The Contrast 1793. 1 - 1 Jan 1793
Hand-coloured etching | 26.5 x 36.1 cm (sheet of paper) (sheet of paper) | RCIN 810444
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A hand-coloured print of two roundels, one showing British Liberty, the other French Liberty. On the left Britannia is seated, holding scales in her left hand and the Magna Carta in her right. In the right hand roundel, French Liberty stands triumphant over a beheaded body, holding a pike spearing two human hearts and with the figure of a hanged man in the background. Etched by Rowlandson after a design by Lord George Murray, a Kent clergyman, these prints were circulated as propaganda by the Crown and Anchor Society. They suggest that British liberty will lead to peace while the ideals pursued in France will lead to poverty, fear and violence. The etchings were sold at a very low price and were available in bulk for circulation around the country. Inscibed underneath the left roundel: Religion. Morality.Loyalty Obedience to the Laws Independence Personal Security Justice Inheritance Protection Property Industry National Prosperity Happiness [underscored]. Inscribed underneath the right roundel: Atheism Periury Rebellion Treason Anarchy Murder Equality Madness Cruelty Injustice Treachery Ingratitude Idleness Famine National & Private Ruin. Misery [underscored]. Inscribed in the plate: Published Jany 1 1793 by SW Fores No 3 Piccadilly £1.1s.0d Hundred plain and £2.2s.0d Coloured / Price 3d Plain, Coloured 6d.
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
26.5 x 36.1 cm (sheet of paper) (sheet of paper)
25.2 x 34.7 cm (plate mark) (platemark)
Category
Object type(s)
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 8284Bibliographic 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 8284
Place of Production
Greater London [England]