AMERICAN REVOLUTION

[Regarding the State of the English Nation, in the Year 1778]

[Netherlands: c. 1780]. Engraving, proof before letters, with wide margins. Sheet size: 10 3/4 x 13 13/16 inches. Plate mark: 8 1/2 x 11 inches.

An American Revolutionary War satirical print lamenting the war's effects on the English trade and the economy.

"A cow representing the commerce of Great Britain stands passively on the sea-shore while an American with a feathered cap saws off her horns; one horn lies on the ground. A Dutchman milks the cow, looking over his shoulder with a grin. France, a foppishly-dressed Frenchman, and Spain, a don in slashed doublet and cloak, hold bowls of milk. In the foreground lies the British lion asleep, unconscious of a pug-dog which stands on his back, befouling him. Behind the lion stands a plainly-dressed Englishman clasping his hands in despair. In the background across the sea is a town inscribed "Philadelphia"; in front of it, on the shore, two men on a minute scale (General and Admiral Howe) are seated at a table. Both are asleep, a punch-bowl is on the table, on the ground beside them are wine-bottles and a barrel. Beside them, laid up on dry land, is a man-of-war inscribed 'Eagle' (Howe's flag-ship)" (British Museum catalogue). First published in the Westminster magazine, separately-published Dutch and French pirated versions quickly followed. The present Dutch version was issued without text below the image.

Cf. British Museum 5472; Fowble 103; Dolmetsch, Rebellion and Reconciliation: Satirical Prints on the Revolution at Williamsburg 41.

Item #34968

Price: $2,800.00