Description: Illustrator: Linley Sambourne, from British Punch humor/satire magazine, May 18, 1878, pulled from the magazine, not a modern reproduction. Size 8 x 10 1/2 inches (image shown is slightly cropped). Condition: excellent -- minor age toning, clean, page has been humidified and flattened for best appearance and for framing; backside has unrelated text with some show-through (ghosting) possible on the facing side, as published -- please look closely.“THAT FEARFUL MEPHISTOPHELES!”+ Here, the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, is shown in the guise of Mephistopheles, about to hurl a hand grenade. The reference is to foreign policy: the war of 1877 between Russia and Turkey had concluded with the Treaty of San Stefano in March 1878 which ceded Bulgaria to the Russians. Disraeli considered this a threat to British interests in the Mediterranean and was anxious about keeping the route to Imperial India open via the newly acquired Suez Canal. In January 1878 he had sent a fleet to the Dardanelles in a show of strength, but The Quarterly Review, shown lying below, condemned this warmongering policy. In early May Disraeli extended his defense plan with a proposal to send Indian troops to Malta, hence the man in a turban and the set of knives with an Empress label. + The second figure is Gladstone, the former Prime Minister. He was bitterly opposed to Disraeli’s foreign policy, describing him to friends as a ‘fiend’. His speech bubble ‘Holler boys’ is from the chorus to the popular Guy Fawkes rhyme, ‘Remember remember the fifth of November’, thereby reminding the audience of a previous act of violence and its outcome. The box of matches reinforces the inflammatory theme. [commentary by Shirley Nicholson]Over 4,000 Punch cartoons listed for sale (store category "Punch cartoons") -- humor, satire and propaganda; combine orders and save shipping charges. Questions are always welcome. Please use 'Add to Basket' instead of 'Buy now' if buying more than one so that eBay only charges one lot of postage per order. More details about the artist and/or the magazine Punch upon request.Punch, a magazine of humor and satire, ran from 1841-2002. A very British institution renowned internationally for its wit and irreverence, it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustrati
Price: 16.95 USD
Location: Milton, Vermont
End Time: 2024-12-04T22:34:35.000Z
Shipping Cost: 6.95 USD
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Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Artist: Linley Sambourne
Type: Print
Year of Production: 1878
Color: Black and White
Item Height: 11 in
Style: Cartoon/ caricatures
Item Length: 8 in
Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
Subject: Disraeli and Gladstone
Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom