JS[ayers] f.
Published by C.Bretherton 3d July 1782.
Etching. 175 x 110mm (7 x 4¼"), on thick laid paper with large, uncut margins.
Caricature of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718 - 1792), First Lord of the Admiralty. He stands directed to the right, his head in profile, his left hand thrust into his waistcoat, his right in his waistcoat pocket. Montagu instituted reforms in naval dockyards with Anson, but was later blamed for the rundown at the time of the American War of Independence. He was known as 'Jemmy Twitcher' for his part in the prosecution of his friend Wilkes. Captain Cook named Hawaii 'The Sandwich Islands' after him. The subject of innumerable caricatures and lampoons, his most lasting contribution to British culture is his invention of the now-familiar snack - the sandwich. By James Sayers (1748 - 1823). Sayers's caricatures were so powerful and direct in their purpose that Fox is said to have declared that they did him more harm than all the attacks made on him in parliament or the press. The publisher Charles Bretherton (c.1760 fl - 1783) was the younger brother of James Bretherton.
BM Satires 6076. NPG D5900.
[Ref: 21352]  £160.00