A fearful woman (Britannia) is encouraged by three British politicians to resist the invading fleet of France. Coloured etching by J. Gillray after J. Sneyd, 1803.
- Sneyd, John.
- Date:
- 14 March 1803
- Reference:
- 12191i
- Pictures
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Description
The fainting Britannia is fortified by "doctors and ministers" represented by Charles Jenkinson (Baron Hawkesbury, subsequently Earl of Liverpool) and Henry Addington (subsequently Viscount Sidmouth): Jenkinson wears a fur-lined robe, while Addington, as a doctor in the robes of the Royal College of Physicians, holds smelling salts ("Gunpowder") to her nose. Sheridan, as a quack doctor's assistant ("Sherry Andrew", play on "Merry Andrew"), holds a club and a shield in the form of the head of the Medusa against Napoleon and a French invasion force crossing the English Channel. Fox is shown behind them. The characters speak as if playing roles in a Shakespearian tragedy
Publication/Creation
[London] (27 St. James's Street) : H. Humphrey, 14 March 1803.
Physical description
1 print : etching, with watercolour ; platemark 26.1 x 36.3 cm
Contributors
Lettering
Physical aid, - or - Britannia recover'd from a trance; - also, the patriotic courage of Sherry Andrew, & a peep thro' the fog.
Britannia says "Doctors & Ministers of dis grace defend me!", with "dis" scored through , a parody of Hamlet, Act I, scene 4, "Angels and ministers of grace defend us!"
References note
British Museum, Catalogue of political and personal satires, vol. VIII, London 1947, no. 9972
Reference
Wellcome Collection 12191i
Type/Technique
Languages
Subjects
- Syncope (Pathology)
- Physicians
- CostumeHistory19th century
- Great BritainForeign relationsFrance
- Medusa (Gorgon)
- Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 1751-1816.
- Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806.
- Jenkinson, Charles, 1727-1808.
- Sidmouth, Henry Addington, Viscount, 1757-1844.
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821.
- Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Hamlet.
Where to find it
Location Status Access Closed stores