Gillray, James. “Substitutes for Bread”. Original antique engraving by James Gillray, published in 1851 as part of the Bohn Edition. Hand coloured at a later date.

Original antique engraving by James Gillray originally published in 1795. This print is from the Bohn Edition of 1851.

In this etching “Substitutes for Bread,” the substitute for bread is shown to be potatoes, which are offered in charity, while the wealthy elite feast on fish, turtle soup made from coins, and meat. The political cartoon satirizes the perceived gluttony of the British government and the stark economic inequality, where the poor are left with meager sustenance while politicians gorge on the nation’s wealth.

A small basket of potatoes is labelled “Potatoe Bread to be given in Charity”, while the politicians are depicted greedily consuming fish and turtle soup made from coins. The sacks of “Product of New Taxes” and the overflowing table signify the wealth the politicians are feasting on, funded by the taxes of the general public, “John Bull”.

Gillray was one of five children, and the only one to survive to maturity. In 1770 he was apprenticed to Harry Ashby, a London writing in engraver, and five years later W. Humphrey published a few of Gillray’s illustrations including satirical works. By the time Gillray commenced his career satire was old, but personal caricature was in its infancy. Other exponents in this form of art were soon overshadowed by Gillray’s superior craftsmanship. His figures were full of vitality, titillating and reflective of some political crisis or private scandal. As his popularity increased so did demand by the public to see more of his work. In the rapidly changing politics of the late18th century he would produce a plate in twenty-four hours. Although sometimes overlooked his speech bubbles were elaborate and Gillray would spend considerable time composing and redrafting the text.

Between 1791 to 1807 his career continued successfully in association with William and Hannah Humphrey. There after Gillray’s health began to suffer. He eventually slipped into madness and died shortly before the Battle of Waterloo on June 1st 1815. Hannah, who had a close relationship with him nursed Gillray through out his final years and following his death the copper plates then formed part of Hannah’s estate when she died in 1818. The executor’s of Hannah’s estate sold Gillray’s painstakingly worked plates for there second hand copper weight. Hearing of this, the then publisher, Bohn who had previously expressed an interest in buying the plates set about purchasing them from a variety of different sources. Eventually acquiring over 500. In 1851 Bohn republished the engravings in a large folio volume, “The Works of James Gillray”.