Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Dame rat, and her poor little ones

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James Gillray
1756-1815

Dame rat, and her poor little ones

[London] : Publish'd March 26th 1782 by J. Browning, Oxford Street, [1782]
etching
image: 193 x 275 mm; sheet: 230 x 297 mm
Peel 2376
Notes
By James Gillray.
Library's copy partially trimmed within plate mark.
Provenance

Formerly owned by Sir Robert Peel.

Summary

Print shows Lord Hertford, Lord Chamberlain since 1766, with his wife, five sons and two daughters, who are making obsequious overtures to Charles Fox, the central figure of the design. Hertford stands stiffly in profile to the left, his staff of office in his hand. His wife and children all have rat's heads. Fox, with a fox's head, strolls past the family ignoring their advances, and turning his back on Lady Hertford. She has her right hand on her husband's arm, and turns to her left to address Fox, saying "Happy to see you on Monday Mr. Reynard". The scene is an open rectangular space with buildings on the right and at the back, perhaps a free rendering of one of the courts of St. James's Palace.

Associated names
Browning, J., fl. 1782, publisher.
Peel, Robert, 1788-1850, former owner.
Classification
Department
Century prints