| Method | Etching with original hand colouring |
| Artist | James Gillray |
| Published | Js. Gy. inv. & fect. ad vivum. Pubd. April 17th 1797, by H. Humphrey, 27 St James's Street London. |
| Dimensions | Image 240 x 305 mm, Plate 252 x 332 mm, Sheet 280 x 370 mm |
| Notes |
A satirical print depicting the elderly William Douglas, the 4th Duke of Queensberry, playing the popular game of 'push-pin' with a plump woman, while a younger woman watches with downcast eyes. The Duke, whose chair is blazoned with the Queensberry crest of a winged heart, leans over the table, peering through his double lorgnette at his opponent, the corpulent Mother Windsor, a notorious brothel keeper. He taps her foot with his own, pushing his bent pin forward with a look of predatory glee. The Duke, the eighth richest man in the nation, had a reputation as a gambler, and a frequently unsuccessful but dogged pursuer of younger women. The third figure may thus be the Duke's 'prize' for winning the game. James Gillray (c.1756-1815), was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires. Born in Chelsea, Gillray studied letter-engraving, and was later admitted to the Royal Academy where he was influenced by the work of Hogarth. His caricature L'Assemblée Nationale (1804) gained huge notoriety when the Prince of Wales paid a large sum of money to have it suppressed and its plate destroyed. Gillray lived with his publisher and print-seller Miss (often called Mrs) Humphrey during the entire period of his fame. Twopenny Whist, a depiction of four individuals playing cards, is widely believed to feature Miss Humphrey as an ageing lady with eyeglasses and a bonnet. One of Gillray's later prints, Very Slippy-Weather, shows Miss Humphrey's shop in St. James's Street in the background. In the shop window a number of Gillray's previously published prints, such as Tiddy-Doll the Great French Gingerbread Maker [...] a satire on Napoleon's king-making proclivities, are shown in the shop window. His last work Interior of a Barber's Shop in Assize Time, from a design by Bunbury, was published in 1811. While he was engaged on it he became mad, although he had occasional intervals of sanity. Gillray died on 1 June 1815, and was buried in St James's churchyard, Piccadilly. BM Satires 9082 Condition: Toning and some fading to original hand colouring. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £475.00 |
| Stock ID | 53358 |