Gillray, James. “The Introduction”. 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, published in 1851 as part of the Bohn Edition. Hand coloured at a later date.

The “Introduction” by James Gillray first published in 1791, satirizes the marriage of King George III’s son, Prince Frederick, Duke of York, to Princess Frederica of Prussia. The print lampoons the British royal family’s notorious greed for money, as they initially believed the marriage would bring a large dowry from Prussia.

Gillray’s work depicts the royal meeting with sharp satirical detail.

The greedy monarchs: Seated on the throne, King George III and Queen Charlotte are portrayed with caricatured gestures of eager greed. The King looks through an eyeglass, while the Queen holds out her apron to catch coins she expects the new duchess to provide.

The hopeful couple: Prince Frederick, the Duke of York, leads his bride, Frederica, forward. The princess, holding her own apron filled with coins, seems to be a compliant participant in the financial transaction.

The Prussian dowry: A gigantic Prussian soldier stands in the background, carrying large, labelled money bags. This figure represents the supposed source of wealth from the Prussian royal family.

The print’s humor is based on a a rumor circulated that the Prussian princess’s dowry to the Duke would be substantial but this proved to be false, allowing Gillray to mock the royal family’s avarice.

The print also served as a subtle commentary on the censorship of the time. The more Gillray was suppressed by the establishment, the more he seemed to find creative ways to lampoon the monarchy.

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”.