James Gillray, Matrimonial Harmonics, large folio hand coloured, 1805 (1847)

View Similar Items

Curtis, 'Flora Londinensis', Pimpernel, Large Folio, Hand Coloured

Butterlies, Metamorphosis of Insects, Large Folio, L'Admiral, Hand Coloured

Merian, Butterflies, Moths, Folio, Hand Coloured Engraving

1788 Ice Plant, Botany, J. J. Plenck, Icones Plantarum, Folio Hand Coloured

Important Antique Scottish History Print, after James Gillray, 1786

1780 Floral Spring Bouquet, Louis Tessier, Folio, Tulip, Poeny, Hand Coloured

Karl Bodmer, Piegan Blackfoot, Makui-Poka, folio hand coloured

Brodtmann, Aborigines of Australia, Folio, Stone Lithograph, Hand Coloured

1558 Octopus, Conrad Gesner, Folio, Woodcut, Hand Coloured, First State

Joh. Jak. Scheuchzer, Bible Engraving, Noah’s Ark, Folio, Hand Coloured

1657 Hoopoe, Bee-Eaters, Passerines, Matt. Merian, Folio Hand Coloured Engraving

1558 Spider Crab, Conrad Gesner, Folio, Woodcut, Hand Coloured, First State

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 5

James Gillray, Matrimonial Harmonics, large folio hand coloured, 1805 (1847)

About the Item

'Matrimonial Harmonics' Published by: Hannah Humphrey 1805, Bohn Edition (1847). 27.3 x 38 cm Original hand coloured engraving. Caricature map of Britain in the guise of an old woman seated on a sea creature, from Bohn's with image on recto, platemark 270 x 198mm. Verso: Part image. This is a rare engraving with a distinctly musical theme showing a well-to-do couple after marriage. As in Harmony Before Matrimony the contrast begins with the very different body language of the pair in the two prints. But it is mostly elaborated by the objects in the room, each of which provides a commentary on the couples' relationship. What was once a harmonious marriage has now become one full of noise and discord. Instead of leaning in towards one another, and making music together, the husband and wife are engaged in completely separate activities: she plays the pianoforte; he reads the Sporting Calendar. The space between them, instead of being occupied with a book of Ovid's poems, now includes a barking dog, a screeching cat, and a pair of squawking birds who, like the human couple, have new offspring to contend with. And to add to the din, the couple's bawling baby is being brought into the room by a nursemaid who tries to distract the child with a clacking noisemaker. James Gillray (13 August 1756 – 1 June 1815) was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810. Many of his works are held at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Gillray has been called "the father of the political cartoon", with his works satirizing George III, Napoleon, prime ministers and generals. Regarded as being one of the two most influential cartoonists, the other being William Hogarth, Gillray's wit and humour, knowledge of life, fertility of resource, keen sense of the ludicrous, and beauty of execution, at once gave him the first place among caricaturists. In July of 1835 Gillray’s her entire stock of drawings, prints and original copper plates was offered up for auction. Several hundred drawings were sold but on the last day of the sale when some 610 of Gillray's plates were offered no-one was prepared to meet Mrs. Humphrey's reserve price, thought to have been at least £1,000. The plates remained unsold until her death whereupon the executors offered them for the price of the copper. An enterprising publisher by the name of H.G.Bohn happened to hear of this in time to save them from being melted down and went on to publish, in 1847-1851, two massive volumes - The Works of James Gillray from the Original Plates. One volume being of 45 "suppressed plates".

Creator:
James Gillray (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 10.75 in (27.3 cm)Width: 14.97 in (38 cm)Depth: 0.04 in (1 mm)
Style:
Georgian (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Paper,Hand-Painted
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1800-1809
Date of Manufacture:
1847
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Norwich, GB
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU7031230226522