print;
satirical print
- Museum number
- 1868,0808.4042
- Title
- Object: An Epistle to the Worthy City of London
- Description
-
Satirical rebus supporting the City Address to the king asking for a Militia Bill and an enquiry into the conduct of the government regarding the loss of Minorca, and censuring those who opposed the Address, notably Marshe Dickinson, Lord Mayor, 1756-57.
Etching
- Production date
- 1756 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 320 millimetres (trimmed?)
-
Width: 198 millimetres (trimmed?)
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- The rebus includes a reference to Dicky Dickinson, keeper of the Scarborough Spa, standing for Marshe Dickinson. The phrase "my ass in a bandbox" is also used, apparently earlier than previously recorded; Eric Partridge, 'Dictionary of Slang', gives 1784 as the first use; it appears in prints of the Napoleonic period and some concerning Queen Caroline, e.g. BM Satires 14110. Dorothy George notes "'My ass on a band-box' was a coarse answer to the offer of anything inadequate to the purpose, as a band-box for a seat".
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1868
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1868,0808.4042