Thomas D. Rice performing the "Jump Jim Crow" song and dance in front of British members of the House of Lords. Lithograph by I.H..

I.H., active 1837.

Date:: [1837?]

Reference:: 34224i

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Credit

Thomas D. Rice performing the "Jump Jim Crow" song and dance in front of British members of the House of Lords. Lithograph by I.H.. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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Description

The depiction of Rice is the same as the depiction on a songsheet showing him as he performed at the Surrey Theatre in Southwark, 1836/1837. The peer on the left is John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon (1751-1838); the other peers shown in the background may also be identifiable. Blackstone refers to Commentaries on the Laws of England by Sir William Blackstone, used by the law Lords in making judgments. The "House where Chatham died" is the House of Lords, where William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, died while making a speech. The implication seems to be that the Law Lords "jump about" like Jim Crow in making inconsistent judgments

Publication/Creation

London (47 Piccadilly) : S.W. Fores, [1837?]

Physical description

1 print : lithograph ; image 30.9 x 24 cm

Contributors

I.H., active 1837.

Lettering

Jim Crow the American mountebank performing at the Grand Theatre. I come from America a long time ago, ... IH Words of the song as printed on the print: "I come from America a long time ago, / Since which I larn to wheel about and jump Jim Crow. / Him used to study Blackstone ebry morn & arternoon, / Me charm de House where Chatham died & dance in de saloon. / Wheel about & turn about & do jis so, / Ebry time I wheel about I jumpt Jim Crow."

References note

M. Dorothy George, Catalogue of political and personal satires … in the British Museum, vol. XI, London 1954, p.xlvii (imitators of HB)

Reference

Wellcome Collection 34224i

Creator/production credits

By one of the imitators of John Doyle (1797-1868), known as HB. This imitator uses the monogram IH. "Almost at once the Sketches [of John Doyle] were imitated. HB portraits like those of Gillray and Dighton became much-copied stereotypes of politicians. Seymour in particular became an imitator in the earliest lithographs for The looking glass. The imitators adopt some initials as much like HB as possible. In this volume there is an IB or JB clearly intended to pass as HB, though the draughtsman was unequal to the deception. Henry Heath was another imitator, and signs himself HH. 'We may observe', said The times in November 1836, 'that the extensive and merited success of HB has produced a herd of clumsy imitators.'. Later there were also 'Philo HB', BH (Bob Hamerton), hB. And there were the forgers who produced the spurious copies denounced by McLean"—Dorothy George, loc. cit

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