Broad-bottom-drones storming the hive [graphic] : wasps, hornets & bumble-bees joining in the attack / Js. Gillray invt. & fect.

Creator:

Gillray, James, 1756-1815, printmaker.

Copyright Date:

[2 May 1808]

Physical Description:

1 print : etching with engraving on wove paper, hand-colored ; plate mark 25.6 x 36.0 cm, on sheet 30 x 41 cm

Notes:

Title etched below image.

Abstract:

"Fantastic insects (l.), with human heads assail a hive (r.) standing on a low and very solid wooden stand, the 'Treasury-Bench'; ministerial bees emerge to defend it. The apex of the hive is a royal crown from which sprout ears of straw. In the upper left. corner is the grotesque body of Sidmouth terminating in a clyster-pipe inscribed 'Clysteria Ministeria'; the wings are bottles inscribed 'Emetic' and 'Cathartic' [cf. BMSat 9849]. Above him flies the head of (?) Fitzpatrick between wings inscribed 'Hedge Lane' and 'Chick-lane' (London slums and resorts of prostitutes). An adjacent aquiline profile resembles George Hanger. Below, and to the right., is Lauderdale, his wings patterned with tartan. Above (r.) is Erskine, in barrister's wig and bands, both wings inscribed 'Protest'. Next (r.), Moira is supported on ostrich-feather wings, indicating the Prince of Wales (see, e.g., BMSat 10253). Immediately below him is Grattan, with a barbed tail, his wings inscribed 'Irish Emancipation' [cf. BMSat 10404]. Next, and in the forefront, is Grey, like a dragon-fly (and striped blue and buff), his four wings inscribed 'Vanity'. In the next row below are (l. to r.) Ellenborough with malevolent features framed in a judge's wig; Bedford, his wings inscribed 'Disappointment'; Sheridan, his bloated body patterned like Harlequin (cf. BMSat 9916, &c), his wings inscribed 'Stale Jests' and 'Joe Miller'. The huge Temple has wings made of sheets of paper, inscribed 'Stationary', 'Fools-Cap', 'Gilt Post', and 'Wax', 'Pens', 'Wafers' [see BMSat 10721, &c.]. He spits copiously at the defenders. Next is the age-worn profile of Grafton. In the row below are (l. to r.) Lord Holland, with wings inscribed 'Volponean Rancour' [as nephew and devoted pupil of Fox, cf. BMSat 9892] and 'Kalpinist [Hindu] Subtilty'. Next, Lord Spencer, his wings inscribed 'Cunning Policy', and (behind) the profile of Lord Carlisle. Next, and immediately below his son Temple, is Buckingham, in spectacles and Garter ribbon, directing a blast from his 'broad bottom' against the crown on the hive. His wings are 'Catholic Loyalty' and 'Catholic Gratitude'. Close to him is the distended body of Grenville, marked with an irradiated cross and puffing a curling cloud at the enemy. His wings are 'Envy' and 'Ambition'. The three Grenvilles, 'Broad-Bottoms' (see BMSat 10530) par excellence, are close together, and in the centre front of the attack. ..."--British Museum online catalogue.

Topics:

Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership.
Bedford, John Russell,--Duke of,--1766-1839--Caricatures and cartoons.
Buckingham and Chandos, Richard Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos,--Duke of,--1776-1839--Caricatures and cartoons.
Buckingham, George Nugent Temple Grenville,--Marquess of,--1753-1813--Caricatures and cartoons.
Burdett, Francis,--1770-1844--Caricatures and cartoons.
Canning, George,--1770-1827--Caricatures and cartoons.
Carlisle, Frederick Howard,--Earl of,--1748-1825--Caricatures and cartoons.
Castlereagh, Robert Stewart,--Viscount,--1769-1822--Caricatures and cartoons.
Derby, Edward Smith Stanley,--Earl of,--1752-1834--Caricatures and cartoons.
Eldon, John Scott,--Earl of,--1751-1838--Caricatures and cartoons.
Ellenborough, Edward Law,--Baron,--1750-1818--Caricatures and cartoons.
Erskine, Thomas Erskine,--Baron,--1750-1823--Caricatures and cartoons.
Grafton, Augustus Henry Fitzroy,--Duke of,--1735-1811--Caricatures and cartoons.
Grattan, Henry,--1746-1820--Caricatures and cartoons.
Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville,--Baron,--1759-1834--Caricatures and cartoons.
Grey, Charles Grey,--Earl,--1764-1845--Caricatures and cartoons.
Hanger, George,--1751?-1824--Caricatures and cartoons.
Harvey, Francis--Ownership.
Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings,--Marquess of,--1754-1826--Caricatures and cartoons.
Holland, Henry Richard Vassall,--Baron,--1773-1840--Caricatures and cartoons.
Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher.
Lansdowne, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice,--Marquess of,--1780-1863--Caricatures and cartoons.
Lauderdale, James Maitland,--Earl of,--1759-1839--Caricatures and cartoons.
Liverpool, Robert Banks Jenkinson,--Earl of,--1770-1828--Caricatures and cartoons.
Melville, Henry Dundas,--Viscount,--1742-1811--Caricatures and cartoons.
Norfolk, Charles Howard,--Duke of,--1746-1815--Caricatures and cartoons.
Perceval, Spencer,--1762-1812--Caricatures and cartoons.
Riviere & Son Binding.
Rose, George,--1744-1818--Caricatures and cartoons.
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley,--1751-1816--Caricatures and cartoons.
Sidmouth, Henry Addington,--Viscount,--1757-1844--Caricatures and cartoons.
Spencer, George John Spencer,--Earl,--1758-1834--Caricatures and cartoons.
St. Vincent, John Jervis,--Viscount,--1735-1823--Caricatures and cartoons.
Stanhope, Charles Stanhope,--Earl,--1753-1816--Caricatures and cartoons.
Taylor, Michael Angelo,--1757-1834--Caricatures and cartoons.
Tierney, George,--1761-1830--Caricatures and cartoons.
Tooke, John Horne,--1736-1812--Caricatures and cartoons.
Whitbread, Samuel,--1764-1815--Caricatures and cartoons.
William--IV,--King of Great Britain,--1765-1837--Caricatures and cartoons.
Windham, William,--1750-1810--Caricatures and cartoons.

Language:

English

Genre:

Etchings--England--London--1808.
Satires (Visual works)--England--1808.

Format:

Image

Rights:

These images are provided for study purposes only. For publication or other use of images from the Library's collection, please contact the Lewis Walpole Library at walpole@yale.edu. Further details on the Library's photoduplication policy are available at http://www.library.yale.edu/walpole/html/research/rights_reproductions.html

Call Number:

808.05.02.01+
Auchincloss Gillray v. 6

Orbis Record:

9147404

Yale Collection:

Lewis Walpole Library

Digital Collection:

Lewis Walpole Library

Local Record Number:

lwlpr11015

Citation:

Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 8, no. 10984
Wright, T. Works of James Gillray, the caricaturist with the history of his life and times, p. 355
Wright, T. Historical and descriptive account of the caricatures by James Gillray, no. 344

OID:

11018134

PID:

digcoll:976392