- Museum number
- 1868,0808.12280
- Title
-
Object: Life of a soldier, contd. from No. 10.
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Object: Doctors' commons.
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Object: Sporting scenes, No. 1.
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Object: Billy the bully, and ranting Dan.
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Object: Evening fashions, and new quadrilles.
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Object: Burmese idol.
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Object: France. | Religious liberty.
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Object: The rejected cup.
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Object: Amateur concert.
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Series: Vol. 1. No. XI. Northern Looking Glass.
- Description
-
Caricature magazine of four folio pages, the last covered in letterpress text, in the form of a (fortnightly) newspaper. 28 November 1825
Etchings as follows:
Page 1.
LIFE OF A SOLDIER, contd from N° 10 [No. 15088] (15089)
Seated on a truss of straw in a prison cell he scrawls on the floor with a burnt stick; he draws a soldier with a drawn sabre over the words : J never get Drunk agian [sic]. Beside him are a pitcher and bread, with a nibbling rat. On the wall is scratched a body dangling from a gibbet.
DOCTORS' COMMONS. (15090)
Scene in the Court (15 Nov. 1825). Two doctors consult, ignoring a violent altercation in the Court. Text: Account of an altercation, 15 Nov. 1825, in the case of Sir Wastel Brisco (1778-1862) against his wife. Brisco violently attacked his wife's Proctor, and was at length forced to retract his words. (No divorce is recorded in G.E.C., Baronetage: Lady B. died in 1861.)
SPORTING SCENES, No. 1. (15091)
A donkey-race: men and boys face the tails of their restive mounts. The spectators are a dustman and two boys.
BILLY THE BULLY, AND RANTING DAN. (14806)
O'Connell (1.) and Cobbett (r.), with clenched fists, exchange threats across a narrow channel on which is a tiny steamer. O'Connell is in wig and gown, from his pocket hangs a large purse inscribed 'Some of the Rent' [see No. 14766, &c.]. He stands on a dagger and papers: 'Riddle me Riddle me Rocket / If I can't put a crown on my Head / I stick a few in my pocket', and 'Sneaking to Peel'. In the background (1.) the Pope's tiara, and an arm holding out a cardinal's hat emerge from clouds. O'Connell (unrecognizable) says: 'Billy come here if you dare Be der powers I'll bodder your gig To send you to Hell I'll take care When I get the Popes Hat on my Wig' Cobbett holds his gridiron (see No. 15119); under his feet are two papers: 'The Turnpike Gate a Farce' and 'To join with Christian Jew or Turk In doing any dirty Work'. He says: 'Dan you're an Infamous Rogue, You're a Bully a Thief and a Liar With your blarney and bother & brogue You deserve to be broild on the fire' Behind him is a bag inscribed Tom Pain's Bones [see No. 13525, &c], from which projects a stick supporting a skull. Behind this is a large pile of papers placarded 'Two Penny Registers for Sale' and inscribed 'Sedition, Blasphemy, Rebellion, Abuse, Deceit, Infamy'. Above the (Irish) Channel, surrounded by smoke, hovers the Devil, clenching his fists. He says: ''Tis odd that you cannot agree / You're my darlings which both of you know / If you quarrel again before me / I'll be d—d but I'll take you below'
Page 2.
EVENING FASHIONS, AND NEW QUADRILLES. (15092)
Seven designs, showing different figures of the dance. 1 Le Pantalon 2 L' été. 3. La Poule. 4. La Trenise [three designs]. 5 La Finale. The (wasp-waisted) ladies wear skirts, much trimmed at the hem, showing the ankle, and short puffed sleeves. Their hair is in a quasi-Grecian knot, with comb, feathers, flowers, and short ringlets round the face. The men wear tight pantaloons, knee-breeches, or short trousers, with tight-waisted tail-coats, sometimes double-breasted, usually showing a waistcoat, with high collar and stock.
Page 3.
BURMESE IDOL.
Undescribed by George (BM Satires). A statue.
FRANCE. | RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. (14807)
Gendarmes with bayoneted muskets, led by an officer with a drawn sword, advance against a group of ugly and elderly Quaker women, who rush to the r., some falling to the ground. A bench and table with books, ink-pot, &c, are overturned. The officer tramples on a prostrate quakeress.
THE REJECTED CUP. (14808)
A large ornate cup, with symbolical figures, is in the r. column (c. 4iX3-| in.). Below (1.) four tattered mechanics (tiny figures) approach Hume, the foremost holding out the cup, while Hume turns his back with a gesture of dismissal (c. if X3 in.). Inscription:
"He first accepted our Mechanics' plate
"Which after he refused:
"Did this in Hume seem avaricious?"
AMATEUR CONCERT. (15093)
Drawing-room music by a family party. An elderly woman plays the piano and sings, children sing or listen. One man plays a guitar, another a flute. An elderly man seated in a chair yawns despairingly. A fat matronly lady watches complacently. A little boy stands holding a miniature fiddle and bow.
- Production date
- 1825
- Dimensions
-
Height: 404 millimetres (approx. page size)
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Width: 277 millimetres (approx. page size)
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- (Description and comment from M. Dorothy George, 'Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the British Museum', X, 1952)
Notes to 'Billy the bully' (14806):
In 1825, Cobbett, though a supporter of Emancipation, began a violent campaign against O'Connell whom he accused of vanity, inconsistency, and corruption. See Pol. Reg., 5 and 19 Mar. 1825; G. D. H. Cole, Life of Cobbett, 1924, pp. 291-3. In 1823 he began an agitation against turnpikes. Ibid., p. 295.
'France. | Religious liberty.' (14807):
According to the Étoile (cited p. 4), the meeting of a society of fifteen women for Bible study in St. Etienne was thus interrupted. They were prosecuted under article 290 of the penal code and sentenced to a fine of 50 fr. each and costs.
'The rejected cup' (14808):
Hume had earned the gratitude of artisans by securing (with Place) the repeal of the Combination Laws in 1824. An outburst of strikes and violence followed; 'the cotton spinners of Glasgow were the most reprehensible'. The 'working people of Dublin and Glasgow' were 'accused of serious crimes' (murder and vitriol-throwing). See Wallas, Life of Place, 1925, pp. 218 ff. Hume led the opposition in 1825 to the re-enactment of the laws, but he declined the cup 'with some home truths as to the folly of their actions'. Smart, Econ. Annals of the Nineteenth Century, ii. 306 ff.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1868
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1868,0808.12280
