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1 of 253523 objects
Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827)
The Word Eater. 30 - 30 Dec 1788
Hand-coloured etching | 26.3 x 38.3 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 810301
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A hand-coloured print of Charles James Fox in the House of Commons explaining how he will devour words, speeches and books. Among the Members of Parliament listening are Lord North (who wears a blindfold) and Edmund Burke. This print attacks Fox’s much-admired yet distrusted eloquence, which had been put to use in support of the Prince’s cause. It shows Fox in Parliament twisting the words of key political texts to give them ‘Contradictory meaning’. In manipulating such documents as the Magna Carta, the print argues, Fox was threatening liberty. Inscribed in the plate: Pubd. 30th 1788 by S Fores No.3 Picadilly
Provenance
Perhaps one of the prints acquired from the descendants of Samuel Fores in 1854
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Creator(s)
(publisher) -
Medium and techniques
Hand-coloured etching
Measurements
26.3 x 38.3 cm (sheet of paper)
24.8 x 35.0 cm (platemark)
Other number(s)
BM Satires : Catalogue of political and personal satires preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum ... 11 v. in 12. – BM Satires 7391Bibliographic reference(s)
BM Satires : Catalogue of political and personal satires preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum ... 11 v. in 12. BM Satires 7391
Place of Production
Greater London [England]
