indicus, tobacco, salt, sulphate of 
 iron, gentian, and other ingredients supplied by the beer-doctor 
 to adulterate malt liquor, it is doubtful whether he would have 
 commended this beverage by the aid of his powerful pencil. No 
 doubt a draught of good, honest, home-brewed beer is far prefer- 
 able to the burning stuff, miscalled gin. Such was Hogarth's 
 opinion, and consequently he expresses it by the present composi- 
 tion in praise of beer. A jolly butcher laughs heartily at the 
 strong feat of a blacksmith, who, invigorated by beer, lifts bodily 
 a lean French postillion, jack-boots, portmanteau, and all ! A 
 sign-painter, said to be Liotard, a French artist, in a happy state 
 of beer, touches in the sign of the "Barley Mow." Two pretty 
 fishwomen read a ballad in praise of beer. At the right side of 
 the composition, a ticket porter rests his load, and refreshes 
 himself with a draught of honest beer. He has a heavy load 
 to carry. Hogarth here slily satirises the authors of certain 
 heavy books, consigned to Mr. Past' em, the trunk-maker. These 
 are " Lauder on Milton ; " " Hill on Royal Societies ; " " Turnbull 
 on Ancient Painting," tracts on politics, and modern tragedies. As 
 beer has driven away gin, the pawnbroker can carry on no longer; 
 so his shop is shut up, and his house and sign are falling down. 
 The distant composition shows indubitable marks of industry, the 
 result of beer-drinking. Houses are finished, church bells are 
 ringing, everywhere are signs of well-doing. Beer has always 
 been upheld by our legislators as an antagonist of gin. 
 
 "The Enraged Musician," Group 22. 
 
 This subject is introduced not merely on account of the 
 humour displayed by Hogarth, but because it illustrates the 
 application of complete line engraving, preceded by etching, to 
 that style of art which in common " parlance" is classed as 
 caricature. Hogarth not only etched with the greatest freedom, 
 but he also handled the graver with great skill. Who cannot, on 
 looking at this composition, sympathise with the persecution the 
 late Mr. Babbage underwent in his mathematical studies, by the 
 organ-grinding of Italian beggars, and by horrible German bands. 
 Charles Dickens, with all his animal spirits, in vain tried to write 
 while suffering the infliction of street-music. To such an extent 
 was this the case, that when engaged upon one of his admirable 
 
AN ESSAF ON 
 
 novels he was forced to abandon his sea-side residence, as Broad- 
 stairs was invaded by German bands, organ-grinders, and Nigger 
 singers, keeping up an incessant din from morning till night. 
 Sweeps' cries, and other street noises, such as " Dust ho !" and the 
 bell ; horn blowers with newspapers, and some other noisy occu- 
 pations, have, thanks to Parliament, been abolished, others have 
 been partially silenced ; still street noises are curses to all the 
 occupiers of houses, who have mental work to do. Here is poor 
 Festin, a musician, interrupted in the moment of inspiration by an 
 aggregate of noises enough to madden any student. The only 
 redeeming point is that presented by the pretty milkmaid. This 
 head has been re-engraved several times from the interesting figure 
 here introduced. One might hope that so pretty a face might 
 have a sweet voice, and " milk below" be a charming sound, even 
 to a Babbage, especially if a voice and countenance so artless 
 announced pure unadulterated milk ! Well may poor Festin stop 
 his ears, and look daggers at the hautboy player ! The wretched 
 ballad singer and her brat, howl immediately in Festin' s ears, 
 while the boy's trumpet, the girl's rattle, and the dog's yell, all 
 help the accursed din. The old-young gentleman, in bag-wig 
 and wooden sword, beats a drum to his own intense delight. 
 Hogarth, in selecting a knife-grinder setting a butcher's cleaver, 
 has given an example of one of the most discordant, nerve-punish- 
 ing noises in existence, not excepting the horrid screech of the 
 railway whistle. Of course a dog — dogs seem highly susceptible 
 of noises — tries with all his might to yelp down these extraordinary 
 sounds. The pavior, with his rammer, and emphatic " Ha !" as 
 he delivers the blow; the dustman, with " Dust ho !" and a bell 
 accompaniment ; the fish-hawker, itinerant cattle-doctor and 
 farrier, with his horn, contribute to the bewildering noise. Cats 
 "cussing and swearing" on the roof of a house, from whence a 
 sweep issues to bawl "Sweep!" and rattle the chimney-pot, all 
 help the general confusion of sounds. The flag flying on the 
 church tower indicates a peal being rung. The inscription 
 "Long, Pewterer," suggests a delightful and prolonged addition 
 to the general and deafening din. By the playbill, the "Beggars' 
 Opera" appears triumphant; possibly Hogarth intended to hint 
 that the scene before us resembled the orchestral effects of that 
 renowned opera. Ireland, one of Hogarth's biographers, states 
 that this celebrated picture originated in a story told him by Mr. 
 John Festin. As a musician, he was celebrated for playing on the 
 hautboy and German flute. While waiting to give a lesson to a 
 nobleman, he opened the parlour window and sat down on the 
 
 ¥ 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 8 5 
 
 window-seat. Before the rails was a wretched fellow playing on 
 the hautboy. A man with a barrow full of onions offered the piper 
 an onion if he would play him a tune ; that ended, he offered a 
 second for a second tune ; the same for a third, and was going - on. 
 This was too much; so he bawled out — "Zounds! stop here. 
 This fellow is ridiculing my profession ; he is playing on the 
 hautboy for onions !" In this celebrated work Hogarth does not 
 appear as a caricaturist in regard to the faces or figures. 
 Character indeed there is to the fullest extent, no doubt derived 
 from careful sketches and close observation. The hautboy player 
 and the milkmaid are doubtless the result of sittings, so of the 
 boy with the drum. The musician is probably a vivid recollection, 
 if not of Festin himself, of some musician similarly annoyed. The 
 other figures seem to be designed from street sketches. The 
 object of the present work, dealing only with the lighter pro- 
 ductions, that is, with the caricature portion of the great works of 
 William Hogarth, precludes any criticism of his wonderful serial 
 pictures, by which the name of our illustrious countryman is 
 revered in all the cities and towns throughout the world where art 
 is understood. 
 
 "Frontispiece to Brook Taylor's Perspective," Group 23. 
 
 One entirely original production by our great satirist is his 
 introduction to Brook Taylor's "Treatise on Perspective." In 
 this " Frontispiece" he has ingeniously contrived to bring together 
 all the vulgar errors committed by persons attempting to draw 
 without a knowledge of the laws of perspective. Here we 
 have a good-natured old gentleman indulging in that sport 
 cynically described by Dr. Johnson " as consisting of a rod, with 
 a worm at one end, and a fool at the other." The angler's figure 
 is very freely drawn, and he stands firmly. His attention is 
 directed towards two ill-drawn trees instead of the fish he has just 
 caught. Placed as he is with regard to the fish, the rod must be 
 an uncommonly long one, as it extends beyond the rival angler 
 many yards away, and actually crosses his tackle. This is an error 
 of perspective depth, great indeed, but not very apparent until it 
 is explained. The old gentleman stands on an impossible pave- 
 ment, for the vanishing lines are here entirely reversed. Tubs 
 are drawn indicating the tops to be visible as well as the bottoms. 
 The boards, the courses of brick, the windows, the tiles on the 
 roof, the roof itself, are all wrong — the vanishing lines tending to 
 various points. The sign has one part of its wooden frame 
 
86 
 
 AN ESS AT ON 
 
 attached to the house in the foreground, while the other is fixed 
 in a house on the opposite side of the street ! The sign — the 
 Half Moon — itself is partly hidden by trees a half-mile distant. 
 The old man on the hill far off, is too large, and too dark. The 
 woman at the window is the right size for the wrong house, and 
 the man's pipe, which he is lighting from the woman's candle, 
 must be at least half a mile long. The trees become larger as 
 they are more distant, exactly the reverse of what would be the 
 fact. The crow on the tree is bigger than any created bird, while 
 the church is totally wrong in perspective. The water runs uphill, 
 and flows into the church. The bridge has one end in the water, 
 and has .a large tree growing out of its masonry. The boat is 
 sailing on to the top of the bridge, while the sportsman in the boat, 
 shooting at the swan, must see quite through the stonework, as 
 well as shoot through it ! The nearest sheep is too small, the 
 farthest as big as an elephant. The waggon and horses are going 
 into the first-floor window. Altogether, this perfectly original 
 design presents us with a mass of absurdity most ingeniously 
 culled from works by artists or amateurs innocent of the common 
 rules of perspective. Under this useful and amusing caricature 
 Hogarth inscribed "Whoever makes a design without the know- 
 ledge of perspective, will be liable to such absurdities as are shown 
 in this Frontispiece." 
 
 William Hogarth was born December 10, 1697, in the parish 
 of St. Bartholomew the Great, London. After an education of a 
 limited description, he was apprenticed to Elias Gamble, an 
 eminent silversmith, of Cranbourn Street, Long Acre. Here, in 
 engraving coats-of-arms, cyphers, crests, and various devices 
 customary on articles of gold or silver, he acquired a free use of 
 the graver. But the natural genius in Hogarth prompted him to 
 sketch from nature, and to essay original designs ; for the neces- 
 sary study, and in order to draw from the antique and the living 
 model, he became a student at an academy, held by the painter, 
 Sir James Thornhill. Marrying Sir James's daughter, at the age 
 of 32, he fell under her father's displeasure ; but the rapidity with 
 which he rose to eminence, as a great satirical painter, reconciled 
 papa to the marriage. As a portrait painter, he was not suc- 
 cessful, for he could no more flatter his sitters than can photo- 
 graphy; but as a graphic satirist he held a deservedly high 
 position in society, moved in intellectual circles, kept a large 
 house in Leicester Square, a carriage, and servants. After a 
 prosperous career, chequered by occasional want of patronage 
 and jealousies cherished by his brother artists, he retired to 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 87 
 
 Chiswick for his failing health, but returned to Leicester Square, 
 where he died on October 26, 1764, aged 67 years. 
 
 Between Hogarth and cur great novelist, Charles Dickens, 
 there existed a great similarity in style, thought, and in power 
 of description. Dickens had studied deeply the great works of 
 Hogarth, the thought displayed in them, their touches of humour, 
 and their truth of delineation. His talk about Hogarth was 
 delightful. Had Hogarth's genius led him exclusively to litera- 
 ture, he would have written as forcibly as Dickens ; and, on the 
 other hand, had Dickens adopted the pencil, he would have 
 painted like Hogarth. In delicate sentiment, Dickens has touches 
 in his. works distinct from the most tender passages in those of 
 Hogarth ; but it must be remembered that Hogarth lived at a 
 time when refinement was not carried to the extent that it is at 
 present. Hogarth belonged to no formal school of art ; no 
 academy rules made him the artist he was; no man, living or 
 dead, had any share in forming his mind, or in rendering his 
 hand skilful. He was the spontaneous offspring of the graphic 
 spirit of England, and native as the independent feeling 
 cherished by his countrymen. Seeing a way of his own to fame 
 he followed it, scorned all imitation, and, by words and works, 
 ever held up Nature, as an example, and a monitress in art. 
 
 "The Caricaturist Caricatured!" Group 24. 
 
 The subjects of this Group are selected from some rare and 
 valuable etchings in the Print Room of the British Museum. 
 They are caricatures by a very clever artist, painter, and etcher, 
 Paul Sandby, R.A., and one or two other artists, contemporary 
 with Hogarth. In the centre is Hogarth's " Crime, surrounded by 
 its punishment." No doubt can exist that Hogarth was a profound 
 thinker, his works prove it. It is possible, nay, probable, that 
 Hogarth may have met with an old folio, dated 1598, by Richard 
 Haydock, entitled " The Artes of Curious Paintinge, Carvinge, 
 Building," &c. This is a translation from the Italian of Lomazzo, 
 and is one of the earliest works on Art in English. Lomazzo 
 was an Italian author in the sixteenth century, and in a treatise on 
 Art he propounded this theory of the Beautiful : " that if a wire be 
 laid upon a cone at its apex, and bent round it until it reached the 
 base, the serpentine line thus produced would, by its varied curves, 
 be one of beautiful proportions." Now, whether Hogarth had read 
 this English translation, or had its purport explained in conver- 
 sation, or whether he had really made for himself this discovery, 
 
88 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 this is certain, that he first drew the attention of the modern 
 artistic world to it. He painted the well-known portrait of himself 
 and his dog, " Trump." Under his portrait he drew a palette, 
 and upon that a waving- line, inscribing it as the " Line of Beauty 
 and of grace!" Completely mystified by this diagram, his 
 brother artists anxiously inquired the explanation of this puzzle ; 
 but this Hogarth did not vouchsafe, until some years after, when 
 he published his "Analysis of Beauty," in which the puzzle is 
 explained, and the diagram applied in numerous ways. It was 
 then found that the mysterious line was, in fact, an old acquaint- 
 ance of theirs, and, like Monsieur Jourdain, who had spoken prose 
 all his life without knowing it, so English artists had been applying 
 the Line of Beauty without knowing it. 
 
 Hogarth, according to President West's account, was a strut- 
 ting, consequential little man, not very tender, either with pen or 
 pencil, towards his contemporaries ; and therefore, when his book, 
 " The Analysis of Beauty," appeared, a storm burst upon him. 
 He was assailed in verse, prose, and caricature ; his satirists 
 spared neither his works, his person, nor his fireside. Among 
 his caricaturists is Paul Sandby, an original member of the Royal 
 Academy. Sandby drew landscape beautifully, etched skilfully, 
 and produced many engravings in aqua-tint, a style imitative of 
 monochromic drawings in Indian ink or sepia. The illustrations 
 on Group 24 consist of caricatures of Hogarth by Paul Sandby, 
 R.A., and other contemporary artists. In the centre is a cone, 
 with the line round it ; on the palette is the wire or line repre- 
 sented — the cause of all this disturbance. The upper caricature 
 was published in 1762. A donkey's body is fitted with a portrait 
 of Hogarth ; no name is given. Some ill-natured verses accom- 
 pany this design. 
 
 One of the best is by Paul Sandby, R.A. It is entitled, " The 
 Author run mad ! " and is beautifully drawn and etched. In this, 
 poor Hogarth figures as a Bedlamite ; for cap he has a large 
 inkstand decorated with peacock's feathers — vanity ! His palette 
 hangs round his neck ; the blanket from his truckle-bed is pinned 
 over his shoulders like a mantle; in one hand he holds the terrible 
 " Line of Beauty," with his other hand he draws more lines of 
 beauty on the bare walls of his cell. Straw is bound round one 
 leg, to the other is a chain attached by a ring, the chain 
 being labelled " the precise line;" a magic circle is drawn on the 
 floor. Under this is another etching by Paul Sandby. It is 
 named " The Burlesquer Burlesqued. 2nd edition. Done for ye 
 French!" It has a second title, " The Pug Dog," alluding to 
 
GROUP 24. 
 
 (Page 87. 
 
 THE CARICATURIST CARICATURED. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 89 
 
 Hogarth's favourite pug, " Trump." Here Hogarth figures as 
 Trump, in regard to lower extremities ; the upper part is the 
 painter himself. A cupid whispers in Hogarth's ear while he 
 paints. On the folio is a triangle, with the line of beauty inscribed 
 within. The lowermost subject is entitled " An Unfortunate 
 Analyst." Hogarth is holding his " Analysis of Beauty," sup- 
 ported on his famous " Line of Beauty and of grace." Copies of 
 his book are being consigned to the caves of Dulness and 
 Oblivion. 
 
 "The Combat" (1762) represents Hogarth's excessive vanity 
 by mounting him on a gigantic peacock, lance in hand, ready to do 
 battle with his brethren of the brush. Hogarth had had a bitter 
 quarrel with his old friend, the celebrated John Wilkes ; so he and 
 Churchill, a disreputable parson, set to work to abuse Hogarth. 
 Lord Bute, a Scotch peer, one of the most unpopular men of his 
 time, and odious to the people from his influence at Court, had 
 appointed Hogarth " Sergeant Painter to the King," an office 
 which carried a good pension. Hogarth here figures as a white- 
 washer, seated on a plank, washing an immense Jack Boot, the 
 popular name and symbol applied to Lord Bute. The design is 
 well etched, and is called, by a pun, "The Butyfier" — a good hit, 
 as it ridicules the peer and the painter both at once. Hogarth's 
 whitewash is in a tub, labelled "Pension;" while whitewashing 
 the jack-boot, he clumsily splashes it over Pitt and Temple, who 
 are standing beneath the plank on which Hogarth is sitting. 
 
 Besides these specimens introduced, numerous other carica- 
 tures were published against Hogarth. In one, the ghost of 
 Lomazzo accuses him of theft, in appropriating his " Theory of 
 the Beautiful," and terrifies him by holding up " The Line of 
 Beauty and of grace." Another represents Hogarth as Eros- 
 tratus setting fire to the Temple of Art. Hogarth in another 
 design is caricatured as a mountebank, curing hump-backed 
 beggars, by making them conform their backs to his Line of 
 Beauty. In fact, a volume might be filled with caricatures, 
 pamphlets, prose attacks, songs, and ill-natured, some of them 
 disgusting, doggerel verses, in which he is made to paint 
 deformed figures from his models, while his name was twisted 
 into "Hog," "Pug," "Ass," and all possible forms of petty 
 annoyance. 
 
 Hogarth, however, had to some extent exposed himself to 
 these attacks, by excessive vanity in his art. His success as a 
 great moral-painter, and the interest taken in his works by the 
 sound thinkers of his day, puffed him up, and induced him to 
 
 N 
 
90 
 
 AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 speak in terms of contempt of all his brother artists, some of whom 
 he had caricatured. As for his contemporaries, his pictures 
 satirised many men in various professions, and though his satire 
 might be viewed as applied to classes, yet he introduced so many 
 portraits of living persons that he naturally provoked a host 
 of enemies. An unsuccessful portrait -painter, wanting the 
 grandeur and dignity necessary to succeed in poetic or in 
 historical painting, he became vulnerable, in this way, to the 
 shafts of ridicule directed at him, by those artists who had 
 succeeded where he had failed. Then, his sturdy independence of 
 character, and self-reliant principles, became somewhat doubtful 
 when he accepted a pension from Lord Bute ; added to which was 
 the unfortunate discovery of the work by Lomazzo, wherein, it 
 was contended, Hogarth had found a theory which he tried to 
 pass off as one originating with himself. Nevertheless, " The 
 Analysis of Beauty" is a valuable work, and Hogarth himself, in 
 spite of his failings, was an artist whose original pictures do honour 
 to Art and to England. Of all artists' works in this country, no 
 others have received so much honour in foreign schools and from 
 foreign art critics as the great serial pictures by William Hogarth. 
 They still remain the strong point by which the English school of 
 painters is estimated abroad. 
 
GROUP 25. 
 
 (Page 91 
 
 G RAVE LOT? 
 
FOLIO XI. 
 
 Etchings of Dr. Meagre or St. Anclie. — "Tartuffe's Banquet." — Gravelot.— First Caricature on 
 Bribery. — Sir Robert Walpole and George II. — Walpole's Indifference to Ridicule. — King 
 George and the Lion. — Caricatures of G. F. Handel, of Cuzzoni and Farinelli. — John Wilkes, 
 Churchill, Dr. Johnson, Smollett, Lord Chatham, Pope. — Lords Sandwich and Melcombe. — 
 Lord Chatham, his Death. — J. S. Copley's Picture, "Prelude to the Death of the Earl of 
 Chatham." 
 
 Y^jjH^HE present Group, 25, presents us with a remarkably 
 K^m^> well -executed etching of Doctor St. Andre. It is with- 
 yf^lli| out ^e artist's name, but from the free style of draw- 
 *K^^^tl m g is most probably by Gravelot, a designer and 
 Map) engraver of eminence. A thin figure, a thin face, and 
 p^f long legs, procured for him the nickname of Doctor Meagre 
 and Merry Andrew. A gross imposition had been practised 
 on the medical profession, and unfortunately he had lent the weight 
 of his name to it. For this the doctor became the butt of carica- 
 turists and lampooners. This Doctor St. Andre seems to be the 
 same as the lean physician disputing with the fat one, in the death- 
 scene of " The Harlot's Progress." However that may be, there 
 is in this figure a boldness of drawing, of etching, and of personal 
 exaggeration which, with the other example called " Tartuffe's 
 Banquet," date 1736, might well have furnished Gillray with the 
 idea of style in caricature for which he subsequently became so 
 famous. The selection is from that part of the print which 
 represents the two poor half-starved curates ; the other portion of 
 it has the burly, well-fed rector entertaining them with great pomp 
 and condescension. It attacks the pluralists in the English Church, 
 which at that date was sadly abused by grasping men, having 
 influence with church patrons. 
 
 George I. died on June 11, 1727, and was succeeded by 
 his son, George II., who retained Sir Robert Walpole in the 
 
92 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 Treasury. A new parliament being elected in 1727, was found to 
 have a large Whig majority returned, upon which the Tories and 
 Patriots, overflowing with political virtue, vented their rage in 
 wholesale accusations of bribery and corruption. The principal 
 figure, and the ingenious invention of costume for it, is here 
 selected from an etching called " Ready Money the Prevailing 
 Candidate," a caricature of the time. The virtuous elector has 
 pockets in the back of his coat, so contrived that he cannot behold 
 the agent who would corrupt him. He exclaims aloud " No 
 bribery ! " adding, in an undertone, " but pockets are free ! " An 
 equally virtuous agent puts money into these back pockets, and 
 says, " Sell not your country!" This caricature would appear to 
 be the first satirical hit at the abominable corruption then pre- 
 valent at elections for members of parliament. After more than a 
 hundred years, this abuse is attempted to be remedied by the 
 repeatedly fought question of "vote by ballot," which became 
 law on August 18, 1872. Sir Robert Walpole possessed great 
 power ; he was more than respected by the king, even beloved 
 by him. His Majesty and Queen Caroline were entirely guided 
 by Walpole' s advice. An influence so great as this was sure to 
 raise a host of enemies. Lampoons, songs, political squibs, and 
 caricatures of Walpole and his acts, issued daily from the press. 
 "Bob the Juggler," "Sir Blue String," "Sir Robert Brass," 
 " Sir Robert Lynn," " Robin and Bob," are amongst the names 
 bestowed upon this favoured minister. The caricature on Group 
 25 at the lower part, uses the classical monstrosity known as 
 Janus. It is named " Touch Me Not, or Bob's Defiance." 
 There is but one brain between the King and his portly minister ; 
 the expression of his Majesty is mild and humble, while that ot 
 Walpole is haughty and defiant. The date of the print is 1742 ; 
 it is also anonymous. Under this design is a small etching of the 
 execution of a traitor on Tower Hill. The large subject on Group 
 25 records "the fall upstairs" of Walpole. Walpole, finding his 
 majorities gradually decrease in the House of Commons, was 
 aware that his power was departing, and in 1742, defeated by a 
 majority of one, he tendered his resignation to the King. Ihe 
 King was so overcome by the event as to shed tears. Soon after 
 Walpole was created Earl of Orford. The Champion newspaper 
 of February 16, 1742, thus records the event: — 
 
 " Sir Robert his merit, or interest to shew, 
 Laid down the red ribbon, to take up the blue , 
 By two strings already, the Knight hath been ty'd, 
 But when twisted at Tyburn the third will decide." 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 93 
 
 The childish game of see-saw furnishes the subject of a freely- 
 etched caricature, called "Bob, the Political Balance Master." 
 Justice sits at the lower end of the plank, trying in vain to weigh 
 down the portly and heavy form of the newly-made peer, loaded 
 with his treasure, and decorated with the coronet. Afraid of his 
 position, he, with terror in his looks, appeals to Satan, "Oh! 
 help thy faithful servant, Bob," who sternly answers, " This is 
 thy due!" and holds out to him an axe. This much-abused 
 minister deserves our grateful thanks for the manly bearing he 
 exhibited throughout a long administration, opposed by the 
 brilliant talents of Bolingbroke, Chesterfield, Swift, and Pope, all 
 of whom kept up a tremendous fire of wit and sarcasm at him 
 and his measures. Conscious of meaning well to his country, 
 and feeling the necessity of a safety-valve to the irritated state of 
 political parties, he endured bravely the storm of caricatures, 
 songs, and lampoons, with which he was daily pelted. Instead of 
 seizing presses, breaking up types, fining and imprisoning the 
 satirists, like a true John Bull, he said, " Let them scribble and 
 point their satirical artillery against the State ; the discharge is 
 noisy enough, but it is mere brutum fulmen — harmless thunder." 
 This view of a free press has been adopted by the most enlightened 
 ministers since Walpole's time, and when it has occasionally been 
 forgotten, has only brought down upon the government contempt 
 and public indignation. The remaining illustration represents 
 very ingeniously, King George at the Battle of Dettingen. Here 
 the Hanoverian badge, the "white horse," is emblematic of 
 George II., booted and spurred, ready for fighting. The King 
 rode along the lines in the hottest fire to encourage the soldiers. 
 Here he is supposed to be pursuing the defeated French, seated 
 on that noble animal, the British Lion. As the English troops 
 were badly provided, it was stated that England was starved to 
 fatten Hanover. Consequently the British Lion is in an ill temper, 
 with a bit forced into his mouth, and being borne down by the 
 weight of Hanoverian Majesty. The selection made is the most 
 important part of a clever caricature published October 22, 
 1743, and called "The Hanoverian Confectioner-General." The 
 battle of Dettingen was the last action in which a King of 
 England was in the field. 
 
 Owing to the peculiar nature of photographic work certain 
 selections have necessarily been made to appear on one sheet, 
 whereby the chronological arrangement is slightly disburbed. 
 Thus, in Group 25, well-known personages are caricatured ; the 
 examples are selected from prints with dates varying from 1727 
 
94 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 to 1765. The centre illustration is from an elaborately executed 
 caricature, etched by M. Goupy, who was drawing- master to 
 George III. In this the immortal musician, G. F. Handel, is 
 caricatured as a hog playing on the organ. His corpulence was 
 attributed to indulgence in the pleasures of the table, and under 
 the title of " The Charming Brute," he becomes the subject of 
 a graphic satire, published in 1745. As a kind of frame to this 
 caricature are festoons of fish, flesh, fowl, vegetable, and fruit, all 
 arranged with great care, excellently engraved, and grouped evi- 
 dently in recollection of the beautiful wood carvings by Grinling 
 Gibbons. Handel and Bononcini — the latter a musical composer 
 petted by the Whigs— divided the fashionable world at this time, 
 and with no small degree of acrimonious party spirit. Swift's 
 well-known epigram, in this concluding couplet, expresses his 
 idea of the controversy: — 
 
 "Strange that such difference should be 
 'Twixt Tweedledum and Tweedletfo?." 
 
 This giant in music, George Frederic Handel, a native of 
 Halle, in Saxony, was born February 24, 1684. In 17 10, 
 Handel came to London, and was soon patronised by Queen 
 Anne. The royal favour extended through her successors, the 
 two Georges, until his death, on Good Friday, April 13, 1759. 
 
 Caricature at this time was much indulged in by amateurs, 
 some of them being of the gentler sex. Of these satirical sketches, 
 one example is given, an etching by Goupy, after a caricature 
 by the Countess of Burlington. The eternal legitimate drama 
 was at that period (1726) in a terribly depressed state, similar to 
 its condition in the present year (1873). Tragedy and comedy 
 were neglected by the public, whose taste had been vitiated by 
 Italian opera, pantomimes, harlequinades, masquerades, tumblers, 
 rope-dancers, and wild beast performances. Faustina, Cuzzoni, 
 and Farinelli, the then favourite Italian opera singers, amassed 
 large sums of English money, and returned home to build palaces. 
 The airs these Italian singers indulged in, surpassed all belief, 
 and their graceless impertinences knew no bounds. Lady Bur- 
 lington sketched the dumpy impertinent Cuzzoni, in contrast to 
 the immensely tall and awkward Farinelli, accompanied by the face 
 of the ugliest man of that time, Count Heidegger. Of this 
 design the heads are selected as examples of amateur carica- 
 ture, date 1727. On the left of this design is Hogarth's 
 celebrated etching of John Wilkes, the notorious demagogue, and 
 thorn-in-the-side of King George III. Wilkes, in the year 1763, 
 
GROUP 26. 
 
 (Page 93. 
 
 JOHN WILKES, BY HOGARTH. ; FARINELLI, CU2Z0NI, HEIDEGGER, BY LADY BURLINGTON. 
 CHURCHILL AS A BEAR, DR JOHNSON, DR. SMOLLETT, ALEXANDER POPE, 
 
 BY HOGARTH LORD CHATHAM, LORD MELCOMBE, LORD SANDWICH, 
 G. F. HANDEL, BY GOUPY. BY THE HON. G. TOWNSHEND. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 and No. 45 of the North Briton, an abusive periodical, in con- 
 junction with the satiric writer Churchill, published some severe 
 strictures on the King's speech at the close of the Parliament, and 
 also violently attacked the Earl of Bute. The Secretary of State 
 issued his warrant, upon which Wilkes's papers were seized and 
 sealed up, and Wilkes himself committed to the Tower of London. 
 In this publication Hogarth was also attacked, so when Wilkes 
 was brought from the Tower to the Court of Common Pleas at 
 Westminster Hall, Hogarth sketched his face, and with a few 
 magic touches bequeathed to posterity the squinting sensualist 
 and "friend of an ill-fashion" to Liberty. It is said, that, re- 
 membering their former friendship, Hogarth threw this sketch 
 into the fire, but that his wife snatched it from the flames. The 
 quarrel thus established between Wilkes and Hogarth was 
 embittered by the Rev. Charles Churchill, who, in his " Epistle 
 to William Hogarth," savagely attacked the painter. Hogarth's 
 anger being again roused, he took up an old cast-aside engraved 
 portrait of himself and his favourite dog Trump, "and patched it 
 up as a portrait of Master Churchill in the character of a bear," 
 wearing torn clerical bands round his neck, hugging a pot of beer 
 with one paw, and a huge club in the other, the knots on it being 
 inscribed "lie 1st," "lie 2nd," "lie 3rd" and so on. This 
 quarrel only terminated with the death of Hogarth, at which 
 Churchill was base enough to show pleasure, and to boast, that, 
 by the bitterness of his satire, he had killed him. 
 
 The clerical-looking personage, with a weathercock on his 
 shovel-hat, a huge pen in his hand, and a large volume inscribed 
 ^300 per annum under his arm, is a caricature of our ponderous 
 friend, Dr. Johnson. The Doctor's antipathy to Scotland and 
 Scotchmen is well known, yet Lord Bute, the much-abused minister 
 of the day, to his honour, recommended George III. to grant a 
 pension of ^"300 per annum to the literary Colossus. The weather- 
 cock indicates a supposed change of opinion on the part of the 
 Doctor, but it is well known, that, throughout his life, he possessed 
 great independence of character. Dr. Johnson was greatly 
 disliked by the political writers of the time, on the popular side ; 
 was accused of time-serving and of depreciating talent in other 
 authors, and consequently became a mark for ill-natured satire, 
 and caricature. One of these, entitled " Old Wisdom Blinking at 
 the Stars," gives the Doctor's face to the body of an owl, perched 
 upon " Johnson's Lives of the Poets," and " Johnson's Dictionary," 
 while he views contemptuously the stars represented by Milton, 
 Pope, and other poets. These caricatures are tolerably well 
 
96 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 etched, and the invention, as far as it goes, sufficient for the end 
 proposed. In 1762, Lord Bute, in his endeavours to encourage 
 literature and art, made some unfortunate selections from the men 
 of the time, as recipients of the Royal favour ; his encouragement 
 seemed only to place prominently before the public two classes 
 of personages especially odious, Scotchmen and Jacobites. 
 Hogarth and Dr. Johnson we have seen were, in fact, pensioners 
 upon the Crown, and suffered accordingly. Smollett, himself a 
 Scotchman, and an advocate of his countrymen, was furiously 
 attacked. A caricature, dated 1762, named "The Mountebank," 
 represents Lord Bute as a quack doctor, loaded with bags of 
 guineas, ready for distribution among Scotchmen. Behind the 
 curtain is caricatured the Princess Dowager of Wales, with whom 
 scandal had been busy. Her popular name was the "Witch," 
 and she wears the orthodox steeple-crowned hat, supposed to be 
 proper for such an odious personage. Dr. Smollett, the novelist, 
 and defender of Bute's policy, is here figured as the Jack Pudding, 
 or mountebank to quack Dr. Bute ; he is supposed to be delivering 
 a comic speech to the crowd, the burden of which is the efficacy 
 of English gold to give relief to the Scotchman's "itch" for 
 money. The figure of Smollett is conceived in the true spirit of 
 fun, is freely drawn, and is by far the best part of the caricature. It 
 not only gives an example of the style of caricature prevalent at 
 this date, but records the graphic attack upon one of our great 
 novelists, whose works are second only to those of Henry Fielding. 
 
 Pope, in 1728, deservedly became the subject of numerous 
 acrimonious attacks by pen and pencil. His mean personal 
 appearance, his vanity, and his ill -temper, were points seized by 
 clever satirists and caricaturists ; added to which, in his satirical 
 poem, "The Dunciad," he engaged upon a wholesale attack on 
 his contemporaries in art and literature, rendering this act of 
 aggression still more offensive, by the great merit of the poem, and 
 the pungency of the satire. The uproar amongst men of letters 
 at that time is now inconceivable. Ambrose Phillips, one of his 
 victims, hung up a rod at Button's Coffee-house, to be ready for 
 inflicting punishment on Pope, when he should first make his 
 appearance there. Poor Pope lay for many years on a bed of 
 nettles, prepared for him by "The Dunciad." Curll, a book- 
 seller, who had been victimised in "The Dunciad," revenged 
 himself by publishing repeated attacks on Pope, ridiculing his 
 personal appearance, his private character, and sneering at his 
 works. In a pamphlet called " Pope Alexander's Supremacy 
 and Infallibility Examined," a caricature is introduced named 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 9 7 
 
 "Poet Pug;" in this Pope's face is placed, on the body of a 
 monkey, date 1728. Henceforth, Pope went by the nick-name of 
 "Poet Pug." Leaning on a pile of books, Pope holds in his 
 right paw an arrow, which is supposed to be envenomed, thus 
 alluding to the deadly point of his satire, while by the monkey, 
 Pope's mean person is ridiculed, as well as his power and dis- 
 position to work mischief. 
 
 " Meager and wan, and steeple crown'd, 
 His visage long, and shoulders round. 
 His crippled corpse, two spindle pegs 
 Support ; instead of human legs. 
 His shrivell'd skin of dusky grain, 
 A cricket's voice, and monkey's brain." 
 
 These lines are quoted from Curll's book "The Martiniad." 
 Curll published within a short time " The Popiad," "The Cur- 
 liad," "The Female Dunciad." Besides these, many epigrams 
 were written and published, all pointed at Pope. Hogarth, un- 
 able to resist the stimulus to ridicule Pope's habit of universal 
 bespattering, has introduced him in his caricature called " Bur- 
 lington Gate," whitewashing and bespattering anybody that 
 came in his way. Pope persisted to the last in raising enemies by 
 his violent temper. In 1742 he published an additional book of 
 "The Dunciad." In 1744 his health declined; and on May 30 
 he died of asthma and decay of nature. 
 
 Amongst the amateur caricaturists of that day was the Hon. 
 George Townshend, one of whose caricatures is here given. 
 
 Mr. Fox, unable to form a Cabinet in 1757, tried to persuade 
 Lord Winchelsea to accept the Admiralty, and Lord Sandwich, 
 with Lord Melcombe, to take office. This plan, however, failed, 
 and Mr. Pitt was again in office. 
 
 This caricature was called " The Recruiting Sergeant." Lord 
 Sandwich, being thin, is called "a lean follower." Jemmy 
 Twitcher was his nickname, and as he was fond of playing at 
 cricket, he is represented with his bat on his shoulder, and his 
 light shoes hanging from it. Lord Melcombe, or Bubb Dod- 
 dington, alias "Silly Bubb," follows Jemmy Twitcher, but being 
 extraordinarily corpulent and overcome with fatigue, cries out, 
 " I can't follow this lean fellow much longer, that's flat!" The 
 etching is tame and poor, but the contrast between the panting 
 fat man and the light-going leader is well contrived. Horace 
 Walpole, writing of this caricature, in a letter to Sir Horace 
 Mann, thus expresses his opinion of it : — " Pamphlets, cards, and 
 prints swarm again. George Townshend has published one of 
 
 o 
 
9 S 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 the latter, which is so admirable in its kind that I cannot help 
 sending it to you. His genius for likenesses in caricaturing is 
 astonishing. Your friends Doddington and Lord Sandwich are 
 like; the former made me laugh till I cried !" 
 
 The remaining caricature is a pictorial joke upon the first 
 William Pitt, created Earl of Chatham, whose popularity was such 
 that he was named "the friend of the people." It is called "A 
 Peep into the Garden at Hayes," the residence of this great 
 statesman. The figure is a thorough caricature, all the personal 
 peculiarities of Lord Chatham being exaggerated. The etching 
 itself is spirited and freely drawn. Increasing years brought 
 infirmities with them ; besides which he was a martyr to the 
 gout ; so much so that he was frequently unable to attend in 
 Parliament. He was accused of shamming fits of this sad com- 
 plaint whenever puzzling or difficult political subjects were under 
 the consideration of Parliament. 
 
 King George III., on Pitt's retirement, offered him a pension 
 of ^3,000 per annum, which he accepted; in addition, his wife 
 was created Baroness of Chatham. Out of office, Pitt became 
 the victim of newspapers, pamphlets, songs, and caricatures. 
 One of the latter represents him, in a desponding state, holding 
 his political programme, inscribed "it will not do." The title is 
 "The Distressed Statesman." 
 
 In 1765 Pitt's popularity revived, and the Duke of Cumberland, 
 the King's uncle, was sent to Hayes to persuade him to join a 
 new ministry : but he refused to do so. A caricature represents 
 the duke on horseback about to visit a village inn, the sign of 
 " The Blown Bladder." In front of the inn is a table, on which a 
 gigantic gouty foot appears, while a pair of crutches stands against 
 the wall. The title of the print is " The Courier." The 
 re-opening of Parliament in 1766 cured Pitt of the gout. He 
 again appeared in his place, speaking of political affairs with his 
 usual power and eloquence. After a few months, Pitt patched up 
 a Cabinet of curious and varied politicians, reserving to himself 
 the sinecure place of Lord Privy Seal, besides " falling up-stairs," 
 as Lord Chesterfield termed it, into the Upper House, as Viscount 
 Pitt and Earl of Chatham. In 1778, he denounced the conduct of 
 the American War; but his strength failing, he dropped sense- 
 less into the arms of friends beside him. He was carried 
 home to Hayes, in Kent, where he died on May 11, aged 70 
 years. 
 
 The scene of Lord Chatham's sudden seizure is the subject of 
 a large and finely-executed picture, by S. Copley, R.A., now in 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 99 
 
 the National Gallery, called " Prelude to the Death of the Earl 
 of Chatham." 
 
 The painter of this fine picture was himself the father of a dis- 
 tinguished son, the Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst. 
 
 Hayes, in Kent, celebrated as the residence of the Earl of 
 Chatham, was also the birthplace of another William Pitt, one of 
 England's greatest statesmen. He was the second son of Lord 
 Chatham, and born on May 28, 1759. 
 
 Caricatures on the political events of the period, possessing 
 more or less point, swarmed from the press. As works of art, 
 many were etched with considerable freedom. Social subjects 
 were frequently designed, some of them grossly improper in 
 sentiment, and as devoid of art-talent as of wit. 
 
 French fashion and French morality had been imported, with 
 other continental usages, by the young men of family, who went 
 on the "grand tour" of Europe, and came home frivolous and 
 demoralised, indulging in riot and debauchery. Swords being 
 commonly worn at this time, drunken brawls were frequent, 
 and out came the sword always to shed blood, too frequently 
 leading to murder. 
 
 Associations were formed simply for indulgence in riot and 
 debauchery, such as the " Hell-fire Club," and the notorious 
 brotherhood at Medmenham, of which Lord Le Despencer, Lord 
 Sandwich, John Wilkes, and Thomas Potter, M.P., were leading 
 members. 
 
 The caricaturists of this period were John Collett, S. H. Grimm, 
 Bickham, Captain Minshull, Captain Topham, W. Bamfylde, Esq. 
 In the meantime one of our most original caricaturists was pre- 
 paring to enter the field of fun. Boitard, Ravenet, Grignion, 
 Gravelot, French artists, etched many plates with great talent. 
 
 As at the present time (1874) the press teems with comic 
 publications, illustrated by clever designers and wood engravers, 
 so in 1774, magazines and similar periodicals were freely issued, 
 but devoid of similar talent. Political magazines supplied inflam- 
 mable materials to the public mind, and coarse caricatures aided 
 the excitement. These caricatures varied in talent, some of them 
 being contemptible as works of art, others were freely drawn and 
 etched. Assumed names were attached to those productions, 
 such as "Stuart," "Murray," " Yanky," " Hyder," Sam Sharp- 
 eye," "Bitehard," " O'Garth," "Hog Ass," " Hogart," &c. 
 Added to political caricatures were many on social events, pub- 
 lished with the magazines, in some of which scandalous articles 
 abounded, aided by wretched attempts at comic design. These 
 
I 00 
 
 ENGLISH GRAPHIC SA TIRE. 
 
 efforts were merely pointed at passing events, and too frequently 
 overstepped the limits of propriety ; nor did the pretended wit 
 palliate the licentious feeling or desire to give pain to individuals 
 in private life. As regards the art displayed in the latter, neither 
 the history of caricature, nor examples of it, would lose much, were 
 these scandalous records consigned to the flames. . 
 
FOLIO. XII. 
 
 CARICATURE FROM HOGARTH TO GILLRAY. 
 
 W. H. Bunbury, Esq., an amateur: his rich style of caricature. — Commences drawing and etching 
 at Westminster School.— Caricatures the "Dons" at Cambridge.— Travels in Italy and 
 Germany. — His drawings in Pencil, or black or red chalk, engraved in dot and aquatint. 
 — These methods of Engraving described. — Ridicules awkwardness in Riding or Dancing. — 
 Death in 1811. — Portrait of Bunbury. — " Geoffrey Gambado." — Illustrations of his style of 
 Caricature. — James Sayer, born at Great Yarmouth. — Pitt's own Caricaturists.— Feeble 
 Draughtsman. — Etchings very weak. — Pitt gives him four appointments under Government. — 
 Hostility to Fox and his Party. — Attacks the "Coalition."— Examples of his style of Carica- 
 ture. — French Revolution. — "The Night Mare." — Reproduction of one of his Etchings. — 
 Death of Sayer, 181 1. 
 
 W. H. Bunbury, Esq. 
 
 ^^^H^NE of the funniest and most original of English cari- 
 f'% ',■':<§! caturists is Bunbury. Mis works are remarkable for 
 If^PIll!^ their humour, and that of a rich, unctuous kind. 
 
 William Henry Bunbury, born 1750, was the youngest 
 Wwr son of Sir William Bunbury, of Mildenhall in Suffolk. 
 Sent to Westminster school, he appears to have preferred 
 drawing caricatures on his exercise books to studying the 
 classics. He even went so far in art as to etch " a boy riding on 
 a pig." Matriculating at Catherine Hall, Cambridge, he still 
 adhered to his love of pictorial fun, and improved much in his 
 power and style of drawing. Most of his drawings were made in 
 chalk, either black or red. At college he amassed a great store 
 of points of humour, and sketched dons and undergraduates. 
 Many of these drawings were subsequently retouched, engraved 
 and published. A visit to the Continent furnished him with droll 
 figures and costumes, especially those in Italy and Germany. 
 
 Riding and dancing were two accomplishments which afforded 
 him some of his broadest points of humour. He absolutely 
 
102 
 
 AN ESSAV ON 
 
 revelled In fun at the expense of cockneys, awkward horsemen, 
 and clumsy dancers. Ludicrous points in society also engaged his 
 taste for ridicule. He delighted in exaggeration of face and 
 figure, so essential to caricature. Ponderous old gentlemen in 
 wigs and buckles ; queer old maids, stiff and prim ; beaux in 
 ridiculous costume ; coats cut in the oddest fashion, the wearers 
 in the most awkward attitudes conceivable, and queer wigs dis- 
 torted by the village barber, were all put down by Bunbury's 
 pencil with an effect irresistibly ludicrous. Mr. Bunbury died in 
 May, 1 8 1 1 , aged 61, at Keswick in Cumberland. 
 
 His works are numerous, that is, engravings after his cari- 
 catures are numerous, for his powers of etching, though begun 
 early in life, never were matured, his etchings being scratchy, thin, 
 and devoid of effect. 
 
 In the hands of Ryland, Gillray, Rowlandson, Watson, and 
 Bartolozzi, Bunbury's comic subjects or caricatures became very 
 popular, selling in large numbers. Being engraved from Bun- 
 bury's chalk drawings, the stipple or dot style was employed, as 
 it imitated chalk in the closest way. The point of a round-bellied 
 graver is used to make the dots shallow or deep, as may be re- 
 quired. By a succession of these dots, aided also by " the biting 
 in" used in etching, very fine effects can be obtained. 
 
 In other cases the etching was assisted by " aquatint," applied 
 to the half tints and shades. Common resin is dissolved in alcohol ; 
 according to the quantity of resin and the quantity of alcohol so 
 the ground is fine or coarse, resembling a tint of water colour : 
 hence aquatint. The theory is, that particles of resin, fine or 
 coarse, resist the action of the acid ; thus the metal is bitten 
 into minute holes, near or far apart. To lay the ground the plate 
 should be polished, the dissolved resin be poured on it and allowed 
 to drain off, the evaporation of the spirit leaves a thin coating of 
 resin, leaving in it countless minute cracks, into which the acid 
 runs and "bites." The acid is applied as described in etching, 
 page 45. Light tints require the acid to be poured off very soon ; 
 darker tints require it to remain longer, and so on till the effect 
 required is produced. 
 
 Bunbury's talent for humour was highly appreciated in the 
 aristocratic circles of which he himself was a member. Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds was one of his warmest admirers, speaking highly of his 
 talent in caricature. Bunbury was not a political caricaturist, so 
 his works have no malignity or party venom in them. His satirical 
 shafts are aimed at social customs ; no personality is introduced, 
 nor are they offensive to any one in respect to their religious or 
 
GROUP 27. 
 
 W. H. BUN BURY, ESQ. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 moral tendency. There is in them much originality and good- 
 humoured ridicule, almost, in some instances, of a didactic nature. 
 
 One remarkable set of designs is called " The Propagation of a 
 Lie." It consists of a series of single figures, each one receiving 
 in turn "the lie," which has been set going by the first figure. 
 The figures are but slightly sketched, yet the character and feeling 
 of each as " the lie" is passed, are admirably marked. 
 
 On Group 27 is a portrait of Bunbury, from a drawing by Sir 
 T. Lawrence, engraved by Ryder. 
 
 The specimens of horsemen are from his celebrated drawing 
 of the riding-house, and exhibit the firmly-seated horseman, con- 
 trasted with the cockney tailor, who has been cajoled into trusting 
 his valuable carcass on a vicious brute, which is certain to throw 
 him ! 
 
 Three subjects are introduced from Bunbury' s illustrations to 
 "Tristram Shandy," in the time when Sterne's eccentric book 
 had a popularity like that of Dickens's " Pickwick." One re- 
 presents Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim ; the other Obadiah on 
 the coach-horse, upsetting Dr. Slop in the mud. 
 
 The clerical personage is Dr. Johnson enjoying his chop. 
 
 The woe-begone head is that of a loser in a race ; he exclaims 
 " Cleaned out, egad ! " and very expressive is the face produced 
 by three or four touches. These are characteristic of Bunbury' s 
 style, and are the models upon which Woodward, Rowlandson, 
 and other caricaturists formed their style. 
 
 The horseman on the right of Group 27 is, with his steed, 
 accomplishing in an easy manner the descent of a hill on a frosty 
 day. The title is " How to travel on two legs in a frost." This 
 droll incident is from a series, at one time famous as " Geoffrey 
 Gambado's Horsemanship." Here we have a timid and bad 
 rider, sticking anyhow on a brute of a horse, which, determining 
 not to walk, sticks out his forefeet and slides on his haunches down 
 the frosty declivity. 
 
 Of Bunbury' s extravagant yet highly comic design is an ex- 
 ample called "Chloe," from a design of the courtship of Strephon 
 and Chloe. 
 
 The examples here are in imitation of various modes of exe- 
 cution adopted by engravers after Bunbury' s designs, in pen and 
 ink, chalk, or blacklead pencil. 
 
 Bunbury also drew illustrations to Shakespeare's comedies, but 
 they are not amongst his happiest productions. 
 
 The collected works of this aristocratic caricaturist form a 
 large folio volume, a copy of which is in the Print Room of the 
 
io4 AN ESSAF ON 
 
 British Museum. The last work upon which poor Gillray was 
 engaged was a plate from Bunbury's drawing of " A Barber's 
 Shop." 
 
 The interval between Hogarth and Gillray was occupied by 
 Bunbury, Sayer, Darley, Gravelot, Ravenet, Grignion, Vander- 
 gucht, and other etchers and engravers more or less eminent. 
 Of these Sayer, as a political caricaturist, is by far the best 
 known. 
 
 J. Sayer. 
 
 James Sayer was a native of Great Yarmouth, where his father 
 was a skipper, or by a stretch of courtesy, captain of a ship. 
 James received a tolerably good education, and was articled to a 
 solicitor, but competent means, a taste for sketching, and a talent 
 for writing political squibs, enabled him to take up caricature. 
 Sayer had no regular training as an artist, consequently his 
 drawing is uncertain, and feeble, but a considerable amount of 
 elaboration in the execution of his etchings appears to have 
 been accepted in lieu of an average degree of power in design. 
 Invention he had, of a lumbering, heavy kind, but vigour of imagi- 
 nation at that time was but slightly appreciated by the upper 
 classes, and not at all by the public. Sayer, nevertheless, obtained 
 a considerable reputation, especially as he became William Pitt's 
 own caricaturist. 
 
 The Rockingham administration, 1782, was his first butt, 
 about the same time that Pitt, then a young man, was aspiring to 
 power. 
 
 Lord Shelburne, " Malagrida," became premier, with Pitt as 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, while Fox and Burke had to retire. 
 From this time neither Burke nor Fox, the latter especially, were 
 free from Sayer' s satirical hits. 
 
 The " Coalition " ministry, under Lord North and Fox, came 
 in for as much virulence of attack as Sayer, prompted by Pitt's 
 party, could bring to bear upon it. 
 
 Group 28 gives examples of Sayer' s practice, and the ridicule 
 cast upon the "Coalition." The India Bill by Burke, Fox, and 
 Lord North is the subject of the large illustration. Fox acknow- 
 ledged that Sayer's caricature of "Carlo Khan's triumphal entry 
 into Leadenhall Street," was mainly instrumental in demolishing 
 his India Bill. The invention of this subject is tolerably clever, 
 but the figures are ill-drawn. An elephant with a head of Lord 
 North, or " Sir Oliver Blubber," instead of his natural one, is 
 supporting Fox dressed like an Indian nabob. Edmund Burke, 
 
GROUP 28. (Page 104. 
 
 J. SAYER. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 '05 
 
 also in Oriental costume, blows the trumpet, and leads the beast 
 to the door of the India House. 
 
 As it was thought to invest Fox with an undue share of power, 
 the India Bill was rejected. 
 
 Beneath this, dated 1794, is a satirical record of the separation 
 of the Prince of Wales from the Whig party. " Citizen Bardolph 
 refused admittance at Prince Hal's," is its title. Sheridan, one 
 of the principals of that party and hitherto boon companion of the 
 Prince of Wales, is supposed to go to Carlton House to make his 
 customary call, but to his dismay he finds a hoarding erected in 
 front of the door. A gigantic porter informs Sheridan that there 
 is " no admittance," as all have become loyal in that house! 
 
 The joke of the play-bills " Henry IV." "The Manager in 
 Distress," "Venice Preserved, or a Plot Discovered," played at 
 Drury Lane and Covent Garden, not only twits Sherry as to his 
 managerial capacity, but hints at the Royal reformation. The 
 invention though simple is effective, and the figures being in 
 attitudes easy to draw, give a favourable impression of Sayer's 
 style. 
 
 The two pairs of " unmentionables," 1784, having the heads of 
 Lord North and Fox, is a hit at the coalition ministry, and the idea 
 borrowed from the "Nobody" in Group 12, the "Mask" is 
 also a caricature on the "coalition" ministry; in this Fox's black 
 hair and swarthy complexion contrast with Lord North's powder, 
 and fat white face ; date 1783. 
 
 On Fox moving an adjournment of the consideration of the 
 Mutiny Act, it was resolved by the house " that the heads of the 
 Mutiny Act be brought in and suffered to lie on the table." 
 Sayer caught at the suggestion, and drew two heads just cut off, 
 and lying on the table. The heads were of course those of Lord 
 North and Fox. 
 
 On the destruction of the "Coalition" Pitt became First Lord 
 of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 One of Sayer's works was called " Outlines of the Opposition," 
 pictorial parodies on well-known works of art. Fox in the attitude 
 of the celebrated antique statue, " The Fighting Gladiator," aims 
 a blow at Royalty, indicated by the Royal coat-of-arms. 
 
 Fox's notorious pecuniary difficulties were sometimes met by 
 gifts of money from his supporters ; he is therefore represented 
 standing on a subscription book, and close by is a money-box ; 
 title " Good grounds of Opposition." On the right of the 
 Group is a caricature by Sayer, very fairly drawn. Here we find 
 in full action, the strong anti-Gallic feeling possessed by all 
 
io6 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 English graphic satirists. This is the principal figure in a cari- 
 cature called "England and France, or Loyalty against Levelling," 
 date 1792. A "sans culottes," half-starved, triumphantly 
 bestrides the decapitated body of a French lady of rank, and 
 bears aloft on a pike her bleeding head — a sanguinary fact in this 
 terrible phase of French history and of frequent occurrence in 
 those lamentable times ! 
 
 A special interest attaches to the upper subject on this Group, 
 as it is a true portrait of the great minister, William Pitt, replying 
 to his political opponent, Fox, who seems to be receiving a par- 
 liamentary castigation from the youthful premier. The date is 
 1785, and doubtless is a pictorial record of scenes then frequent 
 in the House of Commons. Pitt is addressing one of his cold, 
 cutting sarcasms to the " Coalition " ministers. Fox tries to con- 
 ceal his emotion, while Lord North buries his head in a news- 
 paper. 
 
 No doubt, from Sayer being patronised by Pitt, the cari- 
 caturist was frequently in the House and witnessed such passages 
 of arms between those two great statesmen. The print is entitled 
 " Cicero in Catilinam." The heads are engraved in the dot style, 
 and probably by a practised dot engraver. This style of engrav- 
 ing applied to caricature is described in the account ot W. H. 
 Bunbury and his works, page 102. 
 
 Sayer' s works are numerous, and have been collected and 
 bound up in a folio volume, now in the Print Room of the British 
 Museum. 
 
 Another of Sayer' s political caricatures is here reproduced by 
 the aid of photography, and in this way the student can judge of 
 his talents of invention and execution. It is entitled " The Night 
 Mare," published May 1, 1799, b y T. Whittle, Peterboro' Court, 
 Fleet Street, for the Anti- Jacobin Review. J. Chapman, aq : fe. 
 Amongst the shadows are J. S. 1799. This is one of the cari- 
 catures furnished to that clever but short-lived publication, 
 Group 29. The great statesman, orator, and gambler, full of 
 admiration of French revolutionary doings, lies stretched on a 
 humble bedstead, which by his bulk and contortions, has broken 
 down under him. Liberty, according to French ideas, is repre- 
 sented as a demoniacal, tricoloured, cockaded "sans culottes," 
 bestriding an unruly beast, the " night mare," lying heavily on 
 Fox's chest. The idea seems to have been suggested by an 
 extraordinary picture from the pencil of Henry Fuseli, a Royal 
 Academician. This picture created a sensation in art-society. 
 It was called " The Night Mare," and represented a diabolical 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 animal lying heavily on the bosom of a young girl, who has 
 supped too freely on solids and novels. The flag-staff of liberty is 
 so placed, in the caricature, on Fox's chest as to be productive of 
 the greatest discomfort. An imp, personifying the military aggres- 
 sion of the French, as well as gout, is racking savagely the thumb 
 and finger-joints of the statesman's hand. His head, decorated 
 with the cap of liberty and its tri-coloured cockade, betokens in 
 the face hard breathing and hard drinking. A diabolical little 
 wretch, with dragon's wings and a girdle of daggers, has lifted 
 the sheet from off the bed. In front are the capacious habiliments 
 of the bulky orator, who has evidently been studying a book of 
 the time, " Godwin's Political Justice." On the floor lie a work 
 "On Ancient Republics," a paper by Wakefield, a part of the 
 Morning Post, and one of a set of dice. The print is an imitation 
 of a chalk drawing, of course by James Sayer, and doubtless 
 etched by him, but from the name of Chapman on it, it would 
 seem that " the biting in " and general finish were by a thoroughly 
 practised engraver. The management of the acid, as before 
 mentioned, is one of difficulty, and is frequently confided by 
 designers to the experienced hands of a line engraver. 
 
 This caricature bears the evidence of a reaction in his art. 
 At first Gillray was influenced by the style and success of Sayer. 
 Afterwards Gillray' s great powers of invention and freedom of 
 drawing being proverbial, then Sayer' s style was influenced by 
 that of Gillray. 
 
 James Sayer died in 1806, shortly after Pitt, his great friend 
 and patron. 
 
FOLIO XIII. 
 
 George Darley, caricatuiist of fashions. — Rich Comic Vein. — Avoids Political Subjects. — 
 Specimens of his Style. — Monstrous Head-dresses. — Mrs. Cosway. — Mrs. Robinson "The 
 Perdita." — Gambling. — Fribbles.— Beaux and Macaronis. — Their Monstrosities. — The Maca- 
 roni Mania. — Foote's Stage Caricatures. — An opening for a Caricaturist of Pitt and his Party. 
 — James Gillray enters the Field of Caricature. 
 
 cature, 
 
 George Darley. 
 
 ROUP 30 is remarkable, as it presents a record of ex- 
 travagant and absurd fashions in use by both sexes, 
 between 1773 and 1780. They are examples, selected 
 from caricatures principally by G. Darley. 
 
 Darley had a decided talent for caricature ; his 
 designs were conceived in the true comic vein. Like 
 Bunbury, he avoided the troublous field of political cari- 
 and devoted his talents to satirizing the inconceivable 
 heights of folly reached in his day, by persons wishing to be con- 
 sidered fashionable. 
 
 Darley' s drawing was free, and he was quite at his ease with 
 the etching needle. A light effect seems to have been his desire, 
 consequently the process of " biting in " was not carried so far 
 as in the caricatures by his contemporaries, which are firmer and 
 have a deeper effect. His works are very numerous, as in many 
 instances they were of slight and rapid execution, requiring but 
 little time to do. His mission was to cast ridicule upon the 
 monstrosities of fashion, indulged in by both sexes, and truly he 
 spared them not ! 
 
 The centre subject on Group 30 exhibits the mountains of hair, 
 frills, and feathers, under which our grandmothers or great grand- 
 mothers as the case may be, groaned, in the latter part of the last 
 century. The hair-dressers of the time must have been inventive 
 and of skilful manipulation. The " cabriolet " head-dress, the 
 
GROUP 30. 
 
 (Page 108. 
 
 MONSTROSITIES OF FASHION, 
 
 GEO. DARLEY, 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 109 
 
 "post-chaises," "chairs and chairmen," "broad-wheeled wag- 
 gons," were all terms in use to denote particular fashions. 
 
 Artificial flowers and imitative fruit converted a lady's head 
 into a flower or a kitchen garden. Until the present fashion of 
 piling false hair, tow, horse-hair, and imitations of human hair, 
 with little hats, feathers, flowers, and lace on the head, our hair- 
 dressers had become a degenerated race compared with the grand 
 conceptions of a "coiffeur" of the last century. 
 
 To construct a head-dress towering far above the dear creature's 
 own skull, must have been a great work of art, requiring patience 
 on both sides, and no small amount of money for the wire, wool, 
 curls well powdered and pomatumed, lace, feathers, flowers, and 
 the "professor's" fee for the work! Ladies of limited means 
 could not afford to have their " heads," as it was called, made up 
 every week, or even " opened " to " freshen up ! " So that fre- 
 quently, especially in summer-time, an uncomfortable amount of 
 vitality existed in them. 
 
 This necessitated the invention of an ingenious little instru- 
 ment called a " scratch-back." It consisted of a miniature carving 
 in ivory of a hand, the ends of the fingers being sharp; this was 
 fastened to a long slender handle, and thus the irritated back or 
 shoulders could be conveniently scratched ! Curiosity dealers 
 and old families preserve this confirmation of our great grand- 
 mothers' irritated skins, under the dominion of an absurd, uncom- 
 fortable, not to say "disgusting" fashion. 
 
 The centre illustration not only satirises the then prevailing 
 fashion, but a habit of gambling, which formed a lamentable 
 feature of the times, leading its victims to ruin, to fighting of 
 duels, and to suicide ! The fair ones, intent upon cards, venture 
 upon a " leetle " cheating, the accused lady in a fit of virtuous 
 indignation, hurls a candlestick at her accuser, and in this way 
 settles the question. The etching is cleverly done ; its date is 
 1778, and its title " Settling the Odd Trick ! " 
 
 The artist, Darley, lived in the Strand, and announced that 
 " any sketch brought to him that was fair game should have due 
 honour shown it." In this way, doubtless, he was much assisted 
 in his invention by numerous amateur caricaturists. A rival 
 caricaturist and publisher named Austin quarrelled with Darley, 
 on which they abused each other and afforded the town some little 
 sport. 
 
 As amateur caricaturists, Captains Minshull and Topham ac- 
 quired reputation. 
 
 Grignion, a well-known engraver, with the above amateurs 
 
I 10 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 and artists, attacked that contemptible class of nondescripts who 
 assumed the name of " Macaronis." 
 
 The lady with the enormous side-curls and extensive head-dress 
 and cap, is said to represent the too-famous Mrs. Robinson, an 
 actress known as " Perdita," and associated with the early history 
 of the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV. 
 
 The "calash" was rather a clever invention, and had some 
 idea of utility connected with it. It is said to have originated with 
 the Duchess of Bedford in 1765. The enormous quantity of hair 
 and lace then worn was intended to be protected from the sun or 
 rain by this whalebone hooped hood, strings before and behind 
 enabled the wearer to cover the face or to shield the entire mass 
 of hair. It still exists, but in a degenerated state in the well- 
 known " Ugly." 
 
 Cosway, the visionary and frivolous miniature painter, had a 
 charming and accomplished wife, whose pretty face is almost 
 hidden under the preposterous cap in which she is represented on 
 Group 30. 
 
 Satirists and scandal-mongers had about this time ample scope 
 in the hoop-petticoat of the ladies. This was an imitation of the 
 " bombasted " style of dress under Elizabeth and James. Its 
 introduction, in the reign of George II., and during a great part 
 of that of George III., caused this part of ladies' attire, the petti- 
 coat, to assume first a circular form, then an oval, when — fashion 
 by way of variety — added an immense projection on each side of 
 the body. Over this extent of whalebone and canvas, yard after 
 yard of silk or other costly material was stretched, and orna- 
 mented with festoons of lace, ribbons, or artificial flowers, in a 
 manner which has been imitated in the present period, 1869 — 
 1874. 
 
 The extravagances of dress on the part of the ladies were out- 
 done by the monstrosities affected by the Macaronis," who made 
 their appearance in 1772 and 1773. Devotees of fashion had 
 passed by the name of " Beaux" in the time of George II., but a 
 rising frivolity on their part procured them the appellation of 
 "Fribbles" under the first portion of George Ill's, reign. Young 
 men having made the "tour" under disreputable tutors or "bear- 
 leaders" as they were then called, on their return to England formed 
 themselves into an association or club. The vices they had im- 
 ported from Italy they determined to add to the original English 
 stock. Preposterous costume, excessive debauchery, and a con- 
 temptible affectation of effeminacy and ignorance appeared to be 
 the sole aim of these precious idiots ; unless, indeed, their object 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 was to show into what depths of frivolity it was possible for men 
 to sink. 
 
 As Macaroni, served in various ways, was a leading dish at 
 the club table of these exquisites, the members were called 
 " Macaronis." 
 
 As might be expected, their folly created a great sensation, 
 especially amongst the gentler sex, who immediatedly " maca- 
 ronified " their dress and manner to harmonise with that of the 
 men. Even the clergy were affected by this foolery, and grave 
 divines adopted " macaronism " in the cut of their clothes, and in 
 the style of their sermons and wigs. As it is ever, when the 
 public adopts any fashion, macaronism became a mania. Ever}' 
 thing eatable, or drinkable, or usable was macaronified. 
 
 Darley published a great number and variety of macaronic 
 caricatures, in which nearly every occupation of life had its maca- 
 ronic representative. Four of these specimens are selected from 
 a collection of macaronic caricatures. The upper example is the 
 " Illiterate Macaroni " learning his A B C at the age of 21. He 
 certainly seems stupid "enough for anything. The gentleman 
 with the bed bolster hanging from his head, and balancing a great 
 stick, is called the " Pantheon Macaroni." On the left appears the 
 " Riding Macaroni." He wears an apology for a hat, but an 
 immensely thick and large tail ; befrilled and beruffled ; this ex- 
 quisite takes snuff from a miniature box. The fourth specimen is 
 difficult to describe as to sex, for the head-dress is evidently 
 imitated from that in fashion for ladies, but on the summit of the 
 monstrous pile of hair is found a miniature cocked hat, thereby 
 indicating the masculine gender. An immense nosegay stuck in 
 his coat, satin shoes, and white rosettes complete the effeminate 
 appearace of this puppy. 
 
 The press teemed with macaronic songs, poems, and music. 
 Before very long the Macaronis had exhausted their follies, and 
 above all, their credit. The absurdity of the whole thing was now 
 visible, and, macaronism rapidly declining, soon became a thing of 
 the past. Amongst other extravagant fancies was that of wearing 
 enormously large buttons, designs for which Darley caricatured. 
 Some of these buttons were of costly materials, some had pictures 
 on them, but all were of an extravagantly large size. 
 
 In 1777, Darley published a caricature called " Modern Shields, 
 or the virtue of Steel Buttons ! " Two gentlemen are engaged in 
 a duel. One of them, the figure selected, wears the large polished 
 steel buttons. His adversary presents a pistol, but the gentleman 
 with the buttons directs the reflected sunlight of his mirrors on to 
 
I 12 
 
 ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 his opponent's face ; dazzled thus, he cannot take aim, and may 
 be supposed to be vanquished by the lightning-flash of steel 
 buttons. This idea, " The Coup de Bouton," is worked up in a 
 variety of ways. 
 
 The principles of caricature had been explained and practised 
 by Hogarth and Collett. Foote had personally caricatured classes 
 and individuals on the stage of the Haymarket Theatre. Others, 
 of whom Bunbury and Darley were the most prolific in works and 
 richest in fun, had prepared the way for James Sayer, whose vein 
 of humour was not of the richest, nor his invention very varied. 
 Yet about this time, 1779, he as a political caricaturist was the 
 leading man. 
 
 His prints, feeble as they were, nevertheless were very popular, 
 and a good property. As his mission was to glorify " Billy Pitt" 
 and his doings ; it seemed that an opening remained for a rival 
 caricaturist, by whom the " Opposition," headed by Fox, Sheridan, 
 Burke, and others might raise public esteem. Such being the 
 case, the way was prepared for the Colossus of English political 
 caricature, James Gillray, who soon after stepped into the 
 troublous arena of political strife, and proved himself a very giant 
 at this kind of warfare. 
 
FOLIO XIV. 
 
 CARICATURE FROM GILLRAY TO GEORGE CRUIKSHANK, 
 
 James Gillray, a true Caricaturist, born 1 757 at Chelsea. — Apprenticed to a Writing Engraver. — 
 Runs away and joins a Company of Strolling Players. — Studies at the Royal Academy and 
 with Bartolozzi.— Draws, Etches, and Engraves with great talent. — Imitates Sayer. — Portrait. 
 — Adopts Caricature as a Profession. — Examples of his Style. — Caricatures Pitt, Dundas, 
 and Lord Thurlow. — " French Liberty and British Slavery." — Reproduction of his Etching 
 for the Anti-Jaabin.— Ridicules Fox and his Supporters.— Sir F. Burdett. — Gout. — The 
 Assessed Taxes — Pitt in the Salt-box.— George III. and " Boney." — Reproduction of his 
 ''Truth."— Enthusiasm when at Work. — Impending Insanity. — Last Original Work on 
 Wdliam Cobbett. — Last Engraving, "The Barber's Shop," after Bunbury, 181 1. — Attack of 
 Insanity.— Care of Miss Humphrey. — Gillray's Death in 1815. — Buried at St. James's Church, 
 Piccadilly. 
 
 James Gillray. 
 
 HE etching needle and its accompanying process of cor- 
 rosion or "biting in" of the etched lines, as applied to 
 political caricature or social satire, was never wielded 
 by a more powerful hand than that of James Gillray. 
 The true principles of caricature were first made known 
 in England by our own immortal Hogarth. Yet in practice 
 this great artist did not always carry out his own laws ; 
 probably his veneration for nature was too strong to allow him a 
 latitude of violent and extravagant drawing, such as essentially 
 belongs to caricature. 
 
 In a farce or a burlesque presented on the stage, however 
 ridiculous may be the incidents and the situations of the actors, 
 or absurd and extravagant their costume, their persons, as regards 
 face and figure, remain generally unaltered. Exaggeration, one of 
 the essentials of caricature, it is true, exists in crowding together 
 a greater number of incidents and in concentrating action to a 
 greater extent than is possible under any ordinary circumstances. 
 Satire may thus result by the ridiculous employment of the 
 
 0 
 
AN ESSAY ON 
 
 figures, but it stops short of its full measure of caricature for 
 want of personal exaggeration. Such a point as this most of 
 the caricaturists before and after the promulgation of Hogarth's 
 principles aimed at reaching. Such a point is also that of many 
 of Hogarth's lighter productions, but full range of exaggeration 
 in incident, costume, expression, and personal delineation implied 
 by the term caricature, was never, in England at least, reached by 
 any artist until it was completely displayed in the works of James 
 Gillray, the greatest of all English caricaturists, and, when the 
 political effect of his works be considered, the greatest cari- 
 caturist of ancient or modern times. 
 
 The introductory explanation of caricature in this work is 
 based on Gillray' s satires, those of William Hogarth, and of other 
 great artists. Born of humble parents in 1757, Gillray's father 
 being but a maimed out-pensioner of Chelsea Hospital, and sexton 
 to the Moravian burial-ground at Chelsea, James was by him 
 apprenticed to a writing engraver, an employment possibly con- 
 sidered as congenial to artistic aspirations evinced by the boy. 
 A mere uninteresting drudgery like this soon disgusted him, so 
 he ran away and took up with some strolling actors. 
 
 The adventures, poverty, fun, hardships, makeshifts, dressing 
 and make-up of theatrical character he experienced in this way, 
 enabled him in his career as a caricaturist to seize points of dress, 
 carriage, and ludicrous incident, which render his etched designs 
 so vigorous, original, and remarkable. After a time his feeling 
 for art induced him to return to London and obtain admission as 
 a student in the then infant institution, the Royal Academy, where 
 he became acquainted with various artists, and amongst them 
 with Ryland, a good engraver in the dot or chalk style, who 
 taught him the use of the etching needle and the graver. 
 
 Gillray was for some time an assistant to the great historical 
 engraver, F. Bartolozzi, in which capacity he matured his hand, 
 and gained knowledge in art generally. When his engagement 
 with Bartolozzi ceased he began to engrave on his own account, 
 from pictures by artists to whom he was known. As an engraver 
 and designer he had much employment from the print publishers ; 
 he also made some progress as a miniature painter. 
 
 At this time James Sayer was high in public estimation as a 
 political caricaturist, and moreover enjoyed the patronage of 
 William Pitt. For invention, perception of the ludicrous, power 
 of drawing, skill in etching, and dexterity with the graver, Gillray 
 felt himself more than the equal of Sayer, and determined on a 
 trial of strength with the favoured caricaturist. His first efforts in 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 "5 
 
 this new direction, were in imitation of Sayer's works, and were 
 signed with the initials J. S. 
 
 Publishing anonymously for some time, Gillraywas first known 
 by name in 1779, by a caricature called " Paddy on Horseback," 
 the "horse" being a bull ! In 1782 he published a caricature on 
 Admiral Rodney's victory. This is considered as the true com- 
 mencement of Gillray's triumphant career as a political carica- 
 turist. From this time until January, 181 1, a period of about 
 thirty years, Gillray enjoyed deservedly an immense reputation. 
 In this time he produced more than one thousand five hundred 
 caricatures, which fill several volumes. 
 
 Hardly a library exists without possessing at least one copy of 
 this great satirist's works. In the space permitted in this " Essay 
 on English Graphic Satire," it is quite impossible to do more 
 than to give a general idea of his style of work, invention, and 
 peculiar merits as a caricaturist. Beyond this, the student must 
 consult one of the numerous copies of his works, collected in 
 folio, to which is added a book, with explanatory notes of the 
 subjects and the personages introduced. A folio volume, subse- 
 quently published by Bohn, contains seven hundred selected 
 examples from Gillray's caricatures. 
 
 In the British Museum Library, and in the Print Room, are 
 copies of this great caricaturist's works. Group 31 has in the 
 centre a portrait of Gillray, etched after a miniature painting by 
 himself. In it a considerable amount of determination is evident, 
 as well as a disposition to cynicism, such as might betoken a man 
 who watched with no small amount of vigilance the actions of 
 public men, and delineated their persons and deeds with an 
 unflinching pencil. 
 
 In 1788, on the 5th of November, the distressing malady under 
 which the poor King George III. had been suspected to suffer, mani- 
 fested itself in a manner so decided as to call for Parliamentary 
 action. Pitt, whose lofty and cold manner had disgusted the 
 Prince of Wales, foresaw a change of Ministry, and that the 
 Whigs headed by the Prince, would come into office, with his 
 Royal Highness as Regent. Little cordiality could exist between 
 these personages, and this was soon shown by Pitt's endeavours to 
 restrict the Prince's power within the narrowest limits. Numerous 
 caricatures on both sides of the question issued from the press, 
 but by far the best for invention, point, and execution, were 
 Gillray's. 
 
 One of these was entitled " The Vulture of the Constitution." 
 A vulture having the head of Pitt, and a gorged stomach 
 
1 1 6 
 
 AN ESS AT ON 
 
 labelled " Treasury," is represented as tearing a second feather 
 from the well-known heraldic insignia in the Prince's coronet, 
 one claw has seized the coronet, the other grasps the crown, 
 sceptre, and " Magna Charta." Group 31. 
 
 Pitt at this time was Chancellor of the Exchequer and First 
 Lord of the Treasury, besides exercising an almost entire control 
 over the opinions of his Royal Master. The subject in its inven- 
 tion is original, and its drawing, etching, and general effect 
 admirable. 
 
 Queen Charlotte, being by Parliament appointed guardian to 
 the King, the public were much amused at the complimentary 
 language used in regard to her Majesty by Pitt, Dundas, and 
 Lord Thurlow, who suddenly became particularly civil to her. 
 Gillray ridiculed this conduct by a large caricature called 
 " Minions of the Moon ! " a parody on Fuseli's celebrated picture 
 of the "Witches in Macbeth." "The Weird Sisters" here are 
 Pitt, Dundas, at that time Treasurer of the Navy, and the old 
 swearing Chancellor, Lord Thurlow. The bright side of the 
 moon has the profile of Queen Charlotte, on the obscured side 
 is the profile of the King. On the 10th of March, 1789, it was 
 announced in Parliament, that his Majesty had recovered from 
 his illness. The Regency question was consequently laid aside, 
 and universal rejoicing ensued. A grand thanksgiving took 
 place at St. Paul's Cathedral, while in the evening, the illumina- 
 tions were more brilliant than usual. The mental slumber, 
 however, from which the King awoke, made him a witness to 
 one of the most fearful revolutions known in history. 
 
 France had laboured for years under the yoke of titled 
 oppressors, supported by priestcraft. A school of philosophy 
 arose, concentrating all the discordant elements of society, and 
 like a fearful thundercloud settled on the devoted country. At 
 length the storm burst, sweeping before it, with the fury of a 
 hurricane, every landmark erected by society. This terrific out- 
 burst in France was hailed with joy by many distinguished friends 
 of liberty in England ; but the acts of atrocity committed by the 
 leaders of the French Revolution shocked all well-directed minds. 
 Burke separated from his party, and denounced in Parliament the 
 democratic clubs, and the revolutionary tone of sermons by Dr. 
 Priestley, the celebrated philosopher, Dr. Price, and Dr. Lindsey. 
 
 This state of things gave rise to one of Gillray' s most whimsical 
 and original caricatures, called " Smelling out a Rat !" Burke's 
 nose and spectacles, to the inventive mind of Gillray, suggested 
 the extraordinary and grotesque combination in this well-known 
 
J. GILL RAY. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 "7 
 
 pictorial satire. Enveloped in mysterious clouds, the fearfully 
 long nose of Burke supports a huge pair of spectacles and 
 enormous eyes staring at and poking up Dr. Price in his study, 
 who is composing a sermon on the " Benefits of Anarchy and 
 Atheism." Burke with one hand holds aloft the English crown, 
 and in the other the cross surrounded by a halo of light, while 
 between them is his book, " Reflections on the Revolution in 
 France." 
 
 Gillray's popular mode of placing a question before the public 
 eye no doubt influenced in a great degree the public opinion 
 upon it. Gillray's anti-Gallic feelings found expression in two 
 caricatures on one plate, imitated, as will be remembered, from 
 Hogarth's "England and France." "French Liberty," and 
 "British Slavery," published Dec. 21st, 1792. " Jas. Gillray, 
 del : et fecit : pro bono publico." A half-starved Frenchman, 
 " sans culottes," proud of his cap of liberty and tricoloured 
 cockade, is regaling himself on a head of garlic ; a perfect 
 picture of poverty, he boasts of his liberty — to live on potato- 
 parings ! on the floor lie a fiddle and a sword ; his speech 
 is " Ah ! ah ! vat blessing be de liberte, vive l'Assemblee 
 Nationale, no more tax ! no more slavery ! all free citizens, 
 how ve vill svim in de milk and honey!" As a contrast, we 
 have that ill-used grumbling individual, John Bull, slaving away 
 at a sirloin of roast beef, the table-cloth tied round his neck by 
 way of napkin. His wig reposes upon the arm of his well-stuffed 
 easy-chair. To enable him to support the hard work on which 
 he is engaged, John requires a glass of fine old port, or a draught 
 from a foaming tankard. Abundance is seen everywhere, even 
 the statuette of Britannia is marked "solid gold." Under these 
 heart-breaking circumstances, poor John grumbles thus, "Ah! 
 this confounded Ministry ! they'll ruin us with their taxes. Why, 
 zounds! they're making slaves of us all, and starving us to 
 death." B. R. Haydon, years after, borrowed this idea for his 
 picture of the " Old Tory." 
 
 Parliament issued a proclamation hoping to improve public 
 morals. Upon this Gillray published a caricature in four divi- 
 sions, viz., Avarice, Drunkenness, Gambling, and Licentiousness. 
 This print was inscribed as "Vices overlooked in the Royal 
 Proclamation," and exhibits them as indulged in by the Royal 
 Family. Our selection is that of Avarice, in which " Old George," 
 and " Old Snuffy," his queen, are hugging their bags of gold, 
 gorged with millions of guineas. On the table lies a book of 
 interest calculations. 
 
AN ESSAF ON 
 
 The lamentable derangement of George III., his peculiarities, 
 and those of Queen Charlotte, the escapades of the Royal Family, 
 and the extravagant and reprehensible conduct of the Prince of 
 Wales, all occupy a considerable part of this great collection of 
 Gillray's works in folio. The sympathisers in this country with 
 the French Revolution and its consequences formed an important 
 party, headed by Burke, Fox, Sheridan, Lords Erskine and Derby, 
 the Dukes of Bedford and Norfolk, and Sir Francis Burdett, all 
 of whom were more or less satirised. 
 
 Social events also are freely introduced, but the political 
 partisanship of Gillray is obscure, excepting only in the case of 
 the French question — there his anti-Gallic feeling is violent, and 
 ever unmistakable. 
 
 In some of his productions, Pitt is remorselessly ridiculed, as 
 well as his measures and associates. In others, Fox, his great 
 political opponent, is treated in the same unceremonious style ; so 
 are Burke, Sheridan, and others of that political party. It would 
 therefore appear that he worked to order, or upon impulse, irre- 
 spective of any settled political opinions. 
 
 Gillray was fortunate in making the acquaintance of Miss 
 Humphrey, the print publisher of St. James's Street. In her 
 house he resided for many years, her trade in prints being 
 mainly if not entirely supported by Gillray's great reputation as 
 a caricaturist. Their mutual interests thus bound together, it 
 was but natural that marriage would ensue, and it is stated as a 
 fact that Gillray and Miss Humphrey actually started from their 
 residence with this intention. On their way to the church, it 
 appears that both the proposed victims to the conjugal yoke, 
 reflecting deeply on their awful position, mutually agreed not to 
 marry, and joyfully returned in single blessedness ! 
 
 Her shop was one well suited for Gillray's purpose, his victims 
 were unconsciously walking daily to and fro along the street, and 
 under cover of the shop window, Gillray, pencil in hand, took off 
 the heads of Ministers and the Opposition. In this way he 
 became so familiar with their features, that he could drolly 
 exaggerate the nose and lank figure of the Heaven -born 
 Minister, William Pitt, almost out of humanity ; and yet 
 preserve so much likeness, that the portrait was immediately 
 recognised. So with the bulky figure of Fox, the Bardolphian 
 nose of Sheridan, and the personal peculiarities of other public 
 men. This means of satiric art was but seldom practised by any 
 English caricaturist before Gillray. 
 
 The severity and fearful amount of ridicule at his command 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 119 
 
 exposed him to threats of personal chastisement, and sometimes 
 to the probability of a prosecution. Fox was more than once 
 disposed to enter an action against the artist or the publisher, but 
 thought better of it. Burke was severely attacked, generally 
 as a Jesuit priest, but he knew that by prosecuting the carica- 
 turist the sale would be enormously increased. The good nature 
 even of Sheridan was put to a severe test by the unsparing pencil 
 of Gillray. In the end, they considered it better to let the 
 offensive prints pass by, without taking any steps to restrain their 
 publication, which latter plan would only have become an excellent 
 advertisement : so the satirised senators sat down, and gratified 
 themselves by enjoying a hearty laugh at each other ! 
 
 Gillray' s imagination was constantly on the rack for subjects, 
 requiring the exercise of invention. The rapidity with which 
 the operations of drawing, etching, biting-in, finishing, printing, 
 and finally publishing while any particular event was fresh on the 
 public mind, all depending on the energy of the artist, proved 
 eventually to be a great strain on his intellect. Political events 
 arose quickly at this time, and party-spirit was very bitter. To 
 keep pace with the public demands for satire, Gillray had 
 scarcely any time left for recreation, therefore he indulged in 
 stimulants. 
 
 George III. was himself one of the most constant customers of 
 Miss Humphrey, for he had ordered that every caricature by 
 Gillray should be delivered at the palace, even wet from the press. 
 While the poor King was in possession of his right senses, he even 
 took hints in domestic matters from the satirist.' 
 
 Queen Charlotte, full of German bombast and etiquette, set up 
 the royal babies at first as objects of devotion, by their holding a 
 sort of levee for the Court ladies. Gillray gave a comic repre- 
 sentation of this absurd proceeding. So utterly ridiculous did 
 he make it appear, that the King was induced to put an end to 
 the royal nonsense, and was reported to have said to the Oueen, 
 " Won't do ! won't do, Charlotte ! " 
 
 In 1792 the expensive war with France placed the Government 
 in a position of financial difficulty, requiring all the commanding 
 eloquence of Pitt to defend it. Revolutionary principles were 
 spreading widely. Great dissatisfaction was manifested. Serious 
 riots had occurred, and a rebellion broke out in Ireland. In 
 this state of public affairs, it was deemed necessary in 1797 
 to order the Bank of England to suspend cash payments, and to 
 pay dividends with paper, notes for £1 and £2 being a legal 
 tender. A proceeding so detrimental to public credit caused 
 
120 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 intense disgust, and was of course used by the Opposition party 
 to annoy and damage the Government. 
 
 Gillray fell foul of Pitt and his party in a clever caricature, of 
 which the two principal heads are here given. 
 
 Group 32 presents us with two versions of John Bull, by Gill- 
 ray. The one dated 1797 gives our old friend John in a fix, as 
 well he might be, at receiving tissue paper instead of gold, when 
 he went to the Bank for his dividend. In the entire caricature 
 Pitt tenders the notes to John Bull, while Sheridan and Fox 
 strongly dissuade him from taking anything but gold. The issue 
 of a paper currency alluded to took place on March 1st, 1797. 
 John has pushed his hat on the back of his head, having duly 
 stimulated his thoughts by scratching his long flaxen hair. Simple 
 Farmer John has a terribly puzzled expression, for Sheridan (the 
 next head) is looking over his shoulder, saying to him, " Don't 
 take his notes! Nobody takes notes now; they won't even take 
 mine/" This clever hit at Sheridan's notoriously bad faith in 
 money matters, strange to say, again roused his indignation. He 
 complained bitterly of this caricature, and even threatened legal 
 proceedings against the publisher. 
 
 The head dated 1803 presents poor John in a bad way, quite 
 a contrast to his usual jolly condition. Napoleon, then Consul, 
 made demands upon our Government, which Mr. Addington, alias 
 the Doctor, seemed inclined to grant. This provoked much in- 
 dignant feeling in the country, so Gillray seized his etching 
 needle and caricatured the party favourable to this step. The 
 print was named " Doctor Sangrado curing John Bull of 
 repletion," May 2nd, 1803. Poor John, with his head bandaged, 
 is being bled, almost to the point of fainting, by Doctor Adding- 
 ton, the Prime Minister; the blood issuing from his arm is 
 marked " Malta," " Cape of Good Hope," and other places pro- 
 posed to be ceded, Bonaparte receiving it in a tremendous 
 cocked hat, while Fox and Sheridan bring warm water! This 
 head is a curious variation on the well-known jolly farmer-like 
 expression of John Bull. 
 
 A hollow peace had been patched up between France 
 and England, so the leading Liberals rushed off to Paris to 
 pay their respects to the First Consul. The party consisted 
 of Fox, lords Erskine, Holland, Grey, and a great number of 
 their supporters, all of whom became food for Gillray' s satiric 
 appetite. 
 
 The diabolical-looking head to the right of Group 32 is an 
 example of Gillray' s power of personal exaggeration. By a few 
 
GROUP 32. 
 
 'Page J2Q 
 
 DRAWN BY R. w. BUSS. 
 
 SELECTIONS from GILLRAY. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 I 2 I 
 
 magic touches Fox's massive features became fitted for those of 
 Satan. 
 
 Gillray's powerful imagination and facile hand have given a 
 wonderful representation of the bloody Reign of Terror. The 
 demon of revolution, with horribly distorted and mysterious 
 features, crowned with the insatiable guillotine, and clad in an 
 ensanguined coat, sits fearfully triumphant on the well-known cap 
 of liberty. The monster is of course " sans culottes." His boots 
 indicate the strides taken by this demon throughout unhappy 
 France. Though grotesque and extravagant, it produces a 
 powerful effect upon the imagination, and really combines the 
 comic element with the truly horrible which characterise the 
 events of the great French Revolution. 
 
 On the left is a caricature of Lord Salisbury, as the Lord 
 Chamberlain in attendance on the marriage of the King of Wur- 
 temberg with Princess Charlotte, daughter of George III. This 
 is one of the richest specimens of personal caricature amongst the 
 many produced by Gillray. 
 
 The illustration on the right of this group is curious, as it 
 represents the "Heaven-born" Billy Pitt as the victim of a 
 tender passion for the Hon. Miss Eden. Pitt is said to have been 
 much attached to this lady, and it was with great pain that he felt 
 obliged to sacrifice his affection for her in consequence of the 
 incessant demands upon him by the all-important political events 
 of the time. A marriage between them was considered as likely 
 to take place, and became the talk of the public. 
 
 So tempting an opportunity for the exercise of Gillray's comic 
 powers was not to be lost, consequently this caricature, called 
 "The Garden of Eden," was executed by him. The lady is 
 handsome and graceful in her attitude, but the lover! — never was 
 lover more unlovely, more awkward, more ridiculous than is the 
 Prime Minister, William Pitt, under the whimsical pencil of our 
 great pictorial satirist. The complete subject has Cupids abound- 
 ing, carrying blue ribbons and orders, while coronets spring up 
 like mushrooms from the earth. 
 
 The French landed in Pembrokeshire, Feb. 14th, 1797, but 
 were warmly received, for those of the invaders who were not 
 killed on the spot were made prisoners. The caricature represents 
 Pitt as having caught the invading demon round the waist, when 
 the fiend is discovered to be Fox ! 
 
 In 1799 Sir Francis Burdett, then a young and liberal member 
 of the Commons moved for an inquiry into the state of Coldbath 
 Fields prison. His habit of wearing a very large lock of hair over 
 
 R 
 
I 
 
 122 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 his forehead offered a tempting opportunity to the caricaturists, 
 of which they availed themselves to the utmost. 
 
 Gillray, in one of his morbid fits of patriotism, etched a savage 
 caricature of Fox, entitled " A Democrat," March ist, 1793. He 
 is represented as a brutal monster, besmeared with blood, roaring 
 out " ca ira," and frantically dancing amidst scenes of bloodshed. 
 The head of the figure is selected for the illustration. Poor Fox 
 was deeply wounded in his feelings by this caricature, as it held 
 up to public execration undeservedly one of the kindest natures 
 ever possessed by man. 
 
 A death's head, crowned with the cap of liberty, is one of 
 Gillray's grim inventions. A crimsoned skeleton, mounted on 
 stilts, stalks over a scene of desolation and murder, amidst which 
 are the roast beef of Old England, crown, sceptre, and other 
 insignia of royalty and nobility. 
 
 Gillray too frequently lent his powerful talents to attack private 
 character in a manner not justifiable. In this print, Alderman 
 Boydell, who had expended no less a sum than ^400,000 in 
 fostering the arts of painting and engraving, and had repeatedly 
 commissioned all the great painters and engravers of the English 
 school to illustrate Shakspeare and Milton, is ruthlessly attacked. 
 Some low-minded, malicious person had damaged a few of the 
 pictures exhibited at the " Shakspeare Gallery in Pall Mall," by 
 gashing them with a knife. This act was by a base insinuation 
 attributed to Boydell himself, as a means of puffing off his specu- 
 lation ; so he is represented as cutting the pictures purposely. 
 Boydell, who had done so much for art, might at least have been 
 spared by an artist's hand. 
 
 One of Gillray's most popular caricatures was " Pitt uncork- 
 ing Old Sherry," in which the Opposition Members were repre- 
 sented as bottles. The great statesman uncorks a bottle of old 
 sherry, which bounces sadly and is full of froth. Sheridan was so 
 tickled by this idea that he immediately sent to Miss Humphrey's 
 for half-a-dozen copies, and, more extraordinary, he paid for 
 them, the receipt for which is now preserved, as a great curiosity, 
 at the British Museum. Pitt's head, selected from this caricature, 
 is introduced in the group illustrating the "Principles of Carica- 
 ture," page 16. 
 
 Gillray was the first artist who endeavoured to symbolise that 
 terrible ill "to which flesh is heir," the gout, and it must be 
 admitted that he has succeeded marvellously (Group 33). The 
 sufferer's foot, swollen and inflamed, lies completely at the mercy 
 of a horrible fiend, furnished with powerful and sharp claws, which 
 
GROUP 33. 
 
 <Pctge 12 
 
 J GILLRAY. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 123 
 
 are being savagely dug into the victim's flesh. From the mouth 
 of this tormenting demon issue flames and darts or stings, which, 
 serpent-like, are forced rapidly in and out of the inflamed part. 
 Those who unfortunately are thus afflicted can bear painful 
 testimony to the truth of torment depicted in this work. Perfectly 
 original in design, it is powerfully drawn, and freely etched. 
 Published in 1799, it attained an immense popularity, and is one 
 of the best-known grimly comic works by Gillray, in spite of its 
 suggestions to victims of civic indulgence in good old port and 
 turtle-soup. 
 
 The illustration to the right, on Group 33, is introduced to show 
 the whimsical manner in which Gillray sometimes gave portraits. 
 It is dated 1790, and represents Sir George Rose. To the left is 
 one very remarkable, as it bears a ludicrous resemblance to the 
 profile of George III. A block, bearing the well-known hunting- 
 cap and wig of his Majesty, is used as a mark for shooting. 
 Round the base of the block are numerous toad-stools and 
 other specimens of fungus growth, significant of parasites upon 
 royalty. 
 
 Gustavus III. had been assassinated by Ankarstrom in the 
 preceding year, 1792; that fact was used by Gillray to express the 
 feelings of the Tory party regarding the Liberal Whig leaders. 
 In this caricature the regicide is assumed to be Fox. It is called 
 "Patriots amusing themselves; or Swedes practising at a post." 
 Fox and Sheridan are firing at the post (George III.), while the 
 revolutionary Doctor Priestley gives his pamphlets for wadding. 
 The really ridiculous point is the one selected — the royal post. 
 
 In 1805 Pitt, who had taxed everything in a man's house 
 above the basement, now at his wit's end, descended into the 
 kitchen and laid a tax upon salt, an impost loudly condemned by 
 the community. " Gulliver's Travels" afforded Gillray a hint, of 
 which he availed himself, to produce a caricature called " Billy 
 in the Salt-box," one of his most successful hits, which had an 
 immense sale. Pitt, hidden in the salt-box, suddenly pops his 
 head up and frightens the cook, by exclaiming, " How do you do, 
 Cookey ? " She cries out, " Drat the fellow, how he has frightened 
 me! I think he is getting everywhere; who'd have thought of 
 finding him in the salt-box ! " This is unquestionably among the 
 happiest of Gillray' s works. 
 
 The heavy taxes laid on poor John Bull's back in 1796 were 
 sufficiently distressing to the country, but in 1 797 it was announced, 
 to the dismay of taxpayers, that a heavy addition would be made 
 to the already intolerable burdens. It was whispered that it was 
 
AN ESSAV OiV 
 
 intended to tax any one who wore a hat ! Gillray made an instant 
 onslaught on the taxes by a caricature, of which a unique copy, 
 possessed by Mr. Burke, was introduced in Mr. Wright's " House 
 of Hanover," and is here borrowed from that book. Poor John Bull, 
 summoned to the door by the taxman's knock, appears surprised 
 and alarmed. With a lengthened visage he cries out, "What d'ye 
 want, you little imps ? ain't I plagued with enough of you already? 
 more pickpocketing work, I suppose?" To make matters com- 
 fortable, the leading fiend smilingly replies, " Please your honour, 
 we're the assessed taxes." Whichever of these ugly little devils 
 impersonates the house, the window duty, taxes on income, hair 
 powder, horses, dogs, armorial bearings, carriages, watches, salt, 
 and every other taxable commodity, must be left to the reader's 
 imagination. 
 
 In 1803 the boasted and threatened invasion of our "tight 
 little island" by Napoleon was the absorbing subject. Swift's 
 great satire of Gulliver's Travels suggested the title of the present 
 caricature — " The King of Brobdignag and Gulliver." Of course 
 patriotic songs, poems, squibs, lampoons, and caricatures were 
 poured forth daily from the press, in which Napoleon was foully 
 libelled, his actions and proclamations parodied and ridiculed. 
 True to the backbone, Gillray displays his hatred and contempt 
 of France by making old George take an opera-glass to view 
 the miserable "little Boney " standing in the palm of his royal 
 hand. 
 
 Group 33. 
 
 In another print "little Boney" was represented trying to 
 get to England in a boat, placed in a wash-hand basin, to the 
 intense amusement of the King, Queen, and Royal family. 
 Among many others ridiculing Bonaparte and his threatened inva- 
 sion was one of Boney behind the walls of a fortress, being taunted 
 by a big Jack Tar, up to his knees in the Channel, exclaiming, 
 " WTiy don't you come out ! I say, why don't you come out ! " 
 
 The remaining illustration, on Group 33, is introduced as an 
 example of a frequent practice with Gillray — that of engraving 
 other people's designs. Skilful in all the details of etching and 
 " biting-in," he had considerable employment from amateurs, 
 who were unable to master these technicalities of engraving. The 
 design is by Mr. North, a son of the Bishop of Winchester. The 
 subject is called "Playing in Parts," and represents an amateur 
 concert. There is indeed but little point or wit in the caricature — 
 a frequent mistake made by would-be witty designers. The two 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 125 
 
 figures selected owe their oddity of expression and features to the 
 magic touches of Gillray, whose style of drawing and general 
 treatment are here quite evident. 
 
 Group 34 is a reproduction, by photography, of one of Gill- 
 ray's caricatures, or rather satirical designs, for there is really no 
 personal exaggeration in it. The size is somewhat reduced from 
 the original print. The title is " A Peep into the Cave of 
 Jacobinism," " Magna est Veritas et prsevalebit." J. Gillray, 
 invt. et feet. London. Published Sept. 7, 1798, by J. Wright, 
 169, Piccadilly, for the Anti- Jacobin Review. As the inscription 
 describes this print, it was one of those contributed by Gillray to 
 that work during its short life. It is a specimen of Gillray's 
 talents in a style closely approaching the historical, and shows 
 that he possessed capabilities, had he chosen to do so, to produce 
 works in a high walk of art, in which he might have, as others 
 have done, pursued High Art into poverty and a debtor's jail. 
 A gracefully drawn and sweetly etched figure of Truth, bearing 
 a torch, sheds lightning-like rays upon the foul demon of French 
 Revolution, which, decorated with the cap of liberty, drops the 
 fair mask of freedom, and discovers the horrible visage of 
 murder and rapine, while " Egalite " is enforced by a dagger. 
 The dark cave of Jacobinism, with its foul Lethean stream, 
 harbours bats, owls, snakes, and toads ; which, unable to endure 
 the scorching rays of light borne by Truth, escape from under a 
 burning mass of libels, Treason, Defamation, Sedition, Ignorance, 
 and Atheism. Behind, in the effulgent light, two angels support 
 the English crown, and bear also the scales of justice and the 
 cross of faith. Truth pointing to a number of the Anti-Jacobin 
 Review, indicates that the principles advocated in that publication 
 are antidotes to the poisonous influence produced by anarchy 
 and bloodshed, characteristics of the great French Revolution. 
 A grandly designed mass of rock, beautifully etched, occupies 
 half of the subject. Gradually the tint deepens until extreme 
 dark is obtained. This is well contrasted with the light, which is 
 also managed with great skill. Altogether, both in design and 
 execution, this would appear to have been a subject upon which 
 Gillray worked with pleasure, and spared no pains in order to 
 produce a full and finished effect. Of all his contributions to the 
 Anti- Jacobin Review, this one, though not the largest of his 
 subjects, nor the most extensive in regard to the figures intro- 
 duced, is by far the most finished, is entirely free from coarseness, 
 and exhibits his power of design and etching in the most 
 favourable light. 
 
126 
 
 AN ESSAF ON 
 
 Gillray's mastery over the features of the human countenance 
 is admirably shown in his original etching, called " Doublures," 
 on Group 35. Fox, Sheridan, the Duke of Norfolk, Horne Tooke, 
 Sir Francis Burdett, Lord Derby, and the Duke of Bedford are 
 here represented, first with but a slight shade of caricature, by 
 a few magic touches Fox becomes Satan in flames ; Sheridan in 
 his double becomes a very Judas ; his Grace of Norfolk a Silenus ; 
 Home Tooke a fiend ; Sir Francis Burdett a fool ; the Earl of 
 Derby a monkey ; and the Duke of Bedford a knowing jockey. 
 This work is beautifully etched ; has its lights and shades well 
 disposed, and is full of gentle gradation. It is perhaps a hard 
 hit at the originals, but it must be remembered that in Gillray's 
 time acrimonious feeling was freely indulged in party-politics. 
 The inscription at the bottom of the print describes Gillray's in- 
 tention. 
 
 Group 36 is a representation of one of Gillray's most extensive 
 compositions, and etched for the Anti-Jacobin Magazine. It is dated 
 August 17th, 1798, published by Wright of 169, Piccadilly. In 
 this the Prince of Wales is represented as Leviathan, with a hook 
 in his nose. This print was quoted by W. Hone on his trial for 
 sedition really, but nominally for blasphemy. The Scriptural 
 monster is ridden by Fox, Tiernay, and Nicholl, while orator 
 Thelwall, bespattered with mud, rides on his Royal Highness' s 
 head. Behind are Whitbread, Sir F. Burdett, Lord Erskine, and 
 others of the Whig party. They have come to bow down and to 
 worship the revolutionary and sanguinary doctrines preached by 
 Le Paux, the high priest of the New Morality, or the Theophilan- 
 thropos, in front of an altar where three horrible demons of revo- 
 lution are enshrined. Lord Moira offers his sword, Southey 
 figures as an ass, Dr. Priestley, W. Godwin as imps, Tom Paine 
 as a crocodile in stays, and other writers on that side, all of whom 
 are idolizing the false priest. 
 
 This contribution by Gillray was the last, as the Anti-Jacobin 
 Review expired at the thirty-sixth number, on July 9th, 1798. 
 It was the parting blow to Fox, Sheridan, Thelwall, Coleridge, 
 Lloyd, Lamb, Southey, Whitbread, Burdett, Erskine, Horne 
 Tooke, Lord Derby, and the rest of the Whig party, including 
 the Whig newspapers, represented as fiend-like news-boys. The 
 talents of Gifford, Pitt, Canning, Frere, and other prominent 
 members of the Tory party were enlisted for this work, and did 
 "the State some service" by ridiculing the French democratic 
 rulers and their admirers and apologists in England. 
 
 In his early caricatures, Gillray endeavoured to pass off his 
 
GROUP 36. £> a(?e x$6. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 121 
 
 works as if they were etched by James Sayer. A powerful 
 draughtsman, a master of the art of engraving, and possessing 
 a vigorous imagination, he had but little to fear from Sayer. He 
 was really an excellent engraver in line, dot, and aquatint, but 
 these talents are all merged in his fame as a caricaturist, in which 
 walk of art he still remains unrivalled. 
 
 An examination of his collected works will surprise the student 
 by the amount of invention contained in them, and their inequality 
 of execution. Some are very carefully finished, with various 
 gradations of tone, while others are little more than bold, spirited 
 outlines, dashed off in a moment of enthusiasm. These variations 
 are due to the different states of mind in which he produced many 
 of his works, whether in a comparatively tranquil state or under 
 excitement. An unfortunate craving for drink caused him to 
 break an agreement with Miss Humphrey, by which he was bound 
 not to undertake work from any one else, yet to procure this 
 stimulus he occasionally etched plates for Mr. Fores of Piccadilly, 
 when he tried as much as possible to disguise his style. In the 
 early days of lithography he drew a subject on stone, " The 
 Domestic Musical Party." This is clever, but very rare. 
 
 Four woodcuts were also engraved by Gillray. Of one of 
 these, " A Beggar at the Door," an impression, the only one 
 known, is in Mr. Haviland Burke's collection. 
 
 Miss Humphrey for many years enjoyed a handsome income 
 from the sale of Gillray' s prints. 
 
 Our great and venerable designer and painter — let us not 
 classify him only as a caricaturist — George Cruikshank, knew 
 Gillray, and has said that the bold and vigorous style of Gillray' s 
 designs and etchings was entirely owing to the degree of en- 
 thusiasm he brought to bear on his work, indeed, to a pitch 
 painful to witness, as it exhibited a mind touched with madness. 
 So prolific was his invention that it seemed to be inexhaustible. 
 With no previous study or preparatory drawing, he would take a 
 large plate and fill it entirely with figures, etching them rapidly 
 one after the other, and contrasting their action most skilfully, so 
 that not one appeared to be redundant. For likenesses, he referred 
 to sketches on small pieces of card. Practice such as this can 
 only be fully appreciated by an engraver or one accustomed to 
 etching. 
 
 Many of Gillray' s caricatures were published coloured by 
 hand. This mode is peculiarly fitted for giving a finished ap- 
 pearance to a really very slight work, as the colour supplies the 
 want of half tints. Some of Gillray' s rapid productions are little 
 
128 
 
 AN ESSAV ON 
 
 more than spirited outlines, relieved with strong touches of dark. 
 This style of work he adopted when a public question suddenly 
 arose, which required rapid invention and etching to ridicule or to 
 commend it. 
 
 Gillray was highly sensitive to criticism, as, under the repu- 
 tation of a caricaturist, he really had talents of a high quality in 
 art. Loutherburg, the Royal Academician, went to Flanders to 
 sketch the localities of certain battles, and Gillray accompanied 
 him, sketching figures and costumes. These works, on their 
 return, were shown to George III., who said "he did not under- 
 stand the caricatures." This remark deeply offended Gillray, who 
 ever after savagely ridiculed " Old George," and " Old Snuffy," 
 his queen. To this burst of temper many of Gillray' s drollest 
 subjects are due, for in the oddity of appearance and of manner 
 in the royal pair he found a rich field for fun. 
 
 His last original work was a series of caricatures ridiculing the 
 celebrated William Cobbett. These were published about 1809. 
 Originally of an excitable temperament, the stormy political 
 atmosphere in which he lived still farther increased his irritability. 
 The work of rapid design and etching, necessarily prolonged 
 frequently into the small hours of the night, could not fail to tell 
 upon his nervous system, to repair which, Gillray unfortunately 
 indulged in stimulants, a habit which told fearfully upon his 
 mind ; symptoms of mental alienation showed themselves, and in 
 a short time this mirth-inspiring genius became dead to the world. 
 A few lucid intervals occurred, during which his friends visited 
 him, and endeavoured to console him under his great affliction. 
 On one of these friendly visits, George Cruikshank was intro- 
 duced to him by Miss Humphrey. Poor Gillray said, "You are 
 not Cruikshank, but Addison ; my name is not Gillray but 
 Rubens." His hand was always moving, as if in the act of 
 painting. Though insane, it was but seldom that his paroxysms 
 were very violent, consequently he was allowed to wander at 
 pleasure over the house. It was in one of those temporary 
 returns to sanity that he etched the large plate named " The 
 Barber's Shop," after W. H. Bunbury's design. 
 
 This great caricaturist was deprived of his reason in 181 1. It 
 was only during his aberrations from his right mind that he was 
 kept close in an upper room of Miss Humphrey's house. The excel- 
 lent lady was unremitting in her care of him, until his death in 181 5, 
 and entirely supported him until death claimed the remains which 
 disease had left of the great satirist. 
 
 It is doubtful whether Gillray had any pension or allowance 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 from Government, as some persons have stated ; however that 
 may be, at his death he left a thousand guineas. 
 
 His natural temperament was excitable. Sometimes he would 
 at once etch a subject on the prepared copper-plate, of which he 
 constantly kept a stock, unable even to submit to the process 
 of drawing it on paper. 
 
 When etching he worked furiously, without stopping to remove 
 the burr thrown up by the etching-needle ; consequently his fingers 
 often bled from being cut by it. 
 
 During one of his paroxysms of insanity he attempted to throw 
 himself from an attic window. The struggle which saved him was 
 witnessed by Mr. Kenny Meadows, who happened to be passing 
 at the time. 
 
 The withdrawal of Gillray from the field of caricature caused 
 an opening for the talents of Rowlandson, to whom soon succeeded 
 George Cruikshank. 
 
 The popularity achieved by Gillray of necessity declined, 
 though his works were, and are still, sought by collectors. 
 
 Miss Humphrey naturally placed a high value on the copper- 
 plates, which had for years yielded her a considerable sum. 
 When in want of money she pledged them for a thousand pounds. 
 This sum, however, was never repaid in full. Compelled to try to 
 raise money on them, she put so high a reserved price on the 
 property, when submitted to auction, that no bidder appeared. 
 Mr. H. Bohn offered her five hundred pounds, but the offer was 
 declined. At the death of Miss Humphrey the original plates 
 were sold for old copper, and at that rate were purchased by 
 Mr. H. Bohn ; consequently, he could re-publish the selected 
 caricatures at a much less price than at any time previous. 
 
 A new edition, comprising 400 of Gillray's caricatures, has 
 just been published by Messrs. Chatto and Co., the letterpress 
 being contributed by the eminent antiquary and author, Thomas 
 Wright, M.A., F.S.A., &c. 
 
 A tablet is erected to the memory of Gillray in St. James's 
 Church, Piccadilly. 
 
FOLIO XV. 
 
 Mezzotint Engraving erroneously attributed to Prince Rupert. — Adopted by Caricaturists. — This 
 mode of Engraving described. — Caricaturists coeval with Gillray and Rowlandson. — Thomas 
 Rowlandson, born 1756. — Talented but idle. — Political Caricatures by him. — Reproduction of 
 his Style of Etching.— Fall of Napoleon. — Tinted Drawings by Rowlandson popular. — His 
 death in 1 827. — Caricaturists between Rowlandson and Robert Seymour. — Robeit Seymour, 
 born 1798. — Apprenticed to a Pattern Draughtsman. — Paints " Diablerie " in Oil. — Designs 
 Caricatures for Bell's Life in London and Figaro (the first). — Etches Designs for the Book of 
 Christmas. — Draws on Stone. — "A Volume of Sketches." — Originates the celebrated Pick- 
 wick Club. — Sad quariel with the satirist, Gilbert k Beckett. — Commences the Pickwick 
 Club with Charles Dickens. — Mental Distress and Suicide, 1836. 
 
 t 
 
 NE of the easiest modes of engraving is mezzotint ; it 
 has therefore been employed at various dates by 
 caricaturists. This style is alluded to chronologically, 
 on page 59. In the hands of an accomplished artist, 
 mezzotint produces most beautiful effects of light and 
 shade, and when mixed with etching and stipple or dot, 
 is capable of rivalling an oil picture in force of effect, 
 and of testing the artistic feeling and power of the engraver. As 
 before stated, to Prince Rupert is generally attributed the 
 invention of this style, but erroneously so, for the Prince himself 
 was taught by an officer in the service of the Landgrave of Hesse 
 Cassel, named Louis von Siegen. When in Holland, the Prince 
 learned to engrave in this way, and on the Restoration, he 
 accompanied Charles II. to England. He certainly allowed 
 John Evelyn to suppose, and to state, that he (Rupert) was the 
 inventor of mezzotint. Von Siegen engraved, or scraped, a portrait 
 of the Queen of Bohemia in 1642, which gives a date fifteen years 
 before any known work by Prince Rupert. 
 
 Mezzotint is a peculiar style of engraving, different from all 
 others. A smooth plate of copper, by means of a toothed chisel 
 rocked with strength over it, is dug into innumerable minute holes. 
 This chisel or grounder, or cradle, is rocked to the right and left, in 
 every imaginable direction, so that all over the plate there is a kind 
 
AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 of metal nap or burr, which, under the copper-plate printing press, 
 will yield a rich, deep, uniform black. This is called the ground, 
 and is ready for the artist. The design being drawn in pencil on 
 the surface of the ground, the lights of the intended engraving 
 are then cut or scraped away ; then the half-tints, and so on, by 
 means of a scraper and a burnisher, working from dark to light — 
 that is, from the deep shades to the lights. In this way Earlom, 
 MacArdell, Valentine Green, and the Watsons, English engravers 
 in mezzotint, have produced many most beautiful works. If 
 however the design is effectively etched, and stipple or dot 
 engraving freely employed, then the mezzotinto ground being 
 laid over that work, the effect is wonderfully improved. 
 
 The works in this mixed style, as it is called, give a greater 
 number of prints than can be obtained from simple mezzotint. 
 Samuel Reynolds, George Clint, Lupton, Messrs. Cousins, and the 
 present engravers, Bellin, Bacon, Simmonds, &c, have produced 
 a great number of beautiful plates. There is a facility about this 
 mode of engraving, when compared with the difficult, tedious, 
 and' expensive style of line engraving that has caused the 
 "mixed style" to entirely supersede, in England, the fine grand 
 style of line engraving. This is one of the consequences of the 
 present " fast " existence, produced by railroads and rapid transit. 
 Publishers and lovers of art, cannot wait, as formerly, during a 
 period of several years, for the completion of a fine engraving, 
 and it is much to be feared that this style of art, like that of gem- 
 sculpture, will before long die out. Doo, Robinson, Watt, 
 Finden, and line engravers of their rank, would at the present 
 time starve for want of employment. 
 
 Of latter years, steel plates have been used instead of copper, 
 consequently a much greater number of impressions can be 
 obtained. A plate by Thomas Lupton seems to have been the 
 first instance of a steel plate used for mezzotint ; but in regard to 
 the employment of plates of various metals, upon which designs 
 were etched, steel or iron plates were used early in the history 
 of the art of engraving, also copper, brass, and silver. Hans 
 Burgmair etched on an iron plate, as did Hopfer. These plates are 
 now in the print room of the British Museum, and date from the 
 latter end of the fifteenth century. 
 
 Mezzotint has been used in caricature for many years, on 
 account of the rapidity with which a full effect of light and shade 
 can be obtained. Laurie and Whittle, Bowles and Carver, in St. 
 Paul's Church-yard, and Sayer, all published mezzotint carica- 
 tures. From about 1720 to 1800, the numerous subjects of 
 
'3 2 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 different kinds engraved in this style, testify to its popularity. 
 John Collett, J. S. Grimm, Hogarth, and other artists whose works 
 are less known, supply frequent subjects — all of them unblush- 
 ingly pirated. As mezzotint engravings, they were all bad 
 specimens, but as they were coloured with tints mixed with white, 
 or "body colours," they appear to have pleased the public by 
 their gaudy effects, and were sold in vast numbers. They are 
 still to be met with in some old farm-houses. Mezzotint is 
 exemplified in the engraving after my picture of " Satisfaction," 
 page 13, also in " the Monopolist," page 193. In these subjects 
 the mezzotint ground is laid over an elaborate etching, con- 
 stituting " the mixed style," as it is termed. 
 
 From the time of Gillray to that of George Cruikshank, the 
 field of political and social caricature was occupied by Thomas 
 Rowlandson, Isaac Cruikshank, Captain Topham, Woodward, G. 
 Darley, Captain Hill, J. T. Smith,* Austin, with other minor 
 etchers and amateurs. The purveyors of fun in this period were 
 many, but few became eminent. The youthful days of George, 
 Prince of Wales, and his dissolute conduct, with certain passages 
 in the history of the royal brothers, were by Gillray' s etchiug- 
 needle bequeathed to posterity ; upon the failure of this great 
 caricaturist's powers, his Royal Highness fell to Rowlandson' s 
 share as a subject for pictorial satire. The poor afflicted king, 
 in melancholy retirement at Windsor, was now no longer a mark 
 for savage caricature. 
 
 Isaac Cruikshank, the father of George, was a caricaturist of 
 no mean power, decidedly the best after Gillray and Rowlandson, 
 with whom he competed, or rather whom he accompanied into the 
 arena of caricature. "A Republican Belle," signed I. C, is 
 dated 1794. Pitt and Fox were satirised by him. Some of his 
 productions have point, and are treated very humorously. A 
 great number of caricatures coeval with Gillray and Rcwlandson, 
 have no artist's name on them, but the style of drawing and 
 etching leaves little doubt of their being the work of Isaac 
 Cruikshank. One of his funniest caricatures is called "The 
 Farthing Rushlight." There was at that time a popular comic 
 song thus named, wherein a whole family tried in vain " to blow 
 out the little farthing rushlight ! " Isaac Cruikshank makes 
 poor old King George the farthing rushlight, while the Prince of 
 Wales, Fox, Sheridan, and others, are in vain attempting to blow 
 it out. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 '33 
 
 Thomas Rowlandson. 
 
 Thomas Rowlandson, next to Gillray, was by far the best 
 designer of that time, during which the art of George Cruikshank 
 was gradually developing. Rowlandson was born in the Old 
 Jewry, London, in 1756. His father was a merchant of consider- 
 able standing, but from failing in trade, young Rowlandson had 
 to live by the aid of a rich aunt. Entered as a student at the 
 Royal Academy, he studied art on a regular system, and thus 
 obtained the facility which distinguished his drawings and 
 etchings. In 1784 he is supposed to have published his first 
 caricature, but in 1792 a humorous caricature, entitled "Cold 
 Broth and Calamity," bears his name. After this, he became one 
 of the well-known caricaturists opposed to Fox and his party. 
 With great powers of invention, composition, and drawing, which 
 might have made him a second Hogarth, he neglected study, and 
 falling into irregular habits, disappointed the expectations of Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds and Benjamin West. Neglecting nature, and 
 finding Bunbury's style of design easy and popular, Rowlandson 
 lazily adopted it, and thus merged his great original talent in 
 merely copying Bunbury. Still, in spite of his idle disposition, he 
 unconsciously preserved so much originality, that his works are 
 readily recognised by their peculiar manipulation. He etched 
 with great freedom on copper, and drew a great number of various 
 subjects with a reed pen and indian ink. These he tinted slightly, 
 and thereby produced a pretty and light effect. 
 
 Amongst dealers his drawings are much sought for, though 
 at low prices. As a book illustrator he had considerable employ- 
 ment. In the field of caricature he became eminent for force 
 and freedom. Pitt, Fox, Sheridan, Lords Thurlow, North, and 
 Derby were all caricatured by him, as well as the Prince of Wales, 
 who in after years deservedly received castigation from the pencil 
 of George Cruikshank. 
 
 Rowlandson' s drawings and caricatures possess great merit, 
 and are preserved in the art collections of the nobility and gentry 
 throughout the United Kingdom. His style of etching has a 
 preponderance of curved forms, and an abundance of dots in the 
 shading ; but his peculiar manner can only be understood by 
 examining his works. Thanks to photography, a specimen can be 
 here shown, line for line, dot for dot. 
 
 The example selected for Group 37 is one of his most elaborate 
 caricatures, done for the Anti-Jacobin Review, a periodical which 
 had secured the services of the two great caricaturists of the day 
 
'34 
 
 AN ESSAV ON 
 
 — Gillray and Rowlandson. The subject is the well-worn one, the 
 great Revolution in France. It is entitled "A Charm for a 
 Democracy Reviewed, Analyzed, and Destroyed, January ist, 
 1799, to the Confusion of its Affiliated Friends." Its date is 
 February ist, 1799, published by J. Whittle, Peterborough Court, 
 Fleet Street. The incantation scene in Macbeth evidently supplied 
 the idea. The three witches are Home Tooke, Sheridan, and 
 Edmund Burke before his separation from the Whig party. The 
 cauldron is supplied by them with regal blood and wholesale lies. 
 
 " Thrice and twice kings' heads have fallen ! " 
 
 forms the burden of the incantation song. The demon of blood 
 and anarchy, supported by the dogs of war, presides over the 
 diabolical rites. He bids the witches — 
 
 " Pour in streams of regal blood, 
 Then the charm is fresh and good." 
 
 The cauldron contains — 
 
 " Eye of Straw (Jack) and toe of Cade, 
 Tyler's bow (Wat), Kosciusko's blade, 
 Russell's liver, tongue of cur, 
 Norfolk's boldness, Fox's fur ; 
 Add thereto a tyger's chauldron 
 For the ingredient of our cauldron." 
 
 This precious cauldron is heated by the popular revolutionary 
 books of that day, burning under it to the loud music of an imp, 
 representing the Courier newspaper. From the hell-broth arise 
 monsters, named Price, Voltaire, and Robespierre. The assistant 
 spectators are the Dukes of Bedford and Norfolk. The first 
 exclaims: "Where are they? Gone! Pocketed the Church 
 and poor-lands — the tythes next!" Norfolk says: "Oh, fallen 
 sovereignty ! degraded counsellor ! " Lord Derby, with his very 
 extraordinary profile, says : " Poor Joe is done ! No Test or Cor- 
 poration acts!" A second group consists of Fox, ragged and 
 ill-dressed, who says : " Where shall I hide my degraded head ! " 
 Lord Erskine, in legal robes, says: "Ah ! woe is me — poor I !" 
 A third figure utters : "Would I had never spoke of the licentious- 
 ness of the press ! " Behind is Sir Francis Burdett. He asks: 
 " What can I report to my friends in the Bastille ? " John Thel- 
 wall, the political lecturer, informs us that he is off to Monmouth- 
 shire. A crowd of unknowns are just entering the Cave of 
 Despair. 
 
GROUP 38. (Page 12>5. 
 
 T. ROWLANDSON. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 '35 
 
 The light and shade of this work is well arranged to support 
 the groups. The composition is varied in line, and the action of 
 the figures appropriate. The whole work is unquestionably an 
 imitation of the style of Gillray, while the finish and shadings are 
 not so elaborated as in Gillray' s similar productions for the same 
 work. 
 
 The smaller illustrations on Group 38 are from his etchings to 
 Fielding's great novel, "Tom Jones," and mark thoroughly 
 Rowlandson's style of etching. 
 
 The upper subject, Lady Bellaston interrupting Tom Jones 
 and Sophia Western while tete-d-tete, is freely designed and 
 etched. The figure of Lady Bellaston is graceful and lady-like. 
 
 The lower illustration is well composed, and the story clearly 
 told. The puppy lord receives with supreme contempt and dis- 
 gust his rough dismissal from Squire Western, whose figure is 
 completely characteristic of Rowlandson's style of design. 
 
 One of Rowlandson's best known works is his "Doctor Syntax 
 in Search of the Picturesque." The figures were etched by 
 him, and the shading aquatinted by Atkinson, a professional 
 engraver. 
 
 These subjects were afterwards coloured by hand, in imitation 
 of Rowlandson's drawings. 
 
 Rowlandson was at home with the etching-needle, and he could 
 use the graver with effect. So much was this the case, that he 
 had plenty of employment, when he chose to accept it, in etching 
 and producing plates, engraved from drawings by Bunbury and 
 other caricaturists, unable to put their original designs on copper. 
 All these works, however, are at once known to be engraved by 
 Rowlandson, whether they bear his name or not; for he seems to 
 have been incapable of imitating any particular style of drawing 
 by other artists or by amateurs. Carelessness, indifference, or 
 vanity may have caused this incapacity ; however this may be, 
 every touch, every line, put by Rowlandson on copper, declare 
 themselves to have emanated from his hand alone. 
 
 Group 39 consists of ten examples selected from Rowlandson's 
 political caricatures. 
 
 The centre subject, dated 1784, is called " Britannia Aroused, 
 or the Coalition Monsters Destroyed," and is conceived in a 
 spirit quite worthy of an historical painter. Britannia, enraged 
 at the " Coalition," seizes Fox in her right hand, and hurls him 
 aloft, before smashing him on her shield. Poor Lord North is 
 being strangled, and presents a ludicrous appearance under her 
 grip. The figure of Britannia is heroic in form and action, and 
 
i 3 6 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 designed with great power — quite sufficient to show that, had 
 Rowlandson steadily pursued art, he might have attained emi- 
 nence as a painter in oil. At the sides are the "Two Kings of 
 Terror." 
 
 The overthrow of Napoleon the First, in 1813, was celebrated 
 by illuminations and public rejoicings in London. For Acker- 
 mann, the celebrated print publisher, Rowlandson painted a large 
 transparency, the subject being Napoleon face to face with death. 
 The skeleton, seated on a cannon, "grins horribly a ghastly 
 smile" at the fallen Emperor, whose attitude is comically con- 
 ceived, and whose face expresses bewildering terror. 
 
 The upper illustration represents Napoleon tossed in a blanket 
 by the Allied Sovereigns. Date, 1813. 
 
 The Prince of Wales, wearing the three ostrich feathers, is 
 selected from a caricature in which his royal highness is repre- 
 sented exhausted by his debauchery; while Fox, as a gigantic 
 toad, is rousing him to renewed vicious action. 
 
 The refined head is that of Pitt, as an auctioneer, knocking 
 down with the hammer of " Prerogative" Lot 1 — " The rights 
 of the People." 
 
 The abusive, swearing chancellor, old Thurlow, figures here as 
 a vulture, a rapacious bird of prey, especially significant of 
 lawyers' practice in the estimation of caricaturists. 
 
 The lowermost illustration represents Pitt and Fox playing at 
 football with the India Bill; dated February, 1784. Billy Lack- 
 beard (Pitt) kicks at the India House ; while Charley Blackbeard 
 (Fox) gives another kick at it. Reform in our Indian possessions 
 was sadly needed at this time, so Fox brought in a bill which, 
 upon party considerations, was by the Commons kicked out. Pitt 
 then brought in one of his own, which the opposition party as 
 unceremoniously kicked out too. 
 
 The head to the right of the group is intended for Pitt as 
 Apollo, wounding the serpent " Faction." 
 
 These representations are really flattering portraits of the 
 youthful prime minister. They are refined both in design and 
 execution, and lead to the conclusion that Rowlandson was paying 
 court to Pitt. They show a delicacy of feeling, and treatment 
 for portraiture, which cause regret that the promise of his youth 
 should have failed to be fulfilled in his subsequent career as an 
 artist. 
 
 The remaining grotesque head represents Russia as one of the 
 Powers, tossing Napoleon in a blanket. 
 
 In his latter life, Rowlandson's style of drawing was an exag- 
 
GROUP 39. 
 
 (Page 135. 
 
 ROWLANDSON. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 >37 
 
 gerated imitation of Bunbury's designs. This is to be regretted. 
 He was one of those artists who never worked con amove, but only 
 for existence. Thus, with little trouble and no study, he could 
 rapidly throw off these Bunbury plagiarisms at his ease, especially 
 as the dealers caught them up and sold them as genuine speci- 
 mens of his talents. Ackermann, the publisher in the Strand, was 
 one of his most steady employers. 
 
 Careless and unthrifty throughout his life, he neglected to lay 
 by any store against the loss of employment consequent upon age. 
 He therefore died in poverty in 1827, aged seventy-one, at his 
 lodgings in the Adelphi. 
 
 Bunbury and Gillray were contemporaries of Rowlandson. In 
 the meantime, George Cruikshank had become eminent; a number 
 of other artists were more or less popular — Joe Lisle, W. Heath, 
 H. Heath, Dighton, "Paul Pry," ME Esquire, Hunt, Penny, R. 
 Cruikshank, Jones, Theodore Lane, &c, fill up the space between 
 Rowlandson and Robert Seymour. 
 
 The art of caricature at this period continued on a dead level, 
 excepting only the works of George Cruikshank. Etching in 
 the hands of H. Heath, whose audacity in attacking royal and 
 noble personages was astounding, certainly bore a very free cha- 
 racter with free etching ; but designs at this time were mostly poor 
 of invention and spiritless as etchings, their defects being covered 
 up by aquatint shading and colouring by hand. The publishers 
 were said to be S. Gans, Swing, McLean, McFat, and other 
 assumed names. 
 
 Robert Seymour. 
 
 In etching, drawing on wood, and in pen-and-ink lithography, 
 Robert Seymour, born in 1798, holds a conspicuous place. The 
 son of a well-to-do pattern draughtsman, he bore the name of his 
 mother only. After a sadly neglected education, he was taken 
 into his father's office, where he was taught to draw very neatly in 
 pencil and water-colours. The training his hand thus received 
 enabled him to draw with clearness and decision on wood, and to 
 paint miniature portraits. Like most juveniles in art, the grand 
 and mysterious for a time held great sway in his aspirations. 
 German "diablerie" and " Der Freischutz " being at that time 
 in the height of popularity, Seymour's study led him to scenes 
 in "Faust" and Weber's great opera. Several "bedevilled" 
 pictures were the result of this paroxysm of mysterious art. For 
 years these pictures were for sale at the Bazaar in Baker Street ; 
 their ultimate fate is not known. 
 
 T 
 
'38 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 The great success achieved by George Cruikshank in etching 
 on copper stimulated Seymour to take up the etching-needle, and 
 enter upon the mysteries of " biting in." The etchings he did 
 first on copper were for a book on Christmas and its usages ; but 
 they are not favourable specimens of his power. The material 
 was new to him, and the etching-needle he found difficult to 
 manage ; altogether, though the invention and composition were 
 there, the entire effect of the designs was poor, thin, and feeble. 
 
 In drawing on wood Seymour was at his best. He for some 
 time made political caricatures for the original Figaro in London, 
 edited by Gilbert a Beckett ; but as a Beckett was a bad pay- 
 master, this engagement was not of long continuance, nor were 
 the subjects equal to those of contemporary caricaturists — W. 
 Heath and the Cruikshanks, especially George. He also drew 
 numerous comic scenes for Bell' 's Life in London. 
 
 By Chapman and Hall Seymour was employed to illustrate 
 some short tales, written principally by " Boz." These illustra- 
 tions on wood are by far the best specimens of his talent. They 
 were engraved by John Jackson himself ; the drawings, therefore, 
 lost not an atom of their funny spirit. 
 
 At this time lithography was comparatively new in England. 
 Seymour entered upon it with much success. 
 
 Of his works in this new style of caricature examples are given, 
 selected from " Seymour's Sketches," which consist of a hundred 
 and eighty subjects ; the fun here exhibited obtained for him 
 great reputation. 
 
 These are drawn on stone with small flexible steel pens and 
 lithographic ink, made by rubbing up sticks of lithographic chalk 
 with water. The chalk is a composition of lamp-black, wax, tallow, 
 soap, and shellac. 
 
 In this way the designs were made on a soft calcareous stone, 
 imported from Germany. 
 
 Pen-and-ink drawing on stone differs from ordinary lithography 
 only in the use of a pen instead of chalk. The treatment of the 
 drawing and of the stone is the same, and is described in con- 
 nection with the celebrated lithographic drawings by "HB." 
 Drawings with the pen on stone resemble those in pen and ink on 
 paper or card-board. 
 
 This mode of multiplying designs is an easy one, and in the 
 hands of Seymour was very effective. His volume of " Sketches " 
 contains a great number of highly humorous designs, principally 
 relating to cockney sporting, and the fun exchanged between 
 men of low rank in life. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 '39 
 
 But Seymour is principally remembered as having been the 
 originator of a cockney sporting club, upon which Charles 
 Dickens, then only known as " Boz," was engaged to write the 
 letter-press. " Boz " named it the " Pickwick Club," and wrote 
 with such prodigality of fun and so much originality, that he 
 literally took the public by storm, and from that moment, to the 
 time when the great novelist passed away from us, Dickens's 
 name was famous throughout the whole civilised world. 
 
 Thus originated the celebrated "Pickwick Club." Of course 
 the illustrations were by Seymour. In these his fund of humour 
 was pre-eminent; but the etching, and "biting in" especially, 
 failed in his hands, the more so as the hard nature of a steel-plate 
 was opposed to freedom of touch such as copper readily permits. 
 In the early part of " Pickwick," however, poor Seymour, cruelly 
 ridiculed for his bad grammar and worse orthography by his 
 former puffer and admirer, Gilbert a Beckett, and harassed by 
 overwhelming work at starvation prices, became deranged in his 
 mind, and committed suicide by shooting himself in the head, 
 April 20th, 1836. 
 
 For downright fun, his exquisitely ridiculous hobbledehoys, 
 his cockney boys, and their doings, are inimitable. These points 
 of humour he picked up on the banks of the New River at Isling- 
 ton, the ponds about the Roman Camp, and the beautiful green 
 lanes at Barnsbury, Canonbury, and Hornsey ; nearly all of which 
 have vanished before the remorseless giants. Steam and Brick-and- 
 mortar ! 
 
 The labours of George Cruikshank had impressed themselves 
 upon the modern school of English graphic satire. Seymour, 
 amongst other artists, studiously imitated him for a considerable 
 time, gaining in this way power in execution ; but having in 
 himself a great fund of peculiar humour, after a time he chose his 
 particular path in the droll scenes of cockneyism, and thus dis- 
 played originality of invention and style of design. 
 
 For Bell's Gallery of comicalities and various works, he made 
 many humorous drawings ; in fact, his rapidity and the extremely 
 low price at which he worked, caused him to be engaged upon 
 almost every cheap periodical then published. 
 
 His funny pictorial illustrations of "New Shakesperian Read- 
 ings" was a decided hit, and proved very remunerative to the 
 publisher. Shakespeare's text in this work received some astound- 
 ing comments ! 
 
 Seymour worked hard, and was extensively employed. For 
 Figaro (the first), 183 1 — 1836, he made three hundred designs. 
 
140 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 For the Comic Magazine he drew a great number on wood. 
 " Vagaries in Search of the Wild and Wonderful" had six 
 etchings by him. For " The Book of Christmas," written by 
 K. T. Hervey, he etched thirty-six plates ; but they are very 
 poor in effect, owing to his want of practice in etching. 
 
 So rapid in design was Seymour, that he frequently received a 
 note naming a subject, and requesting the drawing by return of 
 the messenger, which was done. 
 
 Upon a general average Seymour had but half-a-guinea for a 
 design on wood. 
 
 The frontispiece to Seymour's volume of " Sketches," Group 40, 
 is brimfull of fun, perfectly simple and natural, having no recondite 
 allusion to puzzle the reader. A board, inscribed " Sketches by 
 Seymour," has at its foot a pail marked "Pickle;" in this is a 
 birch-rod. This announcement causes consternation amongst 
 several personages whose heads are to be taken off and " pickle " 
 administered to them. On one side a genuine cockney sportsman 
 holds his head on his body, and "bolts" at once. On the other 
 side a poaching angler moves off in dismay, for fear of his head 
 going. A stout gentleman, with a brandy-bottle in his pocket, 
 has, in his hurry to escape, slipped down, bemoaning his fate. A 
 dandy, horrified, hides behind the board, as well as a skulking 
 footpad. Three other questionable gentlemen hide themselves. 
 As a comic introduction to Seymour's collection of satiric sketches 
 nothing could be better or more appropriate than this very happy, 
 effort of the artist's invention. 
 
 On the left is an illustration of Patience. An enthusiastic 
 angler, perched on some piles in the river, the weather cold and 
 blowing, sits shivering in the hope of catching something to 
 reward his suffering. Poor fellow ! all he can catch is a cold ! 
 On the right of the frontispiece a tired-out angler goes to sleep 
 on the banks of the Thames ; while fast asleep the tide rises up 
 to his knees, and in that helpless state a sneaking thief changes 
 his good hat for a "shocking bad one," besides picking his 
 pockets. A fish runs away with his hook. The coolness of the 
 water suggests a dream that the unlucky angler has gone on a 
 voyage of discovery to the North Pole, and has had his toes 
 frozen ! 
 
 What man or boy, given to " Waltonising," can look at these 
 specimens of cockney " piscators " without sympathizing in their 
 perils by land and water ? Seymour, when at leisure, indulged in 
 a little sport in the suburbs of London, particularly about Putney 
 and Richmond. It is to these relaxations of labour we owe the 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 thoroughly original " Sketches by Seymour," who, while handling 
 the rod, was far more intent upon catching points of humour 
 presented by the enthusiastic cockneys who swarm, in fine 
 weather, on the beautiful banks, and in the leafy nooks of the 
 Thames. _ 
 
 Group 41 contains four selected subjects by Seymour; they 
 are neatly and clearly etched after lithographic pen-and-ink 
 sketches by him. 
 
 " Don't you be saucy, boys ! " is the exclamation of an old 
 gentleman, a patient disciple of Isaak Walton, preparing his 
 hook, and seated comfortably on a bank of the New River. The 
 comic appearance of the elderly gentleman is too much for the 
 young dogs' forbearance, and they are evidently "chaffing him" 
 to their hearts' content, much to the disgust of the said elderly 
 gent. There is much fun in this design ; and it is unquestionably 
 one of those incidents of sporting which Seymour saw daily in 
 his walks about Islington. 
 
 " Shoot away, Bill ; never mind the old woman, she can't 
 get over the wall to us ! " This speech explains the subject of 
 the sketch. 
 
 Two juveniles, prompted by the love of sporting, at that 
 time prevalent amongst cockney boys living at Barnsbury fields 
 and Islington, have secured an old horse-pistol and a penny- 
 worth of gunpowder. Sallying out, intent upon sport, they are 
 about "to bag" a tabby, the beloved property of an old lady, 
 who, with a high wall in front of her, vainly, it may be supposed, 
 exclaims furiously against the impending cat-slaughter. 
 
 "Gone!" How wretchedly significant is the face of the 
 unlucky angler who, after playing a fine fish for a long time, finds 
 its weight too much for his line, when, at the moment of landing 
 it, the fish breaks away, to the horror of the little boy, who in his 
 fright contrives to pitch the basket and the "small fry" already 
 caught into the Thames ! 
 
 " A day's pleasure ! " Paterfamilias and Materfamilias, 
 exulting in the possession of seven olive branches, have had a 
 "day's pleasure!" Tired to death they are wending their way 
 home through a pelting storm of rain, while the little dears are 
 fighting and scratching as savagely as they can ! 
 
 Here we have the cockney holiday, costume, and the child's 
 waggon of "other days." This is one of the many humorous 
 sketches made of cockney life by poor Seymour, at a time when 
 the beautiful rural spots, green lanes, old trees, picturesque 
 inns, houses, and ponds, in the famous old suburbs of Canonbury, 
 
142 
 
 AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 Hornsey, and Islington, attracted crowds of admiring male and 
 female cockneys, boys and hobbledehoys of sporting proclivities. 
 Seymour's talent was original, himself a genuine cockney, he took 
 up the comic phases of cockney enjoyment untouched by any other 
 humorist. His reputation as a graphic satirist rests on these 
 productions. As a political caricaturist, his works were not 
 remarkable for invention or for facile execution ; nor did he 
 produce designs of any size, comparable with the large and 
 elaborate caricatures by Bunbury, Sayer, Gillray, Rowlandson, 
 or George Cruikshank. 
 
GROUP 41. 
 
 &age 14.2 
 
 R. SEYMOUR. 
 
FOLIO XVI. 
 
 CARICATURE FROM GEORGE CRUIKSHANK TO THE REVIVAL OF 
 WOOD ENGRAVING. 
 
 George Cruikshank, born 1792.— His artistic career commenced with assisting his father.— Early 
 Caricatures. — Strong Anti-Gallic feeling expressed by all English Caricaturists. — Bitterly 
 satirizes the Prince Regent and the Old Tory Party. — Derrydown Triangle : Old Bags and the 
 Doctor. — Queen's Matrimonial Ladder. — The Dandy of Sixty. — Political House that jack built. 
 — Non mi Ricordo. — Political Showman. — Slap at Slop.- — His friend, William Hone, tried 
 for Blasphemy and Sedition. — Abandons Political Caricature and produces numerous 
 capital Etchings on Copper and Drawings on Wood. — "Points of Humour." — "Mornings at 
 Bow Street." — " Sketches by Boz." — " Life in London." — " Life in Paris." — Etchings for 
 " Oliver Twist," for " Jack Sheppard," " Tower of London" &c. — Apostle of Temperance. — 
 Glyphography. — " The Bottle." — "The Triumph of Bacchus." — Presented to the National 
 Gallery. — Colonel of a Temperance Corps of Volunteers. — Royal Pension. — Robert Cruik- 
 shank. — Percy Cruikshank. — Lithography invented by Sennefelder, 1795-1798. — Description 
 of the Process. — Adopted by John Doyle, 1830. — Popularity of HB's Sketches. — Mysterious 
 Arlisl ! — Triumphant career of HB during Twenty Years. — Life-like Sketches, and an elegant 
 Pictorial Record of Political History, from 1829 to 1842. 
 
 HRONOLOGICAL order cannot be closely adhered to 
 in a work of this kind, because the lives of artists lap, 
 as it were, over each other. 
 
 Again, as short memoirs of the most eminent 
 caricaturists are given, examples of their works are 
 also introduced, these, though of various dates, are neces- 
 sarily grouped together. A notable instance of this occurs 
 in the case of our veteran artist, George Cruikshank, whose 
 artistic life has already numbered over sixty years, during which 
 time he has been contemporary with Gillray, Rowlandson, Sey- 
 mour, Theodore Lane, John Doyle, R. Doyle, John Leech, and a 
 host of living artists, engaged upon various comic works up to 
 the present hour. 
 
 George Cruikshank. 
 
 In treating of caricature, whether executed with the etching- 
 needle or by drawing on wood, there looms in every part of this 
 
144 
 
 AN ESSAV ON 
 
 popular branch of art the figure of a giant. This is George 
 Cruikshank, who began his career as an ingrained and light 
 political caricaturist, but has ripened of late years into a modern 
 Hogarth. 
 
 Isaac Cruikshank, his father, was himself a clever political 
 caricaturist, commencing practice in 1794, and ending in 18 10. 
 He also drew figure subjects in water-colours, according to the 
 taste of his time and the early state of the art. Specimens of his 
 talent are now in the water-colour gallery at Kensington Museum. 
 His two sons, Robert and George, the latter born 1792, assisted 
 him in his work, and soon distinguished themselves as carica- 
 turists and comic designers. 
 
 "George the Great," however, is the name we delight to 
 honour. For more than sixty years this veteran in art has 
 produced admirable works of humour, in number almost beyond 
 calculation. " He might load a cart with his plates, copper and 
 steel, and his block drawings," he said in reply to a question as 
 to the number of his works. Not only quantity, but quality 
 especially, will preserve the name of George Cruikshank in 
 honour while any love of satire or humour exists in this or any 
 civilised country. 
 
 In 1 81 5 he etched some subjects on the Corn Laws, and 
 carried on that anti-Gallic, or rather anti-Bonapartist spirit 
 which Gillray before him, and caricaturists of even the present 
 day have preserved. 
 
 " Boney Snuffed Out," a caricature representing Boney as 
 a candle, his legs jammed into the candlestick. In great terror 
 he sees a huge pair of snuffers seizing him, which well ex- 
 presses the downfall of the Emperor, Napoleon I. The invention 
 is clever and the etching well done. The subject is marked 
 G. C, 1814. 
 
 Political and social subjects, the royal family and the court, 
 with the absurdities of fashion, afforded him plenty of employ- 
 ment. " Dandies and Dandizettes " were unmercifully lashed by 
 him. So was the rage for "velocipede riding," the precursor of 
 the present "bicycle" infatuation. 
 
 In designing caricatures of this kind, and producing humorous 
 illustrations to various books, he occupied himself for some years, 
 occasionally indulging in hints of a free sort, at that time 
 considered as necessary to satire. 
 
 The conduct of the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV., to 
 his wife Caroline, gave great public offence, and exposed him to 
 satirical attacks and to biting caricatures. When he ascended the 
 
GROUP 42. 
 
 Page 
 
 WOOD-ENQRAVINS 
 
 CARICATURES ON GEORGE IV. AND HIS MINISTERS. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 throne, as George IV., and proceeded to bring his injured Queen 
 to trial, the public indignation knew no bounds ; the wretched 
 Italians brought over as witnesses against her Majesty were 
 obliged to be guarded day and night from the London mob, and 
 kept close in a ship moored in the middle of the Thames. 
 
 Besides this, various State trials for treason, and numerous 
 tyrannical acts of the Government, kept* the public mind in a state 
 of ferment. William Hone, a clever squib-writer and bookseller on 
 Ludgate Hill, produced some satirical pamphlets, and engaged 
 George Cruikshank to make the designs for them. " The Political 
 House that Jack Built;" "The Queen's Matrimonial Ladder, 
 1820;" " Non mi ricordo, 1820;" "The Political Showman, 
 1 82 1 ; " " Slap at Slop ; " all exactly met the public feeling, sold 
 as fast as the press could throw off copies, and, owing to the 
 audacity and drollery of George Cruikshank, obtained him great 
 celebrity and established his reputation as the most eminent 
 caricaturist of the day. The King's extravagance, his vanity, love 
 t of dress, display of wretched taste at the Pavilion at Brighton, 
 and his general selfish conduct, rendered him a constant butt for 
 the shafts of wits and of caricaturists. 
 
 Group 42 gives six examples of these political squibs, and are 
 taken from a pamphlet published by William Hone, and called 
 "The Political Showman." " A Prime Crutch," is a caricature 
 of Lord Liverpool ; he is represented as a broken crutch rising 
 from the infirmary at Westminster, indicating his weak adminis- 
 tration. He had rendered himself odious to the people by a Bill 
 of Degradation and Divorce against Queen Caroline, date 182 1. 
 
 The grotesque design called " Bags " gives a likeness of the 
 Lord Chancellor, Eldon ; his wig is composed of two bags of 
 money, and his body of the bag which contains the Great Seal 
 of England. He figures here from being one of the ministers 
 and advisers of his sacred Majesty ! 
 
 " The Doctor " is a joke upon the medical parentage of Lord 
 Sidmouth. His portrait is caricatured, of course, and his hair 
 is dressed with a doctor's label, inscribed, " When taken to be 
 well shaken!" a physic-bottle does duty for a body. Lord 
 Sidmouth was also one of his Majesty's advisers. The design 
 is called " a Dejection." The animated dagger is named 
 " Dirkpatrick," and represents the ill-fated Lord Castlereagh ; 
 the shamrock indicates Ireland, in which country his name was 
 abhorred; the cat-o' -nine tails he wields indicates him to be an 
 advocate for flogging in the army, while the dagger, dripping 
 with blood, represents him as the instrument by which cruel 
 
AN ESSAF ON 
 
 wounds were inflicted on England. " Deny-down Triangle, 
 old Bags and the Doctor," was a line in the public mouth at 
 this time, by which the three odious ministers, Lords Castle- 
 reagh, Eldon, and Sidmouth, were designated. 
 
 The King devoted much time and study to the jack-boots 
 and equipments of his expensive regiment of Guards, and thus 
 drew upon himself the ridicule of the public. George Cruik- 
 shank now caricatured the King as a pampered, fat dandy, laced 
 up in a military coat, wearing jack-boots and an exquisitely- 
 curled wig. He was called " The Dandy of Sixty." 
 
 " The Dandy of Sixty, who bows with a grace, 
 And has taste in — wigs, collars, cuirasses an, i l ;)cc ! " 
 
 This caricature had an enormous sale. The King was greatly 
 offended by it, and the court toadies were utterly disgusted. 
 Lord Castlereagh, supposing himself to be personally unknown 
 to Hone, was mean enough to try to entrap him into an admis- 
 sion that this caricature was meant to ridicule the King. 
 Calling at Hone's shop, and examining one of these prints, 
 my lord said to Hone, "Who is this?" "I don't know," was 
 the reply, upon which his lordship said, " Why, this is the King ! " 
 A copy or two were purchased, and my lord left the shop. The 
 instant he had left, Hone wafered a copy up in the window of his 
 shop, inscribed thus : " Lord Castlereagh says this is the King ! " 
 Crowd after crowd came to the shop to see and to enjoy the fun. 
 
 From this time a mere pair of military boots, with or without 
 a figure, drawn by George Cruikshank, was certain to provoke a 
 roar of laughter from the crowds attracted to Hone's shop-window. 
 An example of this is given in Group 42, in which a pair of 
 boots is running away from the brilliant light shed by the printing- 
 press. The title is " The Great Boots! " date 1822. Beneath is 
 another pair of " Great Boots," emptied, with the crown and 
 other rubbish, from a slop-pail. This is from a pamphlet, also 
 published by Hone, in 1822, called a " Slap at Slop." 
 
 A Mr. Murray was the principal of a Society got up by the 
 Tory party for the express purpose of gagging the press, and 
 punishing caricaturists as libellers. Murray was called " Doctor 
 Slop," and his precious " Society," the "Slop-pail" — hence, the 
 present caricature. 
 
 Though the "Bill of Pains and Penalties" against the poor 
 Queen was abandoned, it gave a death-blow to any little popu- 
 larity George IV. enjoyed. Her death and funeral were disgrace- 
 ful to the King and his ministers. Proceedings of this kind 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 H7 
 
 laid them all open to savage attacks by satirists and carica- 
 turists, whom the " Slop-pail Society " in vain tried to muzde. 
 
 George Cruikshank's caricatures now attained such vast 
 popularity, that Hone is said to have realised ^10,000 profit 
 on the sale of the pamphlets containing them ; of this sum very 
 little found its way into the artist's pocket. This work ended 
 George Cruikshank's engagement with Hone. 
 
 Soon after this, Hone, against the advice of Cruikshank, 
 rashly embarked in a series of parodies on the Church-service 
 and portions of Holy Scripture, by which he alienated his political 
 friends, and incurred a trial at the Old Bailey sessions, on a 
 charge of blasphemy. With some difficulty, he was acquitted, 
 because the jury saw clearly that political persecution was the 
 object of the indictment, rather than a desire to protect religion. 
 
 In the centre of Group 42 is a portrait of George Cruikshank, 
 sketched by D. Maclise, R.A., in 1833, selected from a gallery 
 of distinguished men, published in Frazer's Magazine. 
 
 The great popularity enjoyed by Cruikshank, procured for 
 him many wealthy and influential friends, who induced him to 
 abandon personal or political caricature, adhere to works of 
 humour, and to make drawings for folios. From this time, there- 
 fore, he bade adieu to caricature, and employed his facile pencil 
 in illustrating books. In a large miscellaneous collection of 
 caricatures in the Library of the British Museum, we find that 
 George Cruikshank's name appears to several in 1808, probably 
 done while a pupil with his father; but his caricature of " Boney 
 snuffed out," dated 1814, having first excited public attention, is 
 by some writers considered as his earliest effort. Many of these 
 early designs, though free, have the lines " bitten " so deep that 
 they have a thick, heavy appearance ; possibly owing to the hurry 
 in which caricatures are dashed off, to meet the public opinion on 
 any recent event. 
 
 Cruikshank, like Gillray and Rowlandson, assisted with his 
 talents, the birth of many caricatures by amateurs — amongst them, 
 best known, were Captain Heel, Woodward, and Dalrymple ; for 
 the latter, he drew some subjects on stone ; these, however, are 
 not favourable examples of his powers. 
 
 He certainly bore very hard upon h'.s Royal Highness the 
 Regent, and " Old Snuffy," the familiar name for Queen Charlotte ; 
 also on the principal personages at the Court. Dr. Jenner and 
 vaccination he also ridiculed. Gas-lighting, velocipedes, fashions, 
 dandies and dandizettes, and Frenchmen, also came in for their 
 share of George's pictorial wit. The Meteor, Town Talk, the 
 
148 
 
 AN ESSAF ON 
 
 Scourge, and the Satirist, all are satirical works which benefited 
 by his comic political designs. 
 
 Cruikshank's great talents secured him numerous friends in 
 good position and of influence in society ; by these the genuine hu- 
 mour and facile etching of subjects apart from personal caricature 
 were highly appreciated. Drawings by him were purchased with 
 avidity, and publishers gladly availed themselves of his talent. 
 Of these, "Points of Humour," "Mornings at Bow Street," 
 " Life in London," " Life in Paris," and numerous pure etch- 
 ings by him were published with great success. Illustrations to 
 Roscoe's edition of English novelists, to Scott's novels, the 
 " Comic Almanacks," and such works, engaged him until Charles 
 Dickens and Harrison Ainsworth rose into notice as novelists. 
 
 Engaged upon " Sketches by Boz," this set was followed by 
 his excellent designs for the famous " Oliver Twist," by his 
 great work "The Bottle," and by his beautiful etchings on steel 
 to "Jack Sheppard," " The Tower of London," and " Herne the 
 Hunter " — novels by Mr. Harrison Ainsworth. His etchings to 
 "Jack Sheppard" are of far more artistic value than the book 
 itself deserves ; but he did his utmost for the author, and for an 
 ungrateful publisher. In the scenes depicted in " Jack Sheppard," 
 Cruikshank identifies himself with Hogarth and his times, studying 
 carefully every detail which would add to the interest or verisimili- 
 tude of the proposed scene. The invention, composition, drawing, 
 characters, light and shade, are so many designs or studies for 
 Hogarthian pictures, while the etching is really so exquisite as to 
 entitle them to a first position in a collection of etchings by artists 
 who are not professional engravers. The illustrations to "Jack 
 Sheppard" are amongst the finest of Cruikshank's works. 
 
 Perhaps no work so unpretending, yet satirical, ever met with 
 greater success than Cruikshank's etching, entitled, " Ignorance 
 is Bliss," Group 43. Here a full-blown " Jeames " airs his livery 
 and his exquisite person at the door of his master's mansion. 
 Picking his teeth, he languidly asks a fellow-parasite opposite, 
 "What is taxes, Thomas?" who replies with the most sublime 
 indifference, "I'm sure I don't know." The fat dog, the 
 mountain of mummy asleep in the hall chair, help to show 
 the happy state of existence enjoyed by these brethren of the 
 plush, who become bloated at their master's expense. 
 
 Of the merely humorous vein, a good example of fun and free 
 etching is given in the illustration for August, selected for the 
 "Comic Almanack." " Sic omnes /" presents us with the deck 
 of a Boulogne steamer, and the various afflicted passengers, in 
 
GROUP 43. Page 148. 
 
 IGNORANCE IS BLISS. 
 
 AUGUST. "Sic Omnesr 
 
 G. CRUIKSHANK. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 149 
 
 a stiff breeze and chopping sea, so often met with in crossing the 
 Channel. The woe-begone Frenchman is at once an object of 
 pity and of laughter. It is a grand specimen of fun and national 
 anti-Gallic feeling ; nor is the distressed Paterfamilias, loaded 
 with his olive-branches, one of the least mirth-moving figures on 
 board. Every one on deck has a marked and distinct character, 
 and the entire scene is so truly represented, as almost to revive 
 too vividly certain passages in the experience of cockney tourists. 
 
 Of his great serial work, " The Bottle," in twelve sheets, the 
 immense popularity it obtained is perhaps its best commendation. 
 From the " Gin Lane" of Hogarth to the present hour, drunken- 
 ness has been the curse of the working classes, not that this 
 vice is banished from the upper ranks of life, but the refinement 
 attendant on education, travel, and general information, has 
 wonderfully altered the after-dinner indulgence in wine, so much 
 so that inebriation is an exception where it was formerly a rule. 
 
 " The Bottle," by Cruikshank, does not harrow up the feelings 
 by incidents revolting to humanity, such as in the sledge-hammer 
 production of Hogarth, entitled " Gin Lane ; " but Cruikshank,' in 
 this series, appeals to the better feelings of the working classes, 
 and by a happy scene in a happy home, shows how the " gin- 
 bottle " — a destroying fiend — is introduced, blasting the happi- 
 ness, industry, health, prosperity, and prospects of a hitherto 
 happy family. Anything in art better calculated to check this 
 consuming vice cannot be conceived. But while the progress of 
 general education is but slow, the homes of the poor mere 
 horrible dens, full of bad smells and disease, while demagogues 
 inculcate "strikes," and consequent poverty, it is much to be 
 feared that the stimulus of ardent spirits will be ever resorted to. 
 
 No man, favourably placed as to home, employment, health, 
 and fresh air, with an amiable wife and good children, could 
 fail to turn over the series of illustrations in Cruikshank' s 
 "Bottle" without pausing before he commenced the downward 
 path to destitution, misery r , and crime so ably delineated by 
 our great satirist. Group 44. 
 
 Two out of the designs are given, and pity it is that space 
 will not admit of more. - The series consists of twelve designs, 
 in which, like Hogarth, Cruikshank traces, as in the acts of a 
 domestic tragedy, the sad, the miserable career of a working 
 man, his wife, and son, and daughter. The wife is murdered by 
 " the Bottle ; " the husband becomes a madman ; his son, a thief ; 
 and his daughter ends a short life of vice by leaping from London 
 Bridge into the black river beneath. 
 
AN ESSAY ON 
 
 The first of these celebrated designs represents a happy home, 
 with an industrious wife. The owner of this is a respectable 
 working- man, honest and temperate, proud of his home, his wife, 
 his daughter, and his son. Contentment and happiness appear 
 in every detail so ingeniously introduced by the artist. In an 
 evil hour, the "goose clubs" of gin shops induce the husband 
 to subscribe for a tough bird and a " bottle of gin." 
 
 As the tiger is said to desire more human blood after the first 
 taste, so the accursed spirit, Gin, after the exhaustion of the first 
 bottle, causes the husband to buy more. The wife at first objects ; 
 but, after a time, one glass is followed by another, till a love of 
 liquor seizes this unfortunate family, and works its downfall. 
 
 The selection shows the introduction of the fiend, in " The 
 Bottle," to a happy home. Drunkenness induces idleness, idleness 
 brings on poverty, the home is broken up, the goods seized for 
 rent, and the former happy family are now drunken outcasts. 
 Mutual recrimination ensues, a fierce quarrel takes place, and, 
 in a fit of drunken fury, the husband strikes down his wife with 
 " the Bottle." The design selected gives this terrific scene with 
 great power. 
 
 To say that this series of designs enjoys a deserved and vast 
 popularity, is only to speak of a fact known to every one. Lectures, 
 dissolving views, and dramas, have carried this great moral lesson 
 into every household in the United Kingdom. But, independent 
 of the good intended to be effected by "The Bottle," the series 
 possesses an interest to the amateur of art that is little, if at all, 
 known, it being executed in a style of art now abandoned, called 
 " glyphography." 
 
 This process consists in covering a smooth, hard, steel plate 
 with a white varnish, which will allow of being drawn on 
 without chipping, or detaching itself from the plate. The design 
 is to be etched through this varnish, down to the steel plate ; for 
 the narrow lines a sharp point is used, for the broad lines a broad 
 point. A metal cast is then taken, by which the etched lines are 
 obtained in relief, when, by judicious management, an impression 
 can be taken at the usual type-press. 
 
 In Cruikshank's practice, all the modes of producing prints, 
 excepting lithography and its branches, have been employed : — 
 first, pure etching on copper ; next, the re-introduction of wood- 
 engraving ; then, etching on steel ; and, lastly, the process just 
 described, "glyphography." At the present time, early in 1874, 
 Cruikshank is republishing his best series of comic etchings, 
 and availing himself of modern chemical science applied to art. 
 
GLYPHOGR APH y 
 
GROUP 45. (Page 151. 
 
 UTHGCRAPH 1. WOOD-ENCflAVfut 
 
 G. CRU IK SHANK. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 His etchings on copper are now, by an ingenious employment of 
 electric agency, rendered hard by a fine deposit of steel over the 
 entire surface and lines of the original etching. By this process 
 large numbers of impressions can be yielded by the plates. Of 
 each of these styles used by our great artist specimens are given 
 in these pages. 
 
 Cruikshank has deservedly obtained a high place in public 
 estimation, not for his talents merely, but for his steady and 
 determined advocacy of the "temperance" movement, and for his 
 public zeal in raising a corps of " Temperance " volunteers, of 
 which he was appointed colonel. 
 
 For many years he has become the apostle of temperance, and 
 to assist so excellent a cause he has painted in oil a large gallery 
 picture, called by him " The Worship of Bacchus." In this 
 elaborate work the entire customs of drinking, whether wine or 
 ardent spirits, are satirised, and we owe to Cruikshank' s close 
 observation the exposure of this extraordinary fact, that no event, 
 social or political, can take place without being too frequently 
 " drowned in the bowl." Numerous friends have purchased this 
 celebrated work and presented it to the National Gallery, where 
 it is most unquestionably doing "the state much service," and is 
 one of the most popular and most admired works of art. 
 
 We see by this our great humorist is not only an accom- 
 plished designer and etcher, but that he has also earned a well- 
 deserved reputation as a painter in oil. 
 
 Our brief notice of this great artist cannot be better concluded 
 than by giving a grotesque figure, but a good likeness, of our old 
 friend at the present time. It is one of the series of lithographic 
 portraits published in the Hornet, December 6th, 1871, and 
 contrasts well with the youthful one in Group 42. Above and 
 below are specimens of Cruikshank' s talent in drawing on wood, 
 also of his advocacy of temperance. They are illustrations 
 selected from his own satirical pamphlet, called the " House that 
 Jack Built" — the house being a temple of worship for wine, 
 spirits, and beer. This little work was published and sold at 
 one penny per copy. The object is to place before the public the 
 effects of drinking, the interests which maintain this evil habit, 
 and the apathy of the clergy, the magistrates, and law-makers in 
 both Houses of Parliament. Group 45. 
 
 In one of these wood-cuts the favourite pastime of wife-beating 
 is set forth. In the other we have a truly Cruikshankian group 
 of " Brewers so Jolly" and " Distillers so Grand," who keep up 
 the " House that Jack Built." 
 
1 52 AN ESSAF ON 
 
 As a mark of royal favour, Cruikshank has also been placed 
 by Mr. Gladstone on her Majesty's pension list. 
 
 Mr. George Cruikshank is now over eighty years of age, and en- 
 joys good health. Long may it continue ! and long may he remain 
 with us ! To him belongs the great merit of being the foremost 
 artist to banish coarseness from comic art and caricature, and when 
 we add to this his exertions in banishing drunken customs, it must 
 be admitted that he has lived a life of usefulness to his fellow mortals. 
 
 Robert Cruikshank, his brother, was three years older than 
 George. Educated in their father's studio, both brothers ac- 
 quired a similarity of style, in execution, in drawing, and in inven- 
 tion. He studied portrait painting for some time, but much of his 
 early life was passed at sea. Comic art, in which his brother 
 George was becoming eminent, held out allurements to him, and 
 he again took up the etching-needle. Drawing on wood and 
 etching on copper proved in his hands very successful, and for 
 a time Robert Cruikshank lived in good style. 
 
 In externals, such as touch, drawing, and other particulars, the 
 works of one Cruikshank were easily mistaken for the other, and 
 Robert's were by the general public accepted as those of George, 
 especially in book illustrations ; but to the art-student, the charac- 
 ter, variety, superior mode of touching-in the features, the careful 
 and skilful drawing found in George Cruikshank' s works mark 
 their superiority over his brother's; added to which, there is a 
 concentration of thought not met with in the works of other comic 
 artists of their time. 
 
 Robert Cruikshank fell into poverty in his latter days, and 
 died a few years ago. 
 
 His son, Percy Cruikshank, has much of the humour and 
 talent of his father and uncle. Engaged upon Judy and other 
 periodicals, he has shown much comic talent, with neat execution, 
 and bids fair to support the family reputation for graphic satire. 
 
 From the early days of caricature in the sixteenth century, the 
 etching-needle in the hands of Callot, Delia Bella, De Hooghe, 
 Hollar, and his pupils ; of Hogarth, P. Sandby, and Grignion ; 
 then of Syer, George Darley, J. T. Smith, and numerous other 
 etchers of more or less merit, was sufficient for the wants of the 
 public. But when James Gillray commenced his triumphant career, 
 to his bold and vigorous etching on copper-plates of a large size, 
 he added frequently a style of shading known as aquatint. In 
 numerous instances these prints were worked up to a full effect by 
 the aid of hand-colouring. A combination like this was sure to 
 attract public attention, and greatly increase the sale of caricatures, 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 to an extent hitherto unknown ; it took the public by surprise, was 
 most favourably received, and established caricature as one of 
 England's popular institutions. 
 
 From that time, like the staff of life, bread, caricature has 
 become a daily provision necessary to the masses, now more or 
 less educated by the diffusion of political and general knowledge. 
 A change, however, was wrought upon the mode of executing 
 caricature by the introduction of wood engraving, but more espe- 
 cially by the invention of lithography. 
 
 The discovery of the important art of lithography is due to 
 Sennefelder, in 1795, an actor at the Theatre Royal, Munich, who 
 by accident scribbled out his washing bill on a piece of stone 
 lying handy to him. This being done with a piece of black, 
 greasy chalk, he found, to his great surprise, that it gave an 
 impression on damped paper, to which accident also had applied 
 pressure. The invention soon spread over Germany, and was 
 then introduced into France and England. 
 
 Thus arose this important branch of the fine arts called litho- 
 graphy. It made way but slowly in England, and its successful 
 application to political caricature did not take place until 1830, 
 although, as already mentioned, Gillray had tried it. 
 
 By this process, now brought to perfection, the artist's own 
 design, his identical touch, can be multiplied by thousands under 
 the lithographic press. Absolute freedom of touch and real chalk 
 drawings are thus obtained; and for rough work — such as some cari- 
 catures — very little practice is required by any one who can draw. 
 
 Lithography, as its name indicates, is a drawing made on stone, 
 which should be of a calcareous kind, and highly absorbent of 
 liquids. The best is brought from the banks of the Danube, in 
 Bavaria. The stone being ground flat and polished, is then ready 
 for the artist's design. For this a peculiar chalk is prepared of 
 tallow, wax, soap, shellac, and lamp-black. The design being made 
 with this black chalk, the preparation for printing commences by 
 washing the surface of the stone with a weak solution of nitric 
 acid ; after this gum-water is passed over it, and then removed. On 
 wetting the design and the -stone, an ink-roller, properly charged, 
 will deposit by chemical affinity black ink where the greasy lines 
 of the drawing appear ; but by reason of the absorption of water in 
 the other parts of the stone, the ink-roller will not there leave any 
 ink, because of the antipathy between water and grease. The 
 stone thus prepared only requires to have damp paper laid over 
 it, and to be passed through a rolling-press to yield as many im- 
 pressions as may be required. 
 
 x 
 
'54 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 Messrs. Hullmandel and Co., Gavarni, Carbonier, and Lane, 
 A.R.A., Louis Haghe, T. Boys, and numerous landscape artists, 
 have all, in various degrees, improved and practised the beautiful 
 art of lithography. 
 
 (HB). J. Doyle. 
 
 In 1830, Mr. John Doyle, a miniature painter of considerable 
 reputation, took up the art of lithography, and having touched in 
 with great delicacy some portraits on the prepared stone, was 
 induced to continue his practice. Possessing also a talent for 
 satiric design, he essayed, some subjects of this kind on stone, so 
 successfully that, by the advice of Mr. Maclean, the Haymarket 
 publisher, he was prevailed on to prepare some for publication, 
 under the signature of " HB " The novelty of the lithographic 
 art thus applied, and the talent Doyle exhibited in truthful like- 
 ness, having no caricature exaggeration, produced a great sen- 
 sation amongst amateurs of graphic satire. As these satirical 
 designs — called, rather improperly, caricatures — appeared, great 
 anxiety was expressed to know who " HB " was. Mr. Maclean, • 
 however, estimated mystery at its full value, and having in his 
 mind the interest caused by the unknown author of " Waverley," 
 of "Junius," to which must be added the historical puzzle of the 
 celebrated " Man with the Iron Mask," he wisely resolved to nurse 
 this new mystery. Not only did he and Doyle preserve a perfect 
 and mysterious silence as to who " HB " was, but the drawings 
 were called for in a mysterious hackney-coach, mysteriously de- 
 posited in a mysterious lithographic printing-office, and as mys- 
 teriously printed, and mysteriously stored until the right day for 
 publication. 
 
 Then came a host of inquiries. Who was "HB"? Where 
 did he live ? What did he do ? and such questions. Was " HB " 
 Baily, Briggs, Bone ? Was he Henry Brougham ? Was he a 
 bishop? Was he a cabinet minister? Was he high up in the 
 public service ? Did he hold a commission in the Guards ? Who 
 could he be ? In fact he was guessed -to be everything that time 
 proved he was not ! 
 
 The advent of " HB" to the world of political graphic satire 
 produced quite a new epoch in caricature, not only in style, 
 method of execution, invention, but by a certain elegance or 
 gentlemanly feeling infused into his caricatures. Previous to 
 the appearance of "HB's" works, political or social caricature 
 was for the most part in what Thackeray calls " the slashing style." 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 '55 
 
 " HB," like Charles Dickens, in consonance with an increased 
 refinement of the public taste, proved that wit and humour could 
 be indulged in without profanity or coarse allusion. Wit and apt 
 design abound in "HB's" works; there is scarcely one which 
 could not be placed before the victim himself, so devoid are they 
 of scurrility or venomous feeling. This is more than can be said 
 of the works of previous caricaturists. 
 
 In due time the mystery of " HB " was solved. The initials 
 of the artist, John Doyle, doubled, became the celebrated signa- 
 ture, Jg. 
 
 At first the designs of " HB " were drawn on stone simply, 
 having a white background — such as our illustration of Lord John 
 Russell being decoyed by Daniel O'Connell, on Group 46. Lord 
 John, as Little Red Riding-hood, appears here simple enough for 
 anything, and likely to be cajoled by the " Big Beggarman," 
 Daniel O'Connell, the " Liberator," as he was styled. Lord John 
 had said some civil things in his place in the Commons, in conse- 
 quence of which O'Connell paid him some compliments, alleged 
 to be about as sincere and disinterested as those of the wolf in the 
 nursery tale. O'Connell's face, hat, and cloak are hit off to per- 
 fection by " HB " ; his doubled-faced speeches are well ridiculed 
 by the appearance of the wolfs muzzle behind his own head. 
 
 After a time, and with greater practice, Doyle had a buff, or 
 warm neutral tint, printed on the designs, the high lights being 
 removed by acid, so as to closely resemble a chalk drawing on 
 tinted paper, the lights being touched in with solid white. Of the 
 latter style is the caricature entitled the " New Christo-Judaean 
 Creed," dedicated to Young England. This records the assump- 
 tion of power by the Right Hon. Benjamin Disraeli, who, by a 
 hint derived from Dean Swift's " Tale of a Tub," is, like Peter, 
 crowned with a tiara of three old hats, while our old friend, John 
 Bull, born of the wit of Dr. Arbuthnott, is on his knees, kissing the 
 great toe of the Jewish minister ! 
 
 This is a clever design, well invented, and executed with skill, 
 the likeness to the Right Honourable gentleman being excellent. 
 A tint stone is used here, giving a delicate warm grey to the 
 design. 
 
 For twenty years these elegant satiric designs had a wonderful 
 success, and were eagerly bought up. At peace with the world, 
 the Reform Bill passed, taxation alleviated, the respectable reign 
 of William IV. and his amiable consort, Queen Adelaide, suc- 
 ceeded by that of our present admirable Queen Victoria, produced 
 public quiet. The great strides taken in education, popular 
 
AN ESSAY ON 
 
 literature, aids to popular science, and evident sympathy in the 
 upper classes with the mass of the people, politics were no longer 
 kept at " boiling point," but fell by degrees to " temperate," and 
 to this state of public feeling the greater part of " HB's " 
 numerous designs were addressed. In the turbulent state of 
 public feeling under George III., with the American rebellion, 
 and the war with Napoleon, "HB's" works would not have 
 been sufficiently " slashing;" for in this respect they are not com- 
 parable to the powerful drawing, daring invention, and savage 
 determination evinced in Gillray's caricatures. But in the com- 
 paratively serene political atmosphere under our excellent Queen, 
 the elegancies and the charm of drawing shown by " HB " were 
 in harmony with his time. The heads introduced are excellent, 
 he being a very clever miniature painter ; but in figure-drawing 
 he is uncertain, for want of academic training. Sometimes, in- 
 deed, perhaps aided by a furtive sketch made in the Lords' or 
 Commons' House, he is quite successful in delineating the fa- 
 vourite attitude, peculiarity of dress, or other matters remark- 
 able in the individual. 
 
 In composition " HB " was timid, contenting himself with as 
 few figures as possible, just sufficient to tell his story. He 
 avoids elaboration, complexity of tints, and depth of effect, keep- 
 ing his backgrounds simple, and the entire design light and grey. 
 But a thorough artist-like feeling guides him in drawing the heads 
 of the persons introduced in his designs ; and in many instances it 
 is quite marvellous how a few indistinct touches, all in the right 
 place, give a vivid idea of the person intended. One of the 
 greatest defects in these celebrated drawings is the feebleness of 
 attitude of the noble lords or honourable gentlemen introduced. 
 To balance a figure firmly, requires a union of science with 
 practice in drawing, and of this study Doyle had not had 
 enough, if even any at all ; consequently, in this respect he 
 falls far behind Hogarth, Gillray, Bunbury, Rowlandson, or the 
 Cruikshanks. 
 
 Of all the members of the Lower House satirized by " HB," 
 Daniel O'Connell, the "Big Beggarman," and his party came in 
 for the largest share of the lash, though lightly applied ; but then 
 we know that a rollicking, big " Irish boy," like him, good- 
 natured and brim-full of fun, far from nice in his choice and appli- 
 cation of epithets to others, and being withal about the best- 
 abused man of his day, would not allow such genteel attacks as 
 those of " HB " to lie heavy on his mind or conscience. 
 
 O'Connell and Irish wrongs were eternally occupying the 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 attention of the House of Commons, and were dragged in by 
 hook or by crook. No doubt honourable members felt con- 
 siderably bored by this ; therefore, not unfrequently they trans- 
 gressed the limits of Pickwickian debate. But the unhappy de- 
 linquent who provoked a dressing from O'Connell writhed under 
 it ; for Dan was a great master of vituperation. 
 
 On Group 47 are three figures by " HB," entitled "Some- 
 thing between the Two " : — 
 
 John Wilkes | Dan. O'Connell | Lord Lovat. 
 
 In this design there is plenty of satire, but no caricature. By 
 a verbal as well as a pictorial pun, Daniel O'Connell, drawn to 
 the life, is sitting between the noisy demagogue, John Wilkes, 
 the curse of poor George III.'s life, and that trebly dyed traitor, 
 Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat. Both these worthies are from etch- 
 ings by Hogarth; but how far the "agitator" Dan resembles 
 the squinting, debauched, liberty-bawling Wilkes, or the licen- 
 tious traitor, Lovat, must be decided according to the political 
 bias of the judge. It is worthy of remark, however, that while 
 Ireland was controlled and represented by O'Connell, there was 
 no trouble from Fenianism, nor were murders so frequent or so 
 atrocious as they are now, when our Houses of Legislature have 
 granted to Ireland nearly everything desired by Irishmen, except 
 the Repeal of the Union. 
 
 Space in the present work precludes the possibility of giving 
 more examples of " HB's" works; enough has been done to 
 show his style of caricature and the effect he produced on this 
 art. His "Sketches," as they are called, range from 1829 to 
 December 31, 1842; consequently they include many periods of 
 political excitement. They vary in execution ; the early designs 
 were simply drawn on stone ; but a tint was soon adopted, of 
 various delicate colours, with the white paper used as lights. 
 Some have yellow borders. To please some of " HB's" ad- 
 mirers, hand-colouring was employed ; but it was gaudy in effect, 
 and deteriorated the artist-like qualities of the drawing. 
 
 The works of " HB " have a really great value, for they pre- 
 serve to future generations the most truthful delineations of men of 
 his day — a praise which cannot be accorded to any other graphic 
 satirist, ancient or modern. 
 
 In number, these graphic records amount to 917, and are 
 collected in nine folio volumes, accompanied with descriptive 
 letterpress. The property has been purchased by Mr. G. Rout- 
 ledge. These nine folio volumes may be examined without any 
 
AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 fear of offending the delicacy of the most fastidious critic, any- 
 more than would the delightful pages of our lamented " inimit- 
 able Boz." 
 
 After a brilliant success, extending over a period of twenty- 
 years, Doyle, " HB.," retired from the field of political caricature, it 
 is hoped on a fortune equal in value to the great reputation he had 
 achieved, and the money his works had brought to his publisher. 
 
 As a means of political caricature, etching, once so popular in 
 the hands of Hogarth, Gillray, Rowlandson, the Cruikshanks, and 
 others, was now generally disused, being superseded by the truth 
 and fascination of lithography. Etching, however, still kept its 
 ground for book illustrations, and good examples are to be found 
 in various periodicals where the designs were etched by G. Cruik- 
 shank, H. K. Browne (Phiz), Onwyhn, Thackeray, Lover, and 
 R. W. Buss. 
 
FOLIO XVII. 
 
 FROM THE REVIVAL OF WOOD-ENGRAVING TO THE PRESENT TIME, 1874. 
 
 Party Questions Quieted. — Serenity of the Political Atmosphere. — Progress of Wood-Engraving 
 under W. Harvey, John Jackson, Orrin Smith, Samuel Williams. — " Society for the Diffusion 
 of Useful Knowledge." — Cheap and Good Literature. — Penny Magazine and similar Pe- 
 riodicals, Published by Charles Knight and John Parker. — Club of Wits and Artists originate 
 Punch. — Rapid Progress in Caricature and Wood-Engraving. — Thomas Hood. — His Rhymes 
 and his Drawings. — Death in 1845. — Figaro (the first). — The Wag. — Punchinello, 1832. — 
 Asmodeus in London. — 'J he Devil in London, 1832. — The Penny Trumpet. — The School- 
 master at Home, 1832. — The Whig-Dresser. — Paul Pry. — Peeping Tom. — Imitators of Punch. 
 — The Squib. — Puck. — Chat. — Man in the Moon. — Diogenes. — Punchineho (the second). — 
 Judy (the first). — Town Talk. — London. — The Puppet Show. — Will-o' -the-JVisp.—Toma. 
 hawk. — Judy (the second). — Figaro (the second). — Hornet .—Junius. — Vanity Fair. 
 
 HE great questions of Free Trade, the Corn Laws, 
 Catholic Emancipation, and Reform in Parliament, 
 being settled, the death of the great agitator, O'Con- 
 nell, with the then comparative quiet in Ireland, doubt- 
 less induced some apathy in the public mind towards 
 s^p* caricature. At the same time cheap and excellent literature, 
 a cheap daily press, and general advance in political and 
 social information, inclined the public to regard a shilling, or two 
 shillings, for a coloured copy as a high price for a single carica- 
 ture. To this feeling the appearance of Punch contributed. 
 
 The withdrawal of " HB " from the field of caricature gave 
 scope to the rising wood-engravers of that time to engrave cari- 
 catures drawn on wood. Thomas Bewick, the eminent wood- 
 engraver of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was the founder of a school of 
 men very clever in that art. 
 
 William Harvey — a pupil of Bewick, and of Haydon the 
 painter — acquired a great reputation as a skilful engraver, but a 
 greater one as a draughtsman on wood. His rapid invention, 
 elegant fancy, and his delicate touch, brought him constant 
 
AN ESSAY ON 
 
 employment in book illustration. These beautiful designs were 
 principally engraved by John Jackson, one of the Bewick school. 
 
 In Harvey, Jackson, Orrin Smith, Samuel Williams, Swain, 
 and their pupils, a powerful staff of art lay ready for employment 
 by an association of liberal noblemen and gentlemen, known as 
 " The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge." 
 
 The eminent and excellent Charles Knight was appointed 
 publisher to this Society. There issued from their press works of 
 a high character, and at a cheap rate, fully illustrated by wood- 
 engravings. Rival works were also published by Parker of the 
 Strand. 
 
 The legislature had removed some of the taxes upon know- 
 ledge, and thus was brought about a new era in popular literature. 
 "The Penny Cyclopaedia," "Pictorial History of England," 
 Penny Magazine, Saturday Magazine, and other popular books, 
 created a body of authors, artists, and engravers ready for action. 
 
 A club of wits and popular authors determined upon issuing 
 a satirical periodical which should engage the best caricaturists 
 and wood-engravers of the day. This periodical is Punch — the 
 witty, the inimitable ! 
 
 In Punch, though diametrically opposite in teaching to that of 
 the horrible wife-beating, murderous old puppet, the public found 
 wit, fun, and philosophy combined — in fact, the essence of a club 
 or society of genuine English wits who contributed to this unique 
 work. Artists, too, no less than John Leech, Tenniel, Thackeray, 
 Hine, A. Crowquill, Kenny Meadows, and others, made drawings 
 on wood, which were entrusted to the most eminent wood-en- 
 gravers of the time, thus creating another new epoch in political 
 satire or in the lighter class of caricature. The combination of 
 talented writers and artists upon a weekly periodical at the unpre- 
 cedented price of threepence, no doubt dealt a death-blow to the 
 clever but dear productions of " HB " and the etchers of that 
 day. From this time all separate caricatures, whether etched or 
 drawn in lithography, and sold at a high price, vanish from the 
 shop-windows, and dear old Punch becomes the public rage. 
 
 For a considerable period Diogenes, a clever publication at a 
 penny each number, proved a respectable rival of Punch. This 
 work was supported by Watts Phillips, McConnell, Bennett, and 
 other artists of ability. Mr. Watts Phillips is not only a clever 
 writer, but also a capital caricaturist ; moreover, he is the only pupil 
 of a great master, George Cruikshank. As a dramatist, Mr. Phillips 
 has met with great success. Diogenes, however, after a career of 
 several years, unfortunately for the public, gave up the ghost. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 It has been seen that from the date of HB's retirement 
 from the practice of political caricature, the eminent wood 
 engravers, John Jackson, Mason Jackson, brothers Dalziel, 
 S. Williams, Orrin Smith, Green, Byfield, Swain, and others, 
 have supplied the public with fun, and sown broadcast the 
 designs of J. Leech, W. M. Thackeray, J. Tenniel, Crowquill, 
 (A. Forrester), Kenny Meadows, George Cruikshank, Henning, 
 Newman, Watts Phillips, H. Browne (Phiz), McConnell, W. 
 Bennett, Bowcher, Barnard, Brough brothers, Keene, Du 
 Maurier, Gordon Thomson, and numerous minor contributors to 
 caricature publications, many of which were born of Punch, and 
 are, most of them, now defunct. To present specimens of these 
 many clever works and of their illustrations is neither possible 
 nor necessary in this essay. A certain talented level in design 
 and in engraving was reached and is maintained to the present 
 hour, of which recent examples follow in these pages. 
 
 Thomas Hood. 
 
 One exception, however, should be made, and that is in the 
 case of the celebrated humorist, Thomas Hood, who not only 
 wrote with exquisite pathos, but, side by side with his " Pauper's 
 Funeral" and "Song of the Shirt," wrote ballads and prose 
 articles stuffed full of the most whimsical ideas and terrific puns 
 ever committed to paper. These funning, punning, and witty 
 articles Hood illustrated by his own hand in a style of design so 
 thoroughly original that an Essay on Caricature would be incom- 
 plete without some examples from his pencil. Grotesque in the 
 idea and execution, these designs occupy a separate niche in the 
 Temple of Fun. 
 
 Thomas Hood inherited a love of books and of literature from 
 his father, who was a bookseller. Early in life he enjoyed an 
 elevated position in life, by being perched on a high stool in a 
 merchant's counting-house. Although given to letters, those of 
 mere trade suited neither his tastes nor his health. Packed off to 
 Dundee for change of air and scene, he made his first essay in 
 comic literature by having his "bit o' nonsense" published in 
 the Dundee News. His health improving, he was articled to his 
 uncle, Mr. Sands, an architectural engraver, and from him Hood 
 entered the studio of the celebrated engraver Le Keux. 
 
 Scribbling funny rhymes and producing queer designs suited 
 him better than serious engraving, and at the death of Mr. John 
 Scott he was installed sub-editor of the London Magazine, and 
 
 Y 
 
«62 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 from that time to his own death Hood was prominently before the 
 public, to whom he was indeed a merry friend, and a philosopher 
 beneath his smiles. 
 
 His works are " Odes and Addresses," " Whims and 
 Oddities," "National Tales," "The Plea of the Midsummer 
 Fairies," "Eugene Aram," " Tylney Hall," Comic Annuals, 
 " Up the Rhine," and numerous articles in Punch. Had he only 
 written the " Song of the Shirt," it would have stamped him as 
 an author of great power and deep pathos. 
 
 A weakly child from his birth, he bore about him the seeds of 
 consumption, and in 1844 poor Hood had an attack of haemor- 
 rhage from the lungs, a forerunner of his death, which took 
 place in May, 1845. His widow received the honour of a pension 
 of £\oo per annum from Her Majesty. 
 
 Hood was an original genius with pen and pencil. His 
 grotesque designs had no political aim, but were bent upon 
 ridiculing vulgar ostentation in almsgiving, or the various phases 
 of pride and pomposity. As he assumed an odd and original 
 style of writing, so he assumed an odd and original style of 
 drawing, although his practice as an engraver must have given 
 him considerable artist power. Brimfull of fun, he required two 
 channels, pen and pencil, to let it off. So he punned to his 
 heart's content, and the jokes he could not write down he drew. 
 
 Of Hood's pictorial oddities Group 48 has seven examples. 
 " Hood's Mag," a pictorial pun, " Mag " being printers' cant for 
 magazine. From the street exhibition known as " les ombres 
 chinois," he derived the idea of black figures, so odd in their 
 drawing and so oddly described. These, mixed with puns and 
 jokes, were freely distributed throughout the Comic Almanack, 
 to which George Cruikshank contributed his clever etchings 
 illustrative of the months. 
 
 April the 2nd, called the "Darby Day," suggests the race 
 called the Oaks. By cockney pronunciation this becomes "hoax;" 
 so we have an irate old gentleman, cudgel in hand, belabouring a 
 mischievous lad, and the design is called " Settling for the 
 Hoax." 
 
 On the 24th, 1826, the Geological Society was instituted. 
 Hood's couplet runs thus, — 
 
 " Kind friends in need are they who make no bones, 
 When paupers ask for bread, to give them stones." 
 
 The two large designs are excellent examples of his queer style 
 of drawing and of writing. 
 
GROUP 48. 
 
 (Page 162. 
 
 T. HOOD. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 163 
 
 The stout lady made her first appearance in the Comic 
 Annual for 1839, m an article entitled " Rural Felicity." 
 Underneath this comic design is printed, " Portraits taken in this 
 style." These humorous lines follow — 
 
 "To be sure it is pleasant to walk in the meads, and so 
 
 I should like for miles, 
 If it warn't for clod-poles of carpenters that puts up 
 
 Such crooked styles ; 
 For the bars jut out, and you must jut out, till 
 
 You're almost broken in two. 
 If you clamber you are sure of a fall, and you 
 
 Stick if you try to get through ! 
 
 " Hood's Mag," on Group 48, is a humorous personification of 
 his magazine. "A bumper at parting," "A young lady, her 
 first appearance on any stage," " Does your mother know you're 
 out? " " Tails of my landlord," and others, equally ridiculous, are 
 outrageous pictorial puns upon well-known titles of books or 
 songs. " The Great Plague of London " is the name of the other 
 large design by Hood. It appeared in the Comic Magazine 
 for 1853. This ludicrous illustration is thus described by him : — 
 
 " Mr. John Dryden Grubb, lamenting the fate of his medical 
 friend, who would have been a poet could he have found a rhyme 
 for ' ipecachuana,' considered that rhyme is the true and only end 
 of poetry, proposes to begin with the end, and take the rhymes 
 first. 
 
 " The specimen of verse he sends is quite the reverse of what is 
 usual : — 
 
 " ' Glisten 1 d her eye as the impatient girl 
 
 Listened, low bending o'er the topmost stair. 
 Vainly, alas ! she listens and she bends ; 
 Plainly she hears this question and reply — 
 Axes your pardon, sir ! but what do you want ? 
 Taxes ! says he, and shall not call again ! ' " 
 
 All our humorists, all our caricaturists, have had a fling at the 
 tax-gatherer, that real " Plague of London," and at their officious 
 impertinence, from the time of Wat Tyler to the present day. 
 Hood, in this capital bit of fun, presents us with the beau-ideal of 
 a sturdy, unaccommodating tax-collector. Even the very knocker 
 takes fright at his coming, while the heavily burdened house- 
 keeper hears with alarm the distinct whacks on the door of his 
 house. 
 
 While we laugh at Hood's comic impersonation of the sturdy, 
 inflexible tax man and his instruments of torture — book, ink, and 
 bottle — it must not be forgotten that in the midst of his over- 
 flowing fun and apparent gaiety, this pet child of mirth was 
 sinking fast from the effects of a disease which had undermined 
 
AN ESSAY ON 
 
 his constitution and soon caused his death. So ill was Hood at 
 times, that irregularities in the publishing of his " Mag " unavoid- 
 ably occurred. The lower illustration on Group 48 was given by 
 him to his readers, and truly called the " Editor's apologies." 
 Leeches, a blister, and three bottles of physic " as before " plead 
 eloquently for the afflicted humorist. His last drawing, here given, 
 appeared in his " Mag" for March, 1845, ar, d is called " Modern 
 Hieroglyphics." The hour-glass with its sand running out, truly 
 typifies his coming end. The balanced hour-glass indicates sleep, 
 "death's counterfeit." The sand, run out, as clearly shows "Death." 
 
 These rude and queer wood-cuts were faithfully engraved, to 
 retain Hood's eccentric style of design. No one so happily 
 illustrated his writings as himself, for when accomplished carica- 
 turists were so engaged there was a lamentable want of harmony 
 between the writing and the illustrations. 
 
 Chorley, in his " Memoirs," says : — " Met Hood ; as quaint, as 
 lazy, as deaf as ever, but always one of the most original people 
 in his drolleries I ever met." 
 
 Poor Hood died in May, 1845, ar >d was buried at Kensall 
 Green Cemetery. The members of the Whittington Club, of which 
 he was one, placed a monument over his grave, inscribed, " He 
 sang the Song of the Shirt." 
 
 Of comic periodicals of the " pre-Func/i " era, one of 
 the best, an imitation of the French Figaro or Charivari, was 
 a clever but abusive periodical, called Figaro in London, 
 commenced on December 10, 1831. It was edited and 
 mainly supported by the witty articles of Gilbert a Beckett, a 
 comic writer of great power. Robert Seymour, the caricaturist, 
 was engaged upon it, and drew the title illustration, " a. Beckett, 
 as Figaro, the barber, dressing the blockheads." These were 
 Wellington, Wetherell, Sugden, Eldon, Duke of Cumberland, and 
 others of less note. 
 
 At the small price of one penny per week, Figaro supplied 
 the British public with "slashing" articles by a. Beckett and 
 "slashing" cuts by Seymour. It lasted till December 30th, 
 1837, when a quarrel between a Beckett and Seymour ensued 
 about money matters, the artist thinking himself entitled to be 
 paid for his hard work. 
 
 On Seymour's withdrawal from the Figaro, its popularity 
 declined, in spite of the wit displayed by the editor. Unsparing 
 in his ridicule of royalty and public men, and handling his 
 weapon in a murderous style, he was offered an appointment as a 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 magistrate in one of the London police-courts. This offer was 
 accepted, and his flow of wit then turned in another direction. 
 Mr. a Beckett's name is well known by his comic histories and 
 comic grammars. 
 
 The Wag had but a short career. 
 
 Punchinello, at one penny, appeared January 20th, 1832. 
 Robert Cruikshank was engaged upon this work. However, it 
 ceased at No. 10. 
 
 Asmodeus in London, illustrated by Seymour and Hornegold, 
 took up the then popular idea of noted personages wanting places 
 — Wellington as a coachman, Marchioness of Hertford as house- 
 keeper, Sir Robert Peel as porter, Sir C. Wetherell as dry 
 nurse, Queen Adelaide as a governess. The idea was cleverly 
 carried out by Seymour. 
 
 The Devil in London, published February 29th, 1832, at one 
 penny. R. Cruikshank and Kenny Meadows were engaged on it. 
 The work died at the thirty-seventh number. 
 
 Tom Dibdin blew his Penny Trumpet for four numbers. 
 
 The Schoolmaster at Home, June 9th, 1832, had the great help 
 of R. Seymour, yet it was defunct at the sixth number. 
 
 The Whig Dresser, a Tory publication and a parody on Figaro. 
 Lords Grey, Palmerston, Melbourne, Brougham, Russell, Hob- 
 house, and Sir Francis Burdett figure in it under the comic pencil 
 of W. Heath. Yet it lasted only for twelve numbers. 
 
 Paul Pry, Peeping Tom, with the preceding works, are the 
 most notable examples of endeavours to establish comic periodi- 
 cals before the appearance of Punch the Great. Efforts of this 
 sort, however, spring up constantly, but from some objectionable 
 matter, and the consequent absence of real wit, or a want of tact, 
 talent, and money, are as constantly failing in their objects. 
 
 The appearance of Punch, July 17th, 1841, and the success 
 attending the work, stimulated comic writers and comic designers 
 to emulate its great reputation, in many instances with no small 
 amount of talent ; but a society of wits and eminent caricaturists, 
 supported by a well-furnished purse and a capital head for 
 business matters, cannot be frequently found. Punch's rivals, 
 therefore, sooner or later, failed for one or more of these reasons. 
 
 A smart little paper, entitled the Squib, fizzed out of the world 
 of fun in 1842, after existing thirty weeks. 
 
 Puck, a comic sheet published at threepence, died at the 
 twenty-eighth week after publication, on the 6th of May, 1848. 
 This work was cleverly got up, having illustrations by W. Hine, 
 Kenny Meadows, and Gilbert. 
 
1 66 
 
 AN ESS A Y ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 Chat, 1 850- 1, made a stand through several volumes. 
 
 Next, Albert Smith, having- left Punch, joined the brothers 
 Brough, in a clever comic periodical which had a success for two 
 years and a half under the title of The Man in the Moon. 
 
 But by far the most successful comic work after Punch was 
 Diogenes, imitating the great original in size, illustrations, quality, 
 and quantity of matter, and it is but fair to add, in a similarly 
 kind spirit. Mr. Watts Phillips was the editor, the Broughs, 
 Halliday, Reach, were contributors, while Watts Phillips, 
 McConnell, Bennett, and others were engaged upon the illustra- 
 tions. It continued for eighteen months, 1853-4. 
 
 Punchinello (the second) was started in 1854, and though con- 
 taining some good illustrations, gave up the ghost, aged seven 
 weeks. 
 
 Judy, the first alleged rib of dear old Punch, made her 
 appearance on February 1, 1843. Threepence per number was a 
 high price, which no doubt caused the death of this remarkable 
 lady, although her great friend, Mr. Leman Rede, edited her 
 work. Calvert illustrated it, and Gilbert, now Sir John, introduced 
 her to the world by a clever title-page. 
 
 Town Talk, edited by Mr. Halliday and illustrated by McCon- 
 nell, next appeared, but for a limited time only. 
 
 London, a comic periodical originated by G. A. Sala, in rivalry 
 of Punch, next appeared, but with so little success that it soon 
 ceased. 
 
 The Puppet Show, price three-halfpence. The Showman was 
 designed by the celebrated French caricaturist, Gavarni. In this 
 work was a clever series of designs illustrative of the escape of 
 King Louis Philippe from France, disguised as John Smith. 
 
 Will 0' the Wisp, The Tomahawk, Junius, continued for some 
 short time, but, like the above clever comic works, met with an 
 untimely end. 
 
 With this brief account and enumeration of the precursors of 
 Punch, of his rivals, dead and gone, we can pass readily to the 
 consideration of his present contemporaries, Fun, Judy (the 
 second), Figaro (the second), The Hornet, and Vanity Fair. 
 
FOLIO XVIII. 
 
 Fun, a clever Rival fo Punch. —Tom Hood, Editor ; Gordon Thomson, E. G. Dalziel, Ernest 
 Griset, Frazer, Caricaturists upon it; Engravers, Brothers Dalziel. — Vanity Fair. — Illustrated 
 by Chromo-lithography. — The Piocess described. — Judy (the second). — Edited by C. H. Ross. — 
 Powerfully drawn Caricatures by W. Bowcher. — "The Ballot-Box. " — Stupidity of Voters. — 
 Miss Adelaide Claxton. — H. K. Browne (Phiz). — Beauty in Caricature. — Charles Dickens. — 
 His Influence on his Ciicle of Artist-Friends. — John Leech.— John Tenniel. — Du Maurier. — 
 H. K. Browne.. — Marcus Stone. — Gillray. — Hogarth. — Ugliness not Interesting. — Gordon 
 Thomson. — Fun Almanack for 1873. 
 
 1 
 
 MONGST the number of clever periodicals which have 
 appeared as candidates for public favour, Fun is 
 conspicuous. It must, as it deserves, have a large 
 sale, for the staff of authors and artists engaged upon 
 it cannot but be costly. Tom Hood, the editor, keeps 
 the fun going. He is aided by various contributors. The 
 principal artist upon it is Mr. Gordon Thomson, whose 
 talent in its pages is a " tower of strength." In addition to him, 
 Mr. E. G. Dalziel, the son of Mr. E. Dalziel, the eminent wood- 
 engraver, regularly supplies, under the signature EGD, capital 
 comic designs, full of point, and well drawn. Fun also has an 
 artist, a Frenchman, Ernest Griset, signing his works EG. He 
 is a diligent student in the Zoological Gardens, and an occasional 
 contributor of comic designs, very quaint and curious in their 
 drawing. 
 
 It is quite extraordinary that Fun can afford for the small 
 sum of one penny so much amusement and illustrations so 
 admirably drawn and engraved. Under the initials FAF, Mr. 
 Frazer supplied Fun with elaborated groups, some of them full of 
 character, not verging into caricature. Many of the female heads 
 are almost beautiful. These designs would be greatly improved 
 by having a leading mass of dark telling upon the half-tint. 
 This clever artist had the great misfortune to be severely injured 
 
i68 
 
 AN ESSAF ON 
 
 in one of the daily accidents now so essentially characteristic of 
 railway mismanagement. All the admirers of Fun must sin- 
 cerely hope that Mr. Frazer may again be able to exercise his 
 profession. Other artists are occasional contributors to this work, 
 the engravings being by the brothers Dalziel. 
 
 A remarkable variation in the mode of executing caricature 
 portraits is presented by the well-known work called Vanity Fair. 
 Among comic periodicals this work has stood its ground for some 
 years, being ably supported by clever writers. It has published 
 an extensive collection of curious caricature portraits, strange 
 and outre in their design, quite as abnormal in form from the 
 living originals as were Gillray's delineations of William Pitt or 
 of the Earl of Derby. In this gallery of queer portraits scarcely 
 any man of mark in the present day has escaped having his head 
 "taken off." This work has revived lithography as applied to 
 caricature. 
 
 The artist engaged for some considerable period signed these 
 curious productions thus, " Ape." It appears that his name was 
 Perugino — A. Pe(rugino) — and he chose thus to indicate the 
 authorship. 
 
 The strange caricatures on Group 49 are by him. Mr. Forster, 
 the minister for education appears here certainly not as an Apollo, 
 nor as ministering too sedulously to the Graces. Abating the 
 extravagance of the drawing, there is still considerable indi- 
 viduality in the head. The portrait is thus described : — 
 " Statesmen, No. 5. ' If he is not an advanced liberal, it is for 
 want of advancing himself.' " Published March 6th, 1869. 
 
 The other example is a caricature of the Duke of Argyll, by 
 the same artist, "Ape." The Duke is presented to us as a thorough- 
 going Scotchman, rejoicing in a big head and a profusion of 
 sandy hair and whiskers. The quotation is the well-known 
 exclamation, "God bless the Duke of Argyll!" The descrip- 
 tion is, " Statesmen, No. 11." Published April 17th, 1869. 
 
 The original artist left this work some time ago, and his place 
 has not yet been so ably filled ; but it is stated that he has now 
 resumed his old position. 9 
 
 As already stated, lithography applied to caricature disap- 
 peared when the celebrated " HB " (John Doyle) retired from the 
 field, and for years wood-engraving only was thus employed. Of 
 late, however, lithography has been wonderfully improved, and by 
 skilful printing now closely imitates water-colour drawing. They 
 are printed in oil-colours from numerous tinted stones. Examples 
 of this improved style of lithography are thus produced : — The 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 design, drawn in the usual way on stone, is then stained with oil- 
 colour applied by another stone, the flesh-tint by another, and the 
 yellow by another, until the required effect is obtained. This is 
 called Chromo-lithography. As several operations of colour- 
 printing are required in these caricatures, the price, sixpence per 
 number, is, " as times go," rather high, and of course in a great 
 measure restricts the sale of this clever work. Very few of the 
 vendors of cheap publications keep Vanity Fair, and unless 
 ordered expressly it is not easy to obtain. 
 
 At present (February, 1874) Vanity Fair is the only satiric art 
 publication employing chromo-lithography, if we except some 
 miniature caricatures recently given in the title-pages of Figa7~o, 
 but these appear to be coloured by hand. 
 
 In the present state of wood-engraving as applied to carica- 
 ture, many volumes of excellent examples might be readily 
 collected from the numerous comic books now published, and 
 from the regular satiric periodicals. The object of this work 
 being to show the many phases that caricature art has gone 
 through, these examples of the present state of the art will, it is 
 hoped, amply suffice to enable the reader to compare them with 
 previous specimens, so as to judge for himself of its importance 
 merely in a commercial point of view, employing, as it does, 
 authors, artists, engravers, paper-makers, printers in all styles, and 
 the very important agency of book publication at home and abroad. 
 To appreciate properly satire, whether of the pen or of the pencil, 
 requires a certain amount of education, and it is fair to infer that 
 salutary lessons, given by graphic satire and caricature, will be 
 more extensively understood by the public in general, now that 
 the work of educating the masses is begun in earnest, and only 
 requires to be really compulsory, as in other educated countries, 
 to be equally effective in England. 
 
 In the pages of Judy (the second) are numerous caricatures 
 drawn with amazing boldness and freedom. They are of a large 
 size, and nearly always extend over the two middle pages of this 
 clever periodical. Mr. Bowcher is the artist to whom the public 
 owes these very clever caricatures. 
 
 Judy is edited by Mr. C. H. Ross, a writer of articles and 
 books uproariously funny, and under his able guidance Judy the 
 Second promises a long and healthy life. This matrimonial 
 partner of Punch has become quite a success, although a sepa- 
 ration between venerable Punch and his second wife Judy 
 evidently exists. 
 
 The example of caricature and of wood-engraving here pre- 
 
 z 
 
170 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 sented on Group 50 deals with " the old, old story," love — the 
 love of money ; in short, " bribery and corruption," which, handed 
 down to us from the earliest satirical records of parliamentary 
 agency, has at last been attempted to be stopped, in spite of 
 the wailings of noble lords and country squires. An act so 
 desirable was hailed as a great national measure, and " vote by 
 ballot" was joyfully received by all voters who wished to protect 
 themselves from tyrannical agency at election times. This great 
 and salutary act was passed in 1872. While sanctioning the 
 ballot, it enjoined secrecy on the part of the voters, as a necessary 
 portion of the protection wished to be extended to electors. 
 
 On the first occasion, instead of going quietly and in an orderly 
 manner to deposit the voting-paper in the ballot-box, many of 
 the stupid, ignorant electors, in a " state of beer," openly talked 
 of how they intended or how they did really vote. 
 
 With such wilful stupidity on the part of the electors it really 
 appeared as if these drunken fellows wished as much as possible to 
 damage the reputation of the act, by proclaiming in a bravado style 
 their ideas and their way of voting, all in direct opposition to that 
 secrecy so long fought for in Parliament. To lash these unworthy 
 and ignorant brutes, W. Bowcher contributed to Judy the capital 
 cartoon now given. It is called, " Profound Secrecy of the Ballot- 
 box. Sketched at Preston." 
 
 The caricaturist has laid on the satiric lash pretty smartly, 
 but not half enough. The scene appears to be in a room at a 
 public-house, where two " werry 'spectable woters " are arranging 
 aloud how they intend to " wote." One puppy of a voter, carry- 
 ing his voting-paper open, delivers it thus in public. The poll- 
 clerk, who ought to be entirely ignorant of the intentions and 
 votes of the electors, declares the state of the poll at two o'clock, 
 — hours before the proper time. An imp of mischief announces 
 from the ballot-box by sound of trumpet how Smith, Jones, and 
 Brown voted. The sublime Bumble — beadle and town-crier rolled 
 into one — proclaims, by aid of his bell, how every man votes, 
 adding, " Britons never will be slaves ! " 
 
 In this very clever caricature Mr. Bowcher has ingeniously 
 fitted on ballot-boxes to the heads of the figures, and by a few 
 artistic touches given to the square faces most comical expression. 
 The beadle, with his square face and round mouth under his 
 cocked hat, is exquisitely funny. The whole is vigorously drawn 
 and full of original thought. 
 
 The other example satirizes the late Gladstone administration, 
 and glorifies the Right Hon. Ben. Disraeli on his return to 
 
GROUP 50. (Page l69. 
 
 JUDY, OR THE LONDON SKKI0-C0M1C JOURNAL— s»t r,, iro. 
 
 PROFOUND SECRECY OF THE BALLOT BOX— SKETCHED AT PRESTON. 
 
 JUDY OH THE LONDON SERIO-COMIC JOURNAL— M.« II 18» 
 
 PULLED UP AT LAST. 
 
 P. C. Duty. ITS HO USE SIR I'VE RECEIVED STRICT ORDERS FROM THE COUNTRY, THAT NOTHING OF THAT SORT IS TO PASS. 
 
 WOOD - EMCR AVtNC 
 
 W. BOWCHER. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 '7' 
 
 power in February, 1874. The caricature has much point, and 
 sufficient ludicrous exaggeration of face and figure. Group 50. 
 
 Judy, in addition to Mr. Bowcher, has illustrations by a clever 
 lady, Adelaide Claxton, daughter of a well-known artist, Marshall 
 Claxton. In her contributions there is neat drawing and ready 
 invention ; also a degree of refinement throughout, and especially 
 in the female heads. Mr. H. K. Browne (Phiz), of " Pickwick " 
 eminence, also contributes to the pages of Judy. 
 
 To the number of comic periodicals weekly inviting public 
 patronage may be attributed the great advance in modern satiric 
 design, and the excellence and freedom of the present school of 
 English wood-engraving. 
 
 Beauty in Caricature. 
 
 In the pages of Fun, Mr. Thomson occasionally presents us 
 with some designs of women and girls which are a near approach 
 to the beautiful. Amongst much that is merely grotesque, he 
 makes many capital political hits, and renders them with a facile 
 pencil in a good style of design. 
 
 To our lamented novelist, Charles Dickens, himself a hand- 
 some young man, a smart dresser, and a great master of humour, 
 the present school of caricature owes its great improvement in the 
 delineation of female beauty. Dickens, who thoroughly under- 
 stood and appreciated the great power of James Gillray as a 
 caricaturist, and reverenced the genius of William Hogarth, 
 regretted that in the works of caricaturists generally there should 
 be an absence of female beauty ; for he argued, very rationally, 
 that a young woman or a girl need not be ugly, awkward, and 
 repulsive, though she may be in the lower ranks of life and form 
 a part of a caricature design ; and instances one by Gillray, 
 where a farmer's daughter is playing to her fat, sleepy, stupid- 
 looking father. " Caricature ' Pa ' as much as you please," said 
 Dickens, "for he is really the comic part of the subject, and fair 
 game ; but the daughter, who might be young and interesting, 
 why should she be made hideous ? " The young lady in the centre 
 of Group 51 is copied from this very work by J. Gillray, and 
 fully bears out Dickens's objection. A pretty girl, Dickens 
 argued, is an interesting object ; therefore, wherever practicable, 
 the interest of the spectator should be invoked by the introduc- 
 tion of beauty instead of gratuitous ugliness. 
 
 Surrounded by a group of artists, some of whom were eminent 
 as comic painters or as caricaturists, his arguments had weight, 
 
i-i -AN ESSAY ON 
 
 for reason was on his side. On Group 5 1 are introduced examples 
 of this improved style of design, selected from illustrations in 
 Fun and in Punch. 
 
 As a contrast to the " Lullaby " ugliness by Gillray are given 
 five female heads by Mr. Gordon Thomson, and marked G T. 
 They at least are pretty and interesting. A group of two heads 
 by Mr. Frazer has been taken from Fun, marked FAF. 
 
 Three examples are selected from the clever drawings by Du 
 Maurier, and published in Punch — these are marked D M ; 
 while from John Tenniel's contributions to Punch are two classi- 
 cally designed heads representing the republic of France and the 
 monarchy of England — these are marked J T. 
 
 Many more instances might be selected in confirmation of this 
 assertion. It is certain that John Leech and Phiz (Hablot Browne) 
 greatly improved their style of drawing the faces of women and 
 girls in illustrations to Charles Dickens's books, these and other 
 artists being then in friendly intercourse with the great novelist. 
 Possibly, nay, probably, the growth of this feeling for English 
 beauty has been much aided by the exquisitely pretty women and 
 girls painted by Mr. Frith in his well-known subjects, "The Derby 
 Day," " Ramsgate Sands," and " The Railway Station." These 
 are not academic concoctions of the antique, but truthful studies 
 from the great storehouse of nature. 
 
 Admirable as are the modern caricaturists in this respect, it 
 must be admitted that Hogarth, in his satiric works, when 
 necessary, introduces women and girls who are, to say the least, 
 interesting, if not beautiful. "The Rake's Progress," "The 
 Harlot's Progress," "The Enraged Musician," present examples 
 of a delicacy of feeling for female beauty which cannot be found 
 in his slighter productions. 
 
 Occasionally Gillray shows a fine sense of female beauty, 
 which his practice under Bartolozzi, one of our most refined en- 
 gravers, would have fostered. Unfortunately the hurry and dash 
 so evident in most of his caricatures led him to " uglify," if the 
 word may be coined, every face he introduced. Still, if the 
 reader will refer to the specimen given on page 125, he will find an 
 exception to this "ugly" practice. 
 
 Du Maurier. 
 
 On the death of John Leech, in 1864, Mr. Du Maurier was 
 elected on the permanent staff of Punch, and now contributes the 
 pictorial jokes to that work. His designs are full of point, cleverly 
 
GROUP 51. (Page 171. 
 
G. THOMSON. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 '73 
 
 drawn, and his girls are, at the least, interesting ; many of them 
 are close upon beautiful. He rejoices in an awfully long name — 
 no less than George Lewis Palmella Busson du Maurier ! but it is 
 by the latter part of it that he is so well known as a comic artist. 
 Born in Paris, March n, 1834, he was educated there until the 
 age of seventeen, when his father brought him to England. Here 
 he studied chemistry at University College, under Dr. William- 
 son ; but a love of art was stronger than that for chemical 
 analysis, and he betook himself, in 1856, to Paris, also to Ant- 
 werp, where he studied painting. Unfortunately he was at that 
 time afflicted with a sad affection of the eyes, which, though 
 greatly alleviated, still prevents him from doing more than two 
 hours' work daily. With this deficiency of eyesight it is mar- 
 vellous that he can produce designs so nicely pencilled upon the 
 block. He is a contributor to numerous illustrated books, maga- 
 zines, and other periodicals. 
 
 Gordon Thomson. 
 
 On Group 52 are selections from the works of Mr. Thomson, 
 contributed to that cheap pennyworth of mirth entitled Fun, so 
 ably edited by Tom Hood, the worthy son of a celebrated father. 
 
 A new series of Fun was announced, and Mr. Thomson com- 
 menced it by his comic and original title-page. The editor, as a 
 jester " of the olden time," is receiving in the politest way possible 
 the British lion, accompanied by Miss Unicorn, who is attired in 
 fashionable costume, and wears the preposterous head-dress at 
 present in fashion. His leonine majesty appears en costume, con- 
 sisting of a velvet jacket, check trousers, shoes, and gaiters. In 
 this design there is a new reading of the old tradition of the 
 " lion and the unicorn," for it is the first time that apocryphal 
 animal appears as a lady, nor has the celebrated British lion 
 made his appearance before in caricature, "got up" so fashion- 
 ably, as in this instance. 
 
 "Waiting for the Performance, or the Critics Installed," dated 
 February 10th, 1872. The idea of a stage and an expected per- 
 formance is an old and hackneyed thought. The opposition party 
 in the pit-stalls, and manager Gladstone peeping to judge of the 
 state of the house have no originality, but the drawing of Mr. 
 Disraeli and Lord Derby is excellent. The Queen appears to 
 be intended as one of the audience, and is the impersonation of 
 Britannia. She is delineated as a woman of a matronly aspect, 
 ladylike and handsome. By a happy touch, the head-dress 
 
174 AN ESS A Y ON 
 
 suggests a helmet, and the lace above the usual crest on that of 
 Britannia. In the orchestra are the representatives of the daily 
 press. Mrs. Britannia has a programme setting forth that "at 
 the Theatre Royal will be played ' The People's Bill,' a farce, 
 a new speaker; 'Admiralty Reform,' a comedy; a tragedy, 
 ' The Baleful Budget ' ; and a burlesque called ' The Home 
 Office.' " February, 1874, however, saw Disraeli again in 
 management. 
 
 September 21st, 1872, is the date of another of Mr. Thomson's 
 elegant and telling caricatures. It is called " Cheap at the 
 Price." Britannia, a handsome girl fashionably attired, holds a 
 bag of money labelled ,£3,000,000, which she has just filled from 
 the wealthy coffers of England, and hands over to an obsequious 
 Yankee, who appears delighted to finger the money. Britannia 
 says brusquely to him, " Here, take it, and have done with 
 it. It pleases you and don't hurt me." This caricature quite 
 expresses the public feeling over the disagreeable Alabama affair. 
 Red tape, added to culpable negligence, permitted the Southern 
 war-ship Alaba?na to be fitted at one of our ports, and to sail 
 from it. She committed great havoc on the North American 
 navy, an event that very nearly plunged England into a deplor- 
 able war with North America, but, thanks to common sense, it 
 was happily averted by arbitration. The lamentable part of the 
 affair is that the negligent officials who caused this disastrous 
 event were not forced to pay the indemnity themselves, either in 
 purse or by imprisonment, caricature being but a slight punish- 
 ment for their offence. 
 
 One of the caricatures beneath graphically records an instance 
 of "meddling and muddling" with the rights of the people. 
 There can be no question that the people have a perfect right to 
 meet, in an orderly manner, to prefer petitions to Parliament 
 praying for a redress of wrongs or an alleviation of oppressive 
 taxation or defective legislation. A meeting for this purpose was 
 proposed to be held in Trafalgar Square, but the sapient Home 
 Secretary, with trop de zele, prohibited it. Finding he had over- 
 stepped the limits of his duty, he afterwards withdrew the 
 prohibition, and by so doing placed himself in a wrong position 
 throughout. In this caricature, named "Incorrigible," Madam 
 Britannia, who is engaged in the domestic work of mending her 
 stockings, lectures her naughty little boy, Bruce, for tumbling 
 down in the mud. She says, " Master Bruce ! this is too bad ! 
 always in a mess ! you've been at that humble pie again ! " 
 
 The other design is a parody on a large and gaudily coloured 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 '75 
 
 print, to be found in the windows of oil and pickle shops, and on 
 every available inch of wall throughout London and the provinces. 
 This very costly advertisement to put off " Batty' s Nabob Sauce " 
 has been made use of to caricature the Geneva award in that dis- 
 reputable Alabama business. 
 
 The fat old nabob here represents the Court of Arbitration, 
 and bears a slight resemblance to Count Schlopin, the president. 
 Seated on cushions in true oriental style, the nabob holds a fish 
 (the American minister) on a fork, and pours into its open mouth 
 " Geneva." He has by his side a bottle of " American pickle" 
 and another of " Sauce." Britannia, as a handsome woman, 
 seated on the same cushion as the big nabob, surveys the gorging 
 of the fish with calm dignity. The title of this caricature is 
 " Sauce for the Fish." Its date is July 13th, 1872. 
 
 The smaller subjects are from Fun, but possess little interest as 
 caricatures. 
 
 In the Fun Almanack for 1873 was a large subject by Gordon 
 Thomson, rather hard upon the softer sex for their advocacy of 
 "Women's Rights." He drew a group of beautiful girls, who 
 would have their rights at once conceded by any male biped with 
 a head on his shoulders or a heart beneath his waistcoat, with- 
 out having recourse to boxing-gloves, dumb-bells, single-sticks, 
 or fencing-foils, or without the terrific advice " to hit straight out 
 from the shoulder, love." 
 
 At the present time Mr. Thomson is one of the most successful 
 caricaturists in delineating female beauty, for which he must have 
 a delicate conception, as by a few skilful touches he presents us 
 with a most interesting countenance — a feat of by no means easy 
 accomplishment. Mr. Thomson was born at Wakefield, and on 
 completing his education there entered the Civil Service, where 
 he remained for seven years. During his official career his 
 leisure time was employed in the usual artistic studies. The 
 success which attended his contributions to Punch, Fun, The 
 Graphic, London Society, &c, induced him to retire in 1870, 
 and adopt as a profession designing illustrations for the various 
 comic publications now permanently established. 
 
FOLIO XIX. 
 
 John Tenniel. — Clever Cartoons for Punch. — Prize for a Cartoon at Westminster Hall. — Fresco 
 Picture by Tenniel. — Constant Contributor to Punch. — John Leech. — Early connection with 
 Punch. — Capital Comic Designs. — His volume of Sketches. — Early works in Bell's Life in 
 London. — His Death. — Lithography, big-headed Portraits in the Hornet introduced. — Lord 
 Selboine. — C. J. Mathews. — The Tomahawk, very personal. — Matt Morgan. — Wood-engraving 
 with a tint over it, cleverly drawn. — Collapse of the Tomahawk. — Figaro (the second). — Zinco- 
 graphy. — Philander Smiff. — Importance of Caricature as a teacher and an exponent of National 
 Freedom. 
 
 John Tenniel. 
 
 N Mr. John Tenniel, Leech found an able coadjutor, and 
 Punch a very valuable artist. He was born in London, 
 1820. Educated at a school in Kensington, he early 
 devoted himself to art. His first picture was exhibited 
 at the Gallery of British Artists, Suffolk Street, Pall 
 Mall. Self-taught in art, Mr. Tenniel has achieved an emi- 
 nent position as a painter. The works of this well-known 
 caricaturist have not the dash and freedom of those by Leech, 
 but they have their own merit of careful and neat drawing, with a 
 great amount of refinement, and, in many instances, a delicacy in 
 female heads and figures close upon beauty. 
 
 Mr. Tenniel gained, in 1845, one °f tn ^ prizes for a cartoon 
 he exhibited in the competitive trial of English art, which took 
 place in Westminster Hall under the auspices of the Royal 
 Commission of Fine Arts. He also painted a fresco for the 
 Palace of Westminster. Fresco painting, however, brings no 
 great satisfaction in this country to any one engaged in it. Mr. 
 Tenniel, therefore, acted wisely in securing an income from certain 
 "Christmas Books," " ^sop's Fables," " Lallah Rookh," "The 
 Ingoldsby Legends," and several other works, besides being a 
 regularly engaged caricaturist upon Punch. 
 
GROUP 53. 'Page 1/6. 
 
 ♦ .HOSTS OF THE SESSION. 
 
 WOOO-ENCRAV1NC. 
 
 J, T E N N I E L. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 177 
 
 His study was of a sound kind. A feeling for mediaeval art 
 gives to Tenniel's designs a quaintness peculiar to them. This 
 original quality and absence of any violent caricature have obtained 
 for his works a great number of admirers. An example of this is 
 afforded in the design for Punch entitled " Ghosts of the Session," 
 Group 53. Here " Little John" is represented as Richard III., 
 tormented by the Bills he has murdered in Parliament. These 
 lost or opposed Bills are figured as large rolls of paper inscribed 
 " Education for the Poor," " Treatment of Juvenile Offenders," 
 "Capitular Estates," "Savings' Banks," and "Ecclesiastical 
 Courts' Bill." Like the ghosts appearing to the "crook-backed 
 tyrant," they lie heavy on the murderer's conscience. 
 
 It is a capital joke, so good and so devoid of any malignant 
 feeling that Lord John Russell himself would be one of the first 
 to enjoy the fun. The "tyrant" is clothed in "the costume of 
 the period," as it is usually phrased in books ; but the ridiculous 
 is introduced by anachronisms, for the sollerets and pair of jambs 
 are placed ready, like a pair of Wellington boots. By their side 
 is a modern boot-jack. There is a romantic-looking war-helmet, 
 wreathed and crested, near to which is a steel gauntlet. These 
 are in company with a modern kitchen flat-candlestick, a common 
 dip candle and a tin extinguisher. Here is the step from "the 
 sublime to the ridiculous." 
 
 The vexed question, labour against capital, now so "strikingly" 
 argued, is the subject of the next design on Group 53, dated 
 April, 1865. It has the careful study belonging rather to a 
 cartoon than a caricature. The title is "Arbitration better than 
 Emigration ; Plutus and Vulcan Accept the Decision of Justice." 
 A rage for emigration had set in, by which our skilled artizans, 
 labourers, and female servants were fast leaving England. 
 
 Punch, ever patriotic, published this wood-engraving, advising 
 the capitalist and the artisan to appeal to the justice of the case 
 between them, rather than deprive England of their respective 
 services by emigration. Astrsea, or Justice, carefully drawn a 
 f antique, stands with her balance equally poised between the two 
 appellants. Capital, a stout firm man, exhibits his money-bag ; 
 Labour, a muscular figure, denoting great strength, stands on his 
 rights, and appears disposed, with his ponderous sledge-hammer, 
 to outweigh the gold-bag. 
 
 The eight years elapsed since this design was made in some 
 measure has determined the question by the preponderance of 
 Labour in the disastrous "strikes" at home and abroad. In 
 this classical design by John Tenniel the only element of carica- 
 
 A A 
 
i 7 8 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 ture is in the mail armour of Capital being composed of sovereigns 
 and half-sovereigns, the fringe being well-filled purses. The 
 lorica, or ancient kilt, is made of bank-notes, instead of plates of 
 metal. 
 
 In the caricature called " Dizzy's Arithmetic," there is much 
 fun extracted from the antagonistic position of Lord Palmerston 
 as Premier and Mr. Disraeli as the Leader of the Conservative 
 party. Calculating on the probable majority in a new House of 
 Parliament, Mr. Disraeli, caricatured as a little Jew boy, chalks 
 the wall of Mr. Bull's house thus : — " Libberals, 368 ; Torys, 290. 
 Tory majority, 25." Lord Palmerston, as a policeman on his 
 beat, catches him at it. Policeman Pam says, " Now then, 
 youngster ! you've no call to be a chalking that wall ! and if you 
 must do a sum, you might as well do it right." 
 
 One of the lowermost subjects on this group is in Mr. Tenniel's 
 classical style of design ; it is called the " Green-backed Monster" 
 — a play upon Shakespeare's phrase, the "green-eyed monster," 
 jealousy, and an allusion to the American paper money called 
 " green-backs." The late Emperor Napoleon is here represented 
 as Othello smiling on Desdemona, or Great Britain, who cordially 
 receives the attentions of France. America, as Iago, shrouding 
 himself in the stripes and stars of the national flag, scowls at the 
 happy pair in the true style of a stage-villain, and quotes Iago's 
 speech: " O, you are well tuned now! but I'll set down the 
 pegs that make this music ! " 
 
 The concluding specimen of Mr. Tenniel's talent is in the 
 grotesque style of design ; it is entitled, " Lancashire Lions," 
 dated April 13th, 1872. 
 
 " So have I heard on inky Irwell's shore 
 Another lion give a louder roar, 
 And the first lion thought the last a bore ! " — 
 
 Adapted from " Bombastes Furioso" 
 
 The first lion, Mr. Gladstone, has had his roar, and, on quitting 
 the stump, it is occupied by Mr. Disraeli, who is indulging in his 
 Conservative roar. The attitude, make-up, and the entire drawing 
 of the ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer is full of fun, and worthy of 
 Gillray. 
 
 The small subjects are also from Punch. That on the right is 
 by G. du Maurier, one of the clever contributors to that work ; it 
 is called " A Reminiscence of Easter," and by no means a pleasant 
 one ! for a drunken barber is trying to operate on an elderly 
 gentleman, who is terrified at the shaver's appearance. 
 
 The design to the left is by C. Keene, one of Punch" 's artists ; 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 '79 
 
 it is entitled, "Such a Clever Dog ! " The young ladies have 
 instructed their pet dog, "Mop," in the art. of ringing the bell ; 
 " Mop," in consequence, sometimes practises this accomplishment 
 for his private amusement. The " hindignation of Jeames " is 
 well expressed. 
 
 To the talent of Keene Punch owes a great number of pictorial 
 jokes, especially those extracted from the fun of drilling and 
 exercising of volunteers. He also jokes at the expense of his 
 brethren of the brush and pencil. 
 
 For examples of pure wood-engraving and clever design 
 applied to caricature, no better can be found than those con- 
 tributed to the present comic periodicals — Punch, Fun, Judy, and 
 Figaro in London. 
 
 " Punch." 
 
 Punch, as our old "guide, philosopher, and friend," requires 
 our especial attention. 
 
 Punch, the best got up, the wittiest, the best illustrated, and 
 the most sound comic periodical of this age, has existed now for 
 more than thirty years, and has numbered amongst its contribu- 
 tors all the wits of that period. Punch made his bow to the 
 British public on July 17th, 1841. The artists engaged upon it 
 have been Hine, Crowquill, Bennett, W. M. Thackeray, John 
 Leech, John Tenniel, G. du Maurier, G. Thomson, C. Keene, 
 and others less known. The large designs were by J. Leech, and 
 called "Punch's pencillings." 
 
 An entire copy of Punch, in 1873, consists of thirty-two volumes, 
 and is worth many pounds sterling. In it may be traced the 
 political history of England, the relations of this country with 
 others, and most of the social changes and events from the year 
 1 84 1 to the present date. To Punch is due also the free dashing 
 pencilling of the present school of caricaturists, and the very 
 clever fac-simile style of engraving on wood now practised by 
 E. Landells, Swain, the brothers Dalziel, and others of the modern 
 school of wood-engraving. 
 
 Punch really fills an important position in the estimation of the 
 British public as a purveyor of sound principles under the pleasant 
 guise of witty writing, thus gilding the bitter pill of advice. A work 
 like this, appearing weekly, few persons can estimate sufficiently 
 high. The talent displayed by the contributing authors, the 
 numerous comic designs furnished by a number of clever artists, 
 and the beauty of the wood-engravings, absorb a large sum of 
 
i So 
 
 AX ESSAY ON 
 
 money. Add to this the entire cost of printing and publishing, 
 the total would amount to a "high figure" merely as a com- 
 mercial transaction. 
 
 Punch goes on triumphantly, is tender in his feelings for the 
 ladies, mixes in society, protects the poor, laughs at frivolity, and, 
 when necessary, reads sovereigns a lesson. " May his shadow 
 never be less ! ' ' 
 
 John Leech. 
 
 In a work such as the present one, space and cost necessarily 
 place limits to the number and extent of the examples given, 
 otherwise the talent of the late John Leech would furnish numerous 
 pages of enjoyable, because good-humoured and gentlemanly, fun. 
 The first, and one of the most important caricaturists of his day, 
 he should receive worthy notice here, for his particular position as 
 an eminent comic designer yet remains unoccupied. 
 
 By the death of John Leech Punch sustained a very heavy loss, 
 as well as the mirth-loving, English-speaking population all over 
 the civilised world. In invention, composition, character, and 
 power of caricature, added to perfect freedom of drawing, he was, 
 and still remains, unequalled. 
 
 Educated at the Charter House School, Mr. Leech was in- 
 tended for the medical profession ; but a taste for art and an 
 intense love of sketching and caricature bore down all his doctor- 
 ing aspirations ; thus he escaped from the comparative obscurity 
 of an ordinary medical practitioner, to become famous as one of 
 England's greatest comic artists. 
 
 Of his style the four illustrations given in Group 54 are fair 
 examples. The first of these contains the portraits of two greatly 
 distinguished men — Sir Robert Peel and the Right Hon. Benjamin 
 Disraeli. The veteran statesman, Peel, is here represented to the 
 very life as Premier in 1 84 1 . 
 
 Mr. Disraeli, born in 1805, was, in 1841, a young and rising 
 man in the political and literary world. At that time he aspired to 
 set a fashion of dress for " Young England." Joining the Conser- 
 vative party, he attracted notice, and gained a good position in their 
 ranks as a clever debater, which soon brought him into office. In 
 his place in the House of Commons he fiercely attacked the policy 
 of Sir Robert Peel. His Jewish extraction, desire to lead the 
 fashion, and want of being a landed proprietor, exposed him to 
 ridicule ; and thus Leech has drawn him as a little over-dressed 
 Jew boy. Sir Robert Peel, portly and patronising, says, " Well, 
 
GROUP 54. 
 
 Page 179. 
 
 J. LEECH. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. x8-i 
 
 my little man, what are you going to do in this session, eh ? " 
 Disraeli, the juvenile, "Why, aw — aw — I've made arrangements 
 — aw — to smash — aw — everybody ! " 
 
 The corresponding design, also by John Leech, is a capital hit 
 at Lord John Russell, who, coming into power in 1846, found a 
 great number of incomplete parliamentary measures awaiting 
 settlement. This harassing position suggested the caricature 
 called " The Boy of All-work." Become a duly qualified " but- 
 tons," he has to do no end of dirty work, in cleaning and polishing 
 up where others have only meddled and messed. His left arm is 
 plunged into a famous boot, marked " Protection;" with his right 
 hand grasping a hard-brush, he points despairingly to a big pair 
 of boots, inscribed "Free Trade." Others, such as "Sanitary 
 Measures," "Landed Interest," "Malt Tax," "Tea Duty," 
 "Ireland," press so heavily on the minister's attention, that he 
 exclaims in an agony, " Here's a precious lot of dirty boots I've 
 got to clean ! I never was in such a house ! " 
 
 No one but Leech could have grouped together such a variety 
 of boots, indicating the "understandings" of the various sup- 
 porters of the above political measures. To the caricaturist, the 
 bulky frame of Sir Robert Peel and the diminutive stature of Lord 
 John Russell were as a god-send. 
 
 To these personal peculiarities is due the point of the illustra- 
 tion entitled "Political Economy; or Lord John in Peel's Clothes." 
 
 After a long and honourable career, Sir Robert retired from 
 office in 1846, upon which Lord John Russell was commanded by 
 the Queen to form an administration. Leech, remembering how, 
 in his juvenile days, he had arrayed himself in his father's coat 
 and waistcoat, now brings this idea into play. 
 
 " Lord John," received by the Queen and Prince Albert, has 
 given to him the cast-off clothes of Sir Robert Peel. Dressed up 
 in these huge second-hand garments, poor " little John " cuts a 
 most ridiculous appearance. Under the print is added a sup- 
 posed speech of the Queen to her husband. "Well, it isn't the 
 best fit in the world ! but we shall see how he goes on." 
 
 Lord John went on until 1852, when the garments, " a world 
 too wide for his shrunk shanks," had to be resigned to Lord 
 Derby. 
 
 The remaining caricature of this group records one of the many 
 petty altercations brought about by the foolish jealousy of Ameri- 
 can politicians, who seek to make political capital by annoying 
 "the old country." This was a boundary question on the north- 
 east and north-west of our dominions in regard to the possessions 
 
1 82 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 of the United States. It was quietly settled by Lord Ashburton. 
 Our old friend, John Bull, with his oaken cudgel ready, says to a 
 spiteful-looking- little Yankee, " What ! you young Yankee-doodle, 
 strike your own father ! " 
 
 John Leech's practice embraced etching on steel, drawing on 
 wood, and designs made with pen and ink, with the addition of 
 slight tints of colour. 
 
 Unlike the caricatures of James Gillray, Leech's productions 
 never give offence by coarse allusions, or by malignant personal 
 attacks; consequently the volumes of Leech's caricatures may be 
 opened with confidence in the presence of ladies. Dickens 
 expressed his opinion of Leech's talent thus: — " His wit is always 
 that of a gentleman." 
 
 Doubtless the intimacy which existed between Leech and 
 Dickens had considerable influence on the former, for in looking 
 through the almost countless caricatures by Leech, a certain 
 refinement may be observed soon after the great novelist had 
 enlivened the English public with his witty productions and Leech 
 had begun to illustrate " the Christmas books." Indeed, in the 
 latter part of his career some of his designs convey most happily 
 the charming points of a true English girl. 
 
 The early works of Leech are to be found in the large sheets 
 published in Beli s Life in London, collected as the " Gallery of 
 Comicalities." The talent he displayed soon made him known ; 
 various engagements followed, leading to a permanent and promi- 
 nent position on the staff of Punch. From his illustrations in 
 Punch, the best have been collected and arranged in one or more 
 volumes. 
 
 It is much regretted that, for want of space, the reader cannot 
 here be presented with more of this exquisite " drolling " of this 
 very talented caricaturist. 
 
 Mr. Leech died in the full enjoyment of a well-earned reputa- 
 tion, in 1864. 
 
 Caricature is presented in its modern and present aspect — 
 that is, as it is in the year of grace 1874 — by Group 55. 
 
 Two illustrations, selected from the smart periodical called the 
 Hornet, show the re-introduction of lithography, after it ceased to 
 be used for caricature by John Doyle, the celebrated " HB." 
 
 This big-headed style was derived from France, in which 
 country enlarged heads and diminutive bodies were introduced by 
 a celebrated grotesque sculptor, Danton, and hence adopted by 
 caricaturists. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SA TIRE. 
 
 By enormous heads no great degree of satire is added to the 
 design ; the principal gain appears to be the opportunity thus 
 afforded to give, by lithography, a close likeness to the great or 
 little originals, the portraits being touched in from photographs, 
 which abound, of distinguished persons. 
 
 The late Lord Chancellor, Selborne, eminent at the bar 
 as Sir Roundell Palmer, is here represented in full costume, 
 bearing the mace and seal of office. An inscription on a pedestal 
 behind him indicates his Bill for the " Support of the Irish Church 
 by Voluntary Subscriptions." The head is well drawn, and the 
 entire design devoid of satire ; of course the enormous head, 
 joined to the miniature body, renders it a caricature. 
 
 On the opposite side is a similar caricature of the ever-green 
 actor, Charles James Mathews, whose return from a successful 
 visit to Australia is thus commemorated by the Hornet. It is 
 drawn by the same artist, and represents Mathews as playing at 
 leap-frog with old Father Time. He has leaped from Australia 
 to the Gaiety Theatre, where he made his reappearance. The 
 design is clever, and is a pretty compliment paid to a veteran and 
 sterling actor. The Hornet also has given a good portrait of 
 G. Cruikshank, introduced in Group 45, page 151. 
 
 The centre subject is a wood engraving, with a tint printed 
 over it, having the lights cut out, so as to leave the white paper 
 in the required places. The subject is freely drawn on wood 
 by Matt Morgan, an artist of considerable power, principally 
 engaged in scene-painting. 
 
 I believe that the drawings made by Mr. Morgan for the 
 Tomahawk are the only specimens of this mixed execution ap- 
 plied to caricature, and are imitative of his drawings in pen and 
 ink on tinted paper, with the lights touched in with white. The 
 Tomahaivk was a work commenced and carried on for a year or 
 two by some members of the Conservative party ; but, owing to 
 certain circumstances, Morgan retired from it, and was succeeded 
 by another artist of no particular merit. Soon after this the 
 Tomahawk collapsed. Colour over wood-engraving is now called 
 Chromoxylography ! 
 
 The early subjects contributed by Morgan to this work were 
 drawn with great freedom and spirit, showing also an apt inven- 
 tion and thorough appreciation of the art of caricature. The 
 subject selected for illustration of the mixed style of printing from 
 a wood-engraving is unobjectionable, as it is free from personality, 
 but attacks manfully a class richly deserving of satirical chastise- 
 ment. The pauper who drops from his chair by sheer exhaustion 
 
AN ESSAF ON 
 
 and bad treatment is claimed by Death, our old impersonation in 
 the skeleton by Holbein, and experiences a relief, "a change for the 
 better," when " Death, the real Guardian of the Poor," claims him. 
 The parish doctor and the fat master of the workhouse gossip 
 pleasantly together while Death is busy amongst the paupers ! 
 
 This caricature was provoked by the disclosures made respect- 
 ing the treatment the paupers in more than one workhouse ex- 
 perienced at the hands of the authorities. It is a legitimately 
 satiric blow, aimed at all parish functionaries who neglect the 
 solemn trust confided to them. 
 
 When the work was discontinued, the office of the Tomahawk 
 closed, and the entire stock dispersed. It is now difficult to 
 obtain impressions of these wood-engravings, as the stock in hand 
 was sold for waste paper and consigned to the paper-mills. Re- 
 duced to pulp, it would thus experience, as it were by a " trans- 
 migration of souls," another state of existence, in, perhaps, the 
 shape of tracts published by some religious society, as a contrast to 
 the scandalous and abusive matter it too frequently disseminated. 
 
 The old title of Figaro the clever Barber of Seville, adopted 
 by the facetious Gilbert a Beckett for a "slashing" periodical 
 defunct many years ago, has been recently revived with a con- 
 siderable amount of talent and vigour. Published on Wednesdays 
 and Saturdays, it gives numerous caricatures, dispersed amongst 
 witty articles, and on Wednesday a big-headed caricature of some 
 distinguished person. One of the "fastest" contributors signs 
 himself as " O. P. O. Philander Smiff." 
 
 There is much originality in the drawing of the caricatures in 
 this amusing work. They appear rather heavy, owing to the 
 adoption of a new process on zinc plates, by which the drawing 
 — probably made with a resisting varnish — becomes thick in the 
 outline. However, they are cheap at the price, " one penny," and 
 will repay the investment of our new diminutive bronze penny. 
 Recently, miniature caricatured portraits have been added, drawn 
 in lithography. 
 
 With Junius, a comic work born a few months ago, and now 
 defunct, the present account of comic and satiric periodicals 
 employing caricature art closes. 
 
 It has been too generally the fashion with critics in writing on 
 art to neglect caricature, imagining it to be a subject too low 
 for consideration, because it deals with an undignified aspect of 
 society. This essay shows that talent of a high order, for nearly 
 a hundred years, has been engaged upon this contemned art. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SA TIRE. 
 
 Caricature in France, very many years since, obtained the 
 consideration it merits. The collection in the Public Library at 
 Paris contains considerably more than a million of caricatures. 
 
 At the present time Mr. Reid, the keeper of the Print Depart- 
 ment at the British Museum is, in conjunction with Mr. Stephens, 
 preparing an extensive catalogue of an immense collection of 
 caricatures and satirical prints dispersed through the general 
 library and print-room. Persons whose attention has not been 
 especially directed to the subject of "graphic satire," have no 
 conception of the vast mass of artistic talent it embraces. 
 
 A close study of the collections in England and the conti- 
 nental capitals would afford ample and curious materials for a 
 history of European politics, of manners, costume, and society. Too 
 frequently a caricature once seen and laughed over, is thrown aside, 
 tossed into the fire, or swept away by servants. Thus, in the process 
 of time, caricatures are sold by the hundredweight to chandlers' 
 shops and paper-mills. This is one of the ready ways by which a 
 work "gets out of print." The great mass of these productions thus 
 destroyed renders the few remaining copies scarce and valuable ; 
 these, in the course of time, would produce at sales as many 
 pounds sterling as formerly they cost pence. 
 
 Suppose an iniquitous measure be proposed by any govern- 
 ment — as excessive taxation, an infringement of the popular rights, 
 a gross neglect of duty, tyrannical measures threatened, stupid 
 class-legislation, or other mistaken acts on the part of our autho- 
 rities — satirical articles immediately appear, and caricature attacks 
 the obnoxious measures. In all probability, public attention 
 being thus directed to the weak or injurious character of the 
 proposed legislation, the question becomes greatly modified, if 
 not rejected, by Parliament. Results of this kind could not be 
 produced by painting, at an immense cost, a dozen fresco pictures 
 of grand historical or poetical subjects. All the gods and god- 
 desses of Olympus put together could not settle the question 
 whether Sir Richard Mayne had a right to shut the public out of 
 their own park ; whether " my lords and gentlemen," enjoying their 
 gorgeous clubs on Sunday, are justified in depriving thousands 
 of working men and others of their substitutes for clubs. Such 
 questions as these often arise. But let Punch, Fun, Judy, Figaro, 
 or some equally esteemed satiric publication, loose their " dogs of 
 war" as "slashing" caricature, aided by equally "slashing" 
 leaders in the public prints, the question will be ventilated and 
 soon settled, one way or other. All the efforts of all the grand 
 historical painters throughout Europe, with their heads in the 
 
 B B 
 
1 86 
 
 AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 clouds of poetic art, could not teach the masses so effectively 
 as have Hogarth, Gillray, George Cruikshank, John Leech, Tenniel, 
 and their successors in comic art, by their caricatures. If one of 
 the great objects of art be to better the condition and mind of 
 mankind, this great object is attained in an infinitely greater 
 degree by the so-called iozv style; which meets the public eye daily 
 and hourly, appeals to their sympathies, and is, in reality, a 
 universal teacher ; than by the grandest style of art. 
 
 Had caricature and photography existed in past centuries, 
 how delighted should we be to behold an Alexander, a Nero, a 
 Caesar, or any other be-praised blood-shedder or garotter of public 
 liberty, transfixed by the etching-needle of a Gillray or a Cruik- 
 shank ! How would an ancient Punch have "shown up" that 
 royal and contemptible rascal, John ; the bruising bully, Richard 
 Cceur de Lion ; that royal Blue Beard, Henry VIII. ; not forgetting 
 the vanity and caprice of that queen of coquettes and of England, 
 Elizabeth, and many other regal delinquents ? But no ! England 
 was then enslaved, satire was too dangerous a game to play at, 
 men's heads were but loosely attached to their bodies ; conse- 
 quently the spirit of caricature was stifled. Without civil and 
 religious liberty, joined to an unshackled press, caricature cannot 
 exist ; thus it becomes, by its free exercise, a sure exponent of the 
 degree of freedom enjoyed in any country. 
 
GROUP 56. 
 
 Page 187. 
 
 Gapt. Grose, F.B_.S, F.S.jl 
 and his stick Guddy. 
 
 DRAWN BY R. W. BUSS. 
 
 CAPT. GROSE, F.R.S., F.S.A. 
 
 Joules. by him for drawing Caricatures. 
 
 e timing ■ 
 
FOLIO XX. 
 
 PRACTICE IN CARICATURE. 
 
 Captain Grose, F.S.A., " the Facetious." — His Essay on Caricature. — His Portrait, Rules, and 
 Illustrations of Caricature. — Beauty. — Anachronisms and Contrast contribute to the Ludicrous. 
 — Practice of Hogarth, of Gillray, of George Cruikshank. — Sketches from Memory, and 
 Classifying of Sketches made. — Tail-pieces. — The Monopolist, a "Coat Tail-piece," by 
 R. W. Buss. — The celebrated "Tail-piece," by Hogarth, concluding this " Essay on English 
 Graphic Satire." 
 
 ! T is strange that though caricature is now, and has been 
 for a century, so popular in England, yet but little has 
 been written on it as regards its practice. Almost any 
 one who has the least idea of drawing can sketch 
 what is considered a caricature ; but to produce satiri- 
 cal designs, full of invention wittily applied to passing 
 events ; to compose agreeably ; to draw boldly and well ; 
 to preserve likeness to individuals, although the features or figures 
 may be exaggerated ; to produce a pleasing effect of light and 
 shade ; in fact, to invest a design with the qualities of art, is not 
 given to many. 
 
 The rapidity with which so-called caricatures appear, and the 
 number of such designs, incline persons to associate vulgarity 
 and a low power of art with comic or satirical engravings ; but 
 a little reflection, and an acquaintance with the voluminous works 
 of Callot, Hogarth, Bunbury, Gillray, Cruikshank, Doyle, John 
 Leech, Tenniel, and many of the present caricaturists, will soon 
 convince any one that a great caricaturist is a man of mark. 
 
 Captain Grose, F.S.A., an antiquary of considerable eminence, 
 and a lover of comic art, thought it worthy of his talents to write 
 " An Essay on Caricature," a work which may be studied with 
 advantage by the incipient Gillray or Cruikshank. The work is 
 scarce, but the main points in it are here presented to the reader. 
 
1 88 
 
 AN ESSAV ON 
 
 "The facetious captain," whose portrait is in the centre of 
 Group 56, premises that caricature is a dangerous power to 
 possess, as its employment might be brought to bear on a testy 
 bachelor uncle or an antiquated aunt having a goodly account 
 of bank stock standing in their names, which ridicule might 
 seriously endanger for the unfortunate caricaturist. 
 
 The student is advised to draw from sculpture or from plaster- 
 casts, and in different views. This practical advice can in the 
 present day be thoroughly taken, for Government schools of design, 
 excellently fitted up, and well supplied with casts, are to be found in 
 many places in London and the provinces. A power of sketching 
 and of careful drawing can thus be obtained, as well as a taste and 
 feeling for the beautiful in art and in nature. The more of this 
 careful study from the antique the better for the student. Feet, 
 but especially hands, should be closely studied, as in caricatures 
 they require neat and expressive drawing. 
 
 "Beauty," says the Captain, "according to many national tastes 
 and ideas, varies considerably. Corpulency is admired in China 
 and Morocco ; large eyes, broad, flat noses, black or yellow teeth, 
 in Africa. The Tartars admire small eyes, like slits, and small 
 noses. Tamerlane had a slave who was vastly admired because 
 she had no nose.'''' 
 
 According to the received ideas of European beauty, the 
 charms just alluded to are as much opposed to them as is the dis- 
 tortion of ears, noses, mouths, or skulls ; nor does the tattooing 
 of the face or body enhance beauty any more than the black, 
 vermilion, or blue colours of a savage in his war-paint. 
 
 Up to this point all art-students require a well-grounded 
 training in the antique, supplemented by study from the living 
 model. 
 
 The student who desires to practise caricature should make 
 pen-and-ink drawings from tight and loose drapery, furniture, 
 armour, and exteriors of houses, cottages, and interiors of various 
 kinds. The sketches, if only slight, should be preserved and 
 classified, so as to be referred to when required by the student. 
 
 " After due time devoted to this preliminary work the student 
 may now enter upon a very instructive and amusing series of 
 experiments by altering the distances and proportions of the 
 features in any copy he may make from a cast, a print, or a 
 drawing. He will be astonished at the variety and the oddity of 
 faces resulting from such experiments." 
 
 A systematic mode of observation is next advised by the 
 facetious captain, and he thus tabulates it : — 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 " Profiles of faces are contained within a line more or less 
 curved, touching the extremities of the forehead, nose, and chin, 
 as in figures i, 2, 3, 4, on group 56. 
 
 These profiles may be classified thus: — 
 No. 1 . The angular profile. 
 No. 2. The concave profile. 
 No. 3. The convex profile. 
 No. 4. The upright-lined profile. 
 " But in nature these may be found mixed. Thus : — 
 No. 5. Veto-con vexo profile. 
 No. 6. Convexo-veto profile. 
 No. 7. Convexo-concavo profile. 
 No. 8. Concavo-convexo profile. 
 " The student, with his mind stored with the above variations 
 of profile, would find no difficulty in classifying any profile in nature 
 he might wish to remember. 
 
 " Of Separate Features. 
 
 " The Nose maybe: 1, angular; 2, aquiline or Roman; 3, 
 parrot's beak ; 4, straight or Grecian (antique) ; 5, snub or turned- 
 up ; 6, bulbous or bottle ; 7, mixed or broken. 
 
 "Months are of four kinds: 1, under-hung; 2, pouting or 
 blubber lips; 3, shark's mouth ; 4, bone-box. 
 
 "Chins are of six kinds: 1, the nut-cracker; 2, convex 
 advancing ; 3, convex retiring ; 4, concave advancing ; 5, double; 
 6, cucumber. 
 
 " Front of Face. 
 
 " The front views of faces should be divided into three equal 
 parts. Direct front views would have an upright line in the 
 middle, but if turned more or less to the right or left, then the line 
 for the features should have a curve as a rule, similar to the form 
 of an egg. Over the wing of the nostril will be found the inner 
 angle of the eye. The ear will be found in the space between the 
 nose and the forehead. Eyes, if large, globular, and projecting, 
 may be called, 1, goggles; when closed so as to appear like slits, 
 may be called, 2, pig's eyes. Eye-brows are arched or high, or 
 low and overhanging the eye. The mouth and eye-brows are the 
 features that chiefly express the passions. 
 
 " The position of the eyes varies in three ways : 1, horizontal ; 
 2, angular upwards ; 3, angular downwards. 
 
igo AN ESSAY ON 
 
 " How to Classify a Head. 
 
 " No. i profile has a convexo-concavo nose, snubbed ; mouth 
 blubbered, chin double, eyes goggle, eye-brows pent-housed or 
 overhanging. 
 
 " No. 2 profile has the nose right-lined, eyes like slits, or pig- 
 eyed, shark's mouth, chin retiring, eye-brows arched. 
 
 " In this way a profile may be noted down without a line of draw- 
 ing in it. Some such method of observing is in use with manyartists. 
 
 " Again, many human faces bear a strong resemblance to those 
 of brutes ; some being like lions, some like cats, foxes, bulls, 
 calves, sheep, goats, and monkeys." 
 
 If the " facetious captain's " foregoing sets of 
 features be drawn on separate pieces of card- 
 board and placed as here shown, by changing 
 the noses, eyes, mouths, and head-dress, it is 
 astonishing what curious combinations of features 
 will result. This, while it affords a kind of artistic 
 game, will prove of great service to the young 
 caricaturist. 
 
 The captain now proceeds to the theory of the ludicrous, and 
 lays down the rule that in caricature the ludicrous is mainly pro- 
 duced by the employment or the proportions of the figures being 
 quite incompatible with each other. " That is, let every person or 
 thing represented be employed in that office or business for which 
 by age, sex, profession, or constitution he is totally unfit. A 
 cowardly soldier, a deaf musician, a bandy-legged dancing-master, 
 a gouty or corpulent footman, an antiquated fop or coquette, a 
 drunken riotous justice of the peace, a tailor on a high-couraged 
 horse, are examples of ludicrous objects. 
 
 " If poetical justice be desired, and a feeling of satisfaction is 
 to be aroused, let the justice have a broken head, or the tailor fall 
 from his horse. 
 
 "But the desire to administer poetical justice must not be carried 
 to a painful extent, or it would then cease to be ludicrous. 
 
 " Contrast is another element of the ludicrous. Thus, a very 
 tall man beside a very short one ; a thin, spare figure by the side 
 of a corpulent one ; a big, masculine woman with an effeminate 
 husband — all these cause laughter ; in the latter case the man 
 appears ridiculous from being under the protection of the woman. 
 Anachronisms are fruitful sources of the ridiculous. Thus King 
 Solomon tricked out in a full court suit — a bag wig, lace cravat, 
 ruffles, and a dress-sword, becomes a ridiculous object. 
 
 Forehead. 
 
 Eyes. 
 
 Nose. 
 
 Mouth and chin. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 " So the siege of Jerusalem, with the Emperor Titus surrounded 
 by his aides-de-camp, all dressed out in laced coats, great wigs, 
 and jack-boots, firing off cannons, is ridiculous." 
 
 All schools of art, especially the Dutch schools, have until late 
 years presented ludicrous anachronisms, from the horse-pistol held 
 by Abraham to slay his son, to angels in shot silks and satins 
 fiddling and fifing in the clouds. 
 
 Like most rules, these are drawn up from a study of the works 
 of the artists or authors who, by great natural talent and aptitude 
 for any particular art, have distinguished themselves before such 
 rules were thought of. Still, rules of this kind, when well 
 considered, help to shorten the study, and they will aid the 
 student on his way. In regard to particular practice, as the 
 caricaturist generally executes his work on steel plates, or on 
 wood blocks, it would be a great help in this direction if his 
 studies were made with pen and ink, or a hard pencil, on smooth 
 card-board. 
 
 Sketching from casts, prints, and natural objects should be 
 pursued until heads, figures, draperies, and common objects 
 can be reproduced from memory alone. A good caricature, in 
 regard to its drawing, should be executed quickly, while the spirit 
 can be preserved. The points of the figure, the joints, all require 
 especial attention, so that figures may be produced extempore 
 with sufficient accuracy in any required attitude. 
 
 Such was the practice of Hogarth, Gillray, Bunbury, Rowland- 
 son, Cruikshank, and our modern school of caricaturists, compared 
 with the want of study evident in the lame elaborations of Sayer 
 and many other artists before Gillray. 
 
 Without constant and close observation, and sketching when- 
 ever it is practicable, however slight may be the sketches, no one 
 can succeed in caricature. There are many occasions when it is 
 undesirable to attract attention by open sketching. Some method 
 thus becomes desirable. 
 
 A classification of features such as that advised by Captain 
 Grose would be found useful. 
 
 Close observation is the mode adopted by Cruikshank. 
 Hogarth sketched on his left-hand nails, or closely studied his 
 original. Gillray kept in his pocket a number of small cards, the 
 portraits of noted men, for sketching. A sheet of note-paper, 
 folded small, so as to be hidden in the palm of the hand, is a good 
 plan to adopt. Thus figures in motion or walking along the 
 street may be followed and sketched as they go. Where sketching 
 is impossible the forefinger may be advantageously used by tracing 
 
1 92 AN ESSAV ON 
 
 in the air the required form. A hat or an umbrella affords some- 
 times a convenient screen while sketching-. 
 
 These expedients may supply useful hints to the aspiring Gill- 
 ray, but almost every artist who sketches from nature adopts 
 some plan of his own. 
 
 The youthful caricaturist should use some caution in regard to 
 sketching in the streets or public places, as the experience of 
 many artists proves that some individuals become angry and 
 quarrelsome, if they detect any one " taking them off," as they 
 call it. Quarrels of a troublesome and really serious nature have 
 taken place in consequence of sketching a house, stable, or barn 
 belonging to an ignorant suspicious tenant who discovers any 
 one "making a plan" and "trespassing on his premises," 
 imagining some mischief to be intended. 
 
 The reader is presented with a back view of the " facetious" 
 Captain Grose, drawn and etched by himself ; also with a portrait 
 of his famous and favourite stick, which he, in imitation of the 
 knights of old naming their swords, called by the pet name of 
 "Cuddy." Group 56. 
 
 This work comprehends, it is believed, one or more examples 
 of every mode of execution adopted by the professors of graphic 
 satire, from the earliest period to the present one. 
 
 Electricity is producing extraordinary results in printing ; not 
 only will it accurately reproduce an engraved plate by depositing 
 copper, but it actually deposits steel upon copper plates. The old 
 practice of casting, in type metal, from engravings on wood, is 
 now superseded by the electrotype. 
 
 Lately a new process has been partially successful. It is in 
 use for the Figaro, and is a mode for obtaining designs on zinc 
 plates, which will mix up with the letter-press. At present it 
 appears to be in an infant state, but after a time it may prove 
 capable of excellent results. 
 
 Throughout this Essay, wherever it could be done, the speeches 
 supposed to be uttered by the persons represented, have been 
 omitted in the print, though given in the text, because by that 
 much confusion in the subject has been avoided, especially when 
 reduced in size. 
 
 In fac-simile examples produced by the action of light this 
 could not be done. What light and electric agency may still have 
 in reserve for art and for printing, it is impossible to guess in this 
 age of progress and of clever adaptation of scientific facts. 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 The last or concluding design or engraving to any book has in 
 the language of art for many years been named the " tail-piece." 
 This term is also applied to any ornament at the end of a chapter. 
 
 Amongst the artists who have played with this idea is Thomas 
 Bewick, the celebrated wood-engraver. His "tail-pieces" are 
 witty inventions and beautiful engravings. W. M. Thackeray, 
 himself a clever etcher, has introduced variations on this idea in 
 the illustrations to his novels. 
 
 Willing to comply with such time-honoured custom, a subject 
 engraved in the mixed style of mezzotint has been selected for 
 that purpose, and is placed at the tail of this book. It is from 
 one of my original pictures, entitled " The Monopolist," Group 
 57. The man is a type of the class of persons who live by fatten- 
 ing on the poor. Such a fellow would buy up all the corn and 
 coals in the country, if possible, and only sell at high prices, 
 though the poor around him might die of starvation. 
 
 "The Monoplist," true to his instincts, takes up The Times 
 and the whole fire to himself, utterly regardless of the wet and 
 shivering visitor who has just arrived, becoming thus a Coat- 
 Tail-Piece. 
 
 But a far greater satirist has produced a "tail-piece," one 
 no less than the immortal Hogarth. Of all " tail-pieces " this is 
 the most original, the most celebrated, and, moreover, is the last 
 work upon which his genius was engaged. Group 58. 
 
 In declining health, he took a house at Chiswick, and in this 
 country-residence the "Tail-piece" was originated. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that this curious production, upon which 
 Hogarth worked till a short time before his death, has a double 
 meaning ; for not only does the tail-piece denote the end of 
 things, but it is a satire upon his arch-enemies, the picture dealers. 
 The painter has entitled the subject " The Bathos, or Manner of 
 Sinking in Sublime Paintings ; inscribed to the Dealers in Dark 
 Pictures." 
 
 These worthies hunted up all the daubs to be found in brokers' 
 shops at home and abroad ; then, by smoking them and by putting 
 on plenty of varnish, they imposed upon ignorant but wealthy men, 
 by passing off these wretched pictures as the works of genuine 
 old masters. To such an extent was this carried, that many 
 eminent native artists were literally destitute, as the public taste 
 and the wealth of connoisseurs and of picture buyers were com- 
 
 c c 
 
1Q+ 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 pletely turned into the hands of mere dealers, who decried the 
 works of surrounding living authors, and declared no picture to be 
 of value except by an Italian master of the old school. 
 
 This cant was ridiculed by Goldsmith who, speaking of the 
 courtly Sir Joshua Reynolds, says of the dilettanti : — 
 
 " When they talked of their Raffaelles, Correggios, and stuff, 
 He shifted his trumpet, and only took snuff! " 
 
 On the lower part of the plate are two diagrams really 
 belonging to "The Analysis of Beauty," published by Hogarth, 
 in 1754. What they have to do with "The Tail-piece" is hard 
 to discover, for the entire inscription belongs to his famous 
 mystification of " The Line of Beauty and of Grace," alluded to 
 on page 87. 
 
 One diagram is thus explained : " The conic Form in w ch the 
 Goddess of Beauty was worship' d by the Ancients at Paphos, in 
 ye Island of Cyprus. See the medals struck when a Roman 
 Emperor visited the Temple." 
 
 The other diagram is stated to be " A copy of the precise Line 
 of Beauty, as it is represented on the 1st explanatory Plate 
 in the ' Analysis of Beauty.' Note, the similarity of these two 
 conic figures did not occur to the author, till two or three years 
 after his publication of ' The Analysis,' in 1754." 
 
 As " The Analysis of Beauty" was published ten years before 
 "The Tail-piece," it is probable that Hogarth had some designs 
 bearing on that subject ready engraved, of which these diagrams 
 were explanations ; also that he had the presumed engraving 
 cleaned off the plate, leaving only these diagrams upon the old 
 plate ; that he took the old copper and used it up for " The Tail- 
 piece." 
 
 It appears that after the publication of his " Analysis of 
 Beauty," Hogarth came upon the statement of the cone being 
 one of the forms in which Venus was worshipped. Possibly he 
 was unwilling to let this corroborative information die with him, so 
 he fired a parting shot at his traducers by allowing these diagrams 
 to remain on the engraving of " The Tail-piece" in 1764. 
 
 The first idea of the celebrated and original design called " The 
 Tail-piece" was started in a company of friends round his own 
 table, at his pleasant retreat at Chiswick. In a desponding state of 
 mind, Hogarth remarked to his friends, " My next undertaking 
 shall be ' The End of a// Things.' " " If that be the case," said one 
 of the company, " your business will be finished, for there will be an 
 end of the painter." " There will be so," answered Hogarth, 
 
ENGLISH GRAPHIC SATIRE. 
 
 sighing- heavily, "and therefore the sooner my work is done the 
 better ! " The very next day he set to work in an earnest way that 
 seemed to indicate a fear that he should not live to complete his 
 design. This, however, he did, with his usual ingenious and facile 
 invention. He collected everything that could denote the end of 
 all things. 
 
 His first idea was that of Old Time at his last gasp ; he has 
 smoked his last pipe, broken it over his broken scythe, and puffs 
 out of his mouth a cloud of smoke inscribed Finis. His hour- 
 glass is smashed. Old Time holds in his hand his will, by which 
 he leaves to == , or Chaos, every earthly atom, appointing Chaos 
 as his sole executor. The will is attested, signed, and sealed by the 
 Fates — Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. A broken column supports 
 Time in his last moments. Behind the column is a gravestone 
 and death's head, and a statute of bankruptcy taken out against 
 " Nature." Under the seal is a play-book, open at Exeunt omnes. 
 Close by is an empty purse. Near to the figure of Time is a last 
 and piece of wax-end, a broken bow, a smashed-up crown and a 
 worn-out brush, a fragment of ship's cable, and a broken firelock. 
 A burning candle-end has set fire to The Times, one of the carica- 
 tures of the day. A cracked bell, a broken bottle, and a broom 
 worn to the stump, complete the foreground. Behind is a falling 
 sign-post for the "World's End Inn." The sign itself is "The 
 World on Fire." The capital of a column indicates ruins ; so do the 
 falling house and blasted trees. A gibbet, according to the 
 fashion in Hogarth's day, has suspended to it a murderer, hanging 
 in chains. The sea is overflowing the land and engulphing a 
 ship. A ruined church tower has a dial, but no hands to denote 
 time. Apollo, or Phoebus, with his horses, are struck dead. The 
 moon is in her wane. 
 
 On reviewing this design Hogarth exclaimed, " So far so 
 good ! Nothing remains but this," upon saying which he drew a 
 painter's palette, devoid of colours and broken. 
 
 "Finis," he then said, "the deed is done!" and Hogarth 
 never again took palette or pencil in hand. 
 
 The engraving also concluded, the last whiff of smoke exhaled 
 by Old Time, in the agonies of death, received its engraved 
 inscription, 
 
 finis ! 
 
 PRINTED BY V1RTUK AND CO., CITY ROAD, LONDON. 
 
1 3^/(4 
 
 THE GETTY CENTER 
 LIBRARY