- Museum number
- 1865,1111.542-554
- Description
-
Political pamphlet of 30 pages regarding the Queen Caroline affair entitled 'The Queen and the Magna Charta; or the thing that John signed.' The text and illustrations to the pamphlet imitate the format of William Hone’s parody, 'The political house that Jack built,' (see BM Satires No. 13292, 1865,1111,388-400).
1.BM Satires 13871.The title page represents Britannia, seated beside her (angry) lion, holding out a placard: above a pen is inscribed 'To assert the Rights of Man'; above a sword: 'To avenge the wrongs of woman.' She has a cap of Liberty on a shaft made of an elongated fasces, and a shield. She is illuminated by rays from an eye in the clouds.
Lettered above the illustration:
'The Queen and Magna Charta; or, The thing that John signed. Dedicated to the ladies of Great Britain.'
A quotation beneath the illustration reads:
“The Muses still with freedom found,
Shall to thy happy coast repair;
Blest Isle! With matchless Beauty crown’d,
And manly Hearts to guard the Fair! – RULE BRITANNIA”
Lettered beneath the quotation with the publisher’s line:
London: Printed for and Published By T. Dolby, 299, Strand, and, 34, Wardour Street, Soho, 1820, Price One Shilling.”
The pamphlet is dedicated "To the Ladies of Great Britain" by "The Author of the Queen that Jack Found."
2. BM Satires 13872.'The thing that John sign’d'. The 'Magna Charta', irradiated.
3. BM Satires 13873.'These were the Barons of Runnymede field.' King John sits outside his tent, gloomily signing 'Magna Charta' with a pen. Armed barons stand round him; behind his chair stands a bishop.
4. BM Satires 13874.'These are the puny descedants [sic] of those …' Two emaciated and degenerate peers, dressed as dandies (See BM Satires No. 13029) and wearing coronets, stand together. One asks: "Who's for Almacks to Night my Lords"; the other clasps his stomach, saying: "Pon honor confounded ill!" A third, epicene (cf. BM Satires No. 13069), reclines on a sofa holding a fan, saying: "Yau—ah—h—h! ho!" Beside him lies a book: 'Ovid's Art of Love'. A fourth hurries off, saying: "Damn this green Bag (see BM Satires No. 13735) I shall be too late.
5. BM Satires 13875.'These are the upstarts …' Three Ministers, all wearing coronets, approach Eldon, who is seated on a seat inscribed 'Coal Bag versus Wool Sack' (see BM Satires No. 13761): Sidmouth, holding his clyster-pipe, Liverpool with a purse, and Castlereagh (right) holding scourge and shackles. Eldon holds the 'Green Bag' on his knee and waves a paper: 'Pains and Penalties' (see BM Satires No. 13825). Proceedings against the Queen and the ruin of England are (absurdly) attributed to the 'wicked Ambition' of these parvenus.[ Cf. BM Satires No. 13760].
6. BM Satires 13876.'This is the diadem/ Ought to support ….' A crown, irradiated, is enclosed in a Garter inscribed 'Nemo me impune lassesit' [sic]. The text continues: 'The rank and the honour of Caroline's court:'.
7. BM Satires 13877.'These are the Britons, by Upstarts put down..' A stage Irishman, with a bludgeon in his pocket, stands between John Bull (left) and a Scot in Highland dress (right); they hold hands, with raised arms. John, a yokel in a smock, holds a scythe inscribed 'Tria juncta in uno'; the Scot holds up a sword labelled 'Reform'. For the association of Reform with the Queen (see BM Satires No. 13763, &c.)
8. BM Satires 13878.'These are the heroes of Waterloo Plain….' Two officers clasp hands, on the outskirts of a camp, with cannon, &c. A soldier stands at attention holding a banner inscribed: 'The Country's will our guide / The Country's good our end'. They will support the cause of Britain 'In the teeth of a vile and profligate court'. (For military unrest see BM Satires No. 13850).
9. BM Satires 13879.'These are a part of the people once free.' A prison cell; one handsome well-dressed prisoner, heavily chained, stands shackled to the stones of the floor. The other sits on the ground, his hands bound together, his mouth covered by a gag. A ragged woman and child walk away, weeping. The text continues: 'Now Imprisoned and Gagged By the fell C- [Castlereagh].'
10. BM Satires 13880.'These are the ladies whose husbands and sons.' Three pretty and elegant women stand with arms interlaced, each holding out a laurel wreath; they say: 'For the bravest'. The one in the centre wears roses, to represent England, one wears shamrocks, the third a Highland bonnet and feathers, with tartan over-dress, and a skirt embroidered with thistles. The text continues: 'Can wield for their safety, both sabres and guns'.
11. BM Satires 13881.'These are the Shamrock, the Thistle and Rose….' A bouquet for the Queen: with the floral emblems is a ribbon inscribed 'Cherished by the FAIR'.
12. BM Satires 13882.'These are the vermin, the rats and leeches which….' Rats, with human heads, gnaw at the roots and trunk of a decayed 'Tree of Liberty'. Oval disks hang from the withered branches which some of the rats try to reach. These are inscribed 'Credit', 'Honor', 'Fair Jury', 'Magna Charta' (this Castlereagh nibbles), 'Bill of Rights' (threatened by Eldon), and 'Justice'. Other rats are Sidmouth, Liverpool, and Gifford. Beside the tree 'John Bull' lies on his back, gnawed by an enormous leech (Leach). In the background more rats, one wearing a mitre, are destroying the shamrock, rose, and thistle. Lightning darts towards them from an eye in the clouds inscribed 'Vengeance'. The text continues: 'The Blood and the treasure of Britain enriches.' (Cf. BM Satires No. 13671).
13. BM Satires 13883. 'This is the standard and rallying sign ….' A cap of Liberty irradiated (cf. BM Satires No. 13304), surmounts the shaft of a banner inscribed 'Freedom'. The shaft rises from a rolled document: 'Laws of England', and a parchment: 'Magna Charter'. The standard is defended by a fierce bull-dog: 'Iohn Bull' (left) and an angry British lion (right) wearing a crown.
Lettered at the end of the text on page 29: "W. Molineux, printer, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane."
An advertisement at the end of the pamphlet for "Books &c. Published by Thomas Dolby, 299 Strand London" lists 'Dolby's parliamentary register' and 'The trial of the Queen.'
c. October 1820
Wood-engraved vignettes on a letterpress pamphlet
- Production date
- 1820
- Dimensions
-
Height: 216 millimetres (approx. page size)
-
Width: 138 millimetres (approx. page size)
- Curator's comments
- (Description and comment from M. Dorothy George, 'Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the British Museum', X, 1952)
Bound as part of 'Political Tracts Volume 2,' number 2 of 10 volumes of 'Political Tracts' A compilation of satirical and political pamphlets published circa 1819-1822. The contents of this volume mainly concern the Queen Caroline affair and satirise the Prince Regent, subsequently George IV, his court and ministers. For apparently later editions of this pamphlet see 'Political Tracts' Volumes 8 and 9. The editions in Volumes 8 and 9 carry an additional, double-sided page of advertisements.
"The satire seems to advocate direct action, see BM Satires Nos. 13877, 13878, 13880; cf. No. 13611.
George notes that the illustrations resemble the work of I. R. Cruikshank. Despite this attribution, the pamphlet does not name him as the illustrator as is the case another pamphlet published by Dolby in the same year, entitled, 'The total eclipse' (1865,1111,555.)
Dedication dated 27 Sept.
- Location
- Not on display
- Associated titles
-
Associated Title: The Queen that Jack Found (The pamphlet's author is described as "The Author of the Queen that Jack Found" in the dedication.)
-
Associated Title: The Political House that Jack Built (The pamphlet imitates the form of Hone's pamphlet, 13292, 1865,1111,388-400.)
- Acquisition date
- 1865
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1865,1111.542-554
