The Hanoverian horse and British lion
[London] : Pubd. March 31st 1784 by W. Humphrey, No. 227 Strand, [1784]
Printmaker from BM Satires.
Below title: "A scene in a new play lately acted in Westminster with distinguished applause. Act 2nd scene last."
Library's copy trimmed within plate mark.
Formerly owned by Sir Robert Peel.
Charles Fox, riding a lion, and William Pitt, on a white horse, face each other in the House of Commons, in front of the vacated Speaker's chair. Fox, holding a whip in one hand and a bridle in the other, tries to convince Pitt to dismount the untamed horse that stands with its front legs on a large sheet signed, "Magna Charta, Bill of Rights, Constitution," and kicks with the hind legs and defecates at the fleeing crowd of the members of Parliament. In return, Pitt praises his steed for its wild behavior. The last of the members pushing toward the door is the Speaker, Cornwall, in a wig and carrying the Speaker's mace. A satire on the dissolution of the Parliament on March 25.
Peel, Robert, 1788-1850, former owner.