Le diable-boiteux - or - the Devil upon two sticks conveying John Bull to the land of promise
Le diable-boiteux - or - the Devil upon two sticks conveying John Bull to the land of promise
Item Information
Title:
Le diable-boiteux - or - the Devil upon two sticks conveying John Bull to the land of promise
Title (alt.):
Le diable-boiteux. Or, the devil upon two sticks, conveying John Bull to the land of promise
Description:
Fox, as the Devil, has sprung into the air, supported by small feathered wings and by two stout crutches, which rest upon dark clouds. He has a heavy hairy body with cloven hoofs, and wears a bonnet rouge with tricolour cockade and the triple plume of the Prince of Wales. The two crutches have the heads, respectively, of Sidmouth (left) and Grenville. He wears a long narrow cloak with a tricolour collar. The end of this is clutched by John Bull, a fat 'cit' (resembling John Gilpin), who is drawn up into the air, losing hat and wig. Fox speaks, looking over his right shoulder with a sinister grin. The terrified John answers. Below John's feet and at the base of the design (left), are the roofs of London, including the top of the gateway of St. James's Palace and the dome of St. Paul's. Fox is flying towards the façade of Carlton House, which emerges from clouds. Over its roof rises a sun emitting rays. Above the colonnade is an inscription. Resting on the clouds below Carlton House are three tiny scenes: two gamblers throwing dice, one Sheridan the other the Prince, and men watch them; the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert, indicated by feathers in her hair, embrace on a sofa; men carouse at a round table and one sprawls on the floor. Fox, as the Devil under the cloak of patriotism, is carried to power by two props, Sidmouth and Grenville, on whose coalition with the Foxites the new Ministry is based. This relies not on St. James's but on Carlton House, the secrets of which, as in Le Sage's story, are revealed in three scenes satirizing the life of the Prince. The allegation that the new Ministry was subservient to Carlton House was natural and recurs, but proved unfounded (BM).
Title from item.
Alternative title from Wright/Evans.
BM Satires 10525; Wright/Evans 307
On item: 110.
Notes (acquisition):
The Albert H. Wiggin Collection, 1941
Notes (date):
Date from Wright/Evans.
Reproduction. Date indicated is Gillray's original publication date.
Notes (citation):
Stephens, Frederic George, George, Mary Dorothy. "Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum." British Museum Press, 1870, London.
Wright, Thomas, R. H. Evans. "Historical and descriptive account of the caricatures of James Gillray." Benjamin Blom, 1968, New York.
Notes (object):
Bound in "The Caricature Magazine or Hudibrastic Mirror Vol. 3," the third volume in a set of five published under this title by Thomas Tegg. The five volumes contained 251 prints in all.
IIIF Manifest