On offer: an original (i.e. not a later reproduction) scarce antique print "Black Dick turn'd Taylor."
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (1726-1799), Admiral, sits cross-legged on a tailor's shop-board working at a naval coat which lies across his knees. He holds up a threaded needle in his right hand; in his left are shears with which he is about to cut the thread. He says, "I have now finish'd my Seven Years Plan of the N-v-l Uniform; next the Marines must be Blue, faced with White, & White Buttons. I shan't let the Guardships cruize as formerly, a bad plan, give me young Officers that know little, then I may shew my skill - The word Merit should be expung'd from the Dictionary. Next Year I must set a few more of the old Ninety Two's aside, & have smart young Admirals. I'll have a general reform soon." Beside him is a tailor's goose, &c. Behind him (right) five naval coats in course of completion hang from a row of pegs, two have elaborately wide cuffs, one of which is decorated with an anchor. Beneath the board on which Howe sits are demons from whose operations smoke rises to surround him. Two grotesque nude creatures (left), one very thin, the other obese, are on the top of a circular platform which rests on a mast flying an ensign. They are cooking a goose, a cabbage, and a cucumber, all emblems of the tailor. The place where the 'cabbage' (pilfered cloth) was kept was called Hell. Grose, 'Dict. Vulgar Tongue', 1796. Next them a large devil with a gridiron under his arm stretches out his talons, saying, "And I'll have a general Reform soon as I shall get you before you are aware of it. I've ting'd your Heart so may safely leave you to go on."--British Museum online catalogue
DATE PRINTED: 1849 from a plate first published in 1788.
SIZE: The printed area including titles is approximately 24.5 x 23 cm (9.75 x 9 inches) plus margins with a blank back (medium).
ARTIST/CARTOGRAPHER/ENGRAVER: Drawn and etched by James Gillray. James Gillray (13 August 1756 – 1 June 1815) was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810. Many of his works are held at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Gillray has been called "the father of the political cartoon", with his works satirizing George III, Napoleon, prime ministers and generals. Regarded as being one of the two most influential cartoonists, the other being William Hogarth, Gillray's wit and humour, knowledge of life, fertility of resource, keen sense of the ludicrous, and beauty of execution, at once gave him the first place among caricaturists. In his caricatures Gillray was attacking the social follies of the time with scathing satire, and nothing escapes his notice. He is honourably distinguished in the history of caricature by the fact that his sketches are real works of art.
PROVENANCE: 'Publish'd Feby 4th 1788. by G. Humphrey, No 48 Longacre'. First published in 1788. In 1849/1851 Henry George Bohn put out an edition, from the original plates in a handsome elephant folio from where this example is taken, the coarser sketches-commonly known as the "Suppressed Plates"-being published in a separate volume.
VERSO: There is part of another view printed on the reverse side.
CONDITION: Good; suitable for framing. Please check the scan for any blemishes prior to making your purchase. Virtually all antiquarian maps and prints are subject to some normal aging due to use and time which is not significant unless otherwise stated. I offer a no questions asked return policy. Faint stain top right corner.
AUTHENTICITY: This is an authentic antique print, published at the date stated above. I do not offer reproductions. It is not a modern copy. The term 'original' when applied to a print means that it was printed at the first or original date of publication; it does not imply that the item is unique.
RETURNS POLICY: I offer a no questions returns policy. All I ask is that you pay return shipping and mail back to me in original condition.
POSTAGE / SHIPPING COSTS: I only charge postage for the first print ordered. There is no additional postage charge if you order more than one print.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Richard Howe rose through the ranks of the Royal Navy, becoming Commander-in-Chief during the American War of Independence (1775-83), and eventually rising to First Lord of the Admiralty (1783-88). This print satirises Howe at a time when his promotion of junior officers over more senior men was so unpopular that it occasioned debates in Parliament and personal attacks in the press. Howe was also criticised around this time for his regulation of naval uniforms, which Gillray mocks through this depiction of Howe as an obsessive tailor, hunched over a pile of sewing. The moniker 'Black Dick' referenced in the title is the nickname given to Howe by the men serving under him. In the berth beneath him is a figure if the Devil, whose speech indicated that it is he who controls Howe's actions: "And I'll have a general Reform soon, as I shall get you before you are aware of it. I've ting'd your Heart so may safely leave you to go on." .
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