The European Race Heat II.d Anno Dom MDCCXXXVIII.Inscrib'd to the Politicians of the Universe By their Humble Servt: An Englishman. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole Duty of Man. Ecclesiastes the 12th: Verse the 13th:
C. Mosley Sculpt.
Publish'd November the 26th, 1738, according to the late Act.
Engraving. 280 x 400mm (11 x 15¾"), 18th century watermark. Some staining and creasing. Trimmed to the plate.
Satire on the jockeying for position of the European powers in the late 1730s, and in particular on the unwillingness of Walpole's government to go to war; this is the second of four "Heats" in the Race. A race-course on the sea-shore with a variety of animals and riders representing different countries: first comes France in the form of a fox ridden by Cardinal Fleury with a serpent for a belt indicating wisdom; he is pursued by Theodore of Corsica in full armour having remounted since the first Heat and now threatening Fleury with a sword and pistol; next comes Don Geraldino (Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, Spanish envoy to London) riding a bucking wolf, no longer led by France. The Turkish elephant has dropped its spectacles and overtaken the Russian bear; the pasha stands on the its back holding a flag with three tails; four Russian flags are stuck into the animal's hindquarters and it has a wooden leg replacing one lost in the war (allusions to the terrible losses sustained by Turkey in the course of victorious battles against Russia); the Russian bear's forepaw is carried in a sling. These wolf, elephant and bear are all branded with the fleur-de-lis. Austria follows in the form of a jockey riding an eagle, its clipped wings repaired with a fleur-de-lis and its heavy orb lying on the ground. A monkey is perched on the distance post as before, but no longer holds the fleur-de-lis. Next comes a Dutchman mounted on a boar its progress hampered by a fleur-de-lis chained to its leg. The race approaches the grandstand from which hangs the prize, now a laurel wreath; the flag is now the Union flag, lettered "Made in France of true English Wool"; a raven, bird of ill-omen perches on the cross-bar.
[Ref: 52261] £480.00
Publish'd November the 26th, 1738, according to the late Act.
Engraving. 280 x 400mm (11 x 15¾"), 18th century watermark. Some staining and creasing. Trimmed to the plate.
Satire on the jockeying for position of the European powers in the late 1730s, and in particular on the unwillingness of Walpole's government to go to war; this is the second of four "Heats" in the Race. A race-course on the sea-shore with a variety of animals and riders representing different countries: first comes France in the form of a fox ridden by Cardinal Fleury with a serpent for a belt indicating wisdom; he is pursued by Theodore of Corsica in full armour having remounted since the first Heat and now threatening Fleury with a sword and pistol; next comes Don Geraldino (Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, Spanish envoy to London) riding a bucking wolf, no longer led by France. The Turkish elephant has dropped its spectacles and overtaken the Russian bear; the pasha stands on the its back holding a flag with three tails; four Russian flags are stuck into the animal's hindquarters and it has a wooden leg replacing one lost in the war (allusions to the terrible losses sustained by Turkey in the course of victorious battles against Russia); the Russian bear's forepaw is carried in a sling. These wolf, elephant and bear are all branded with the fleur-de-lis. Austria follows in the form of a jockey riding an eagle, its clipped wings repaired with a fleur-de-lis and its heavy orb lying on the ground. A monkey is perched on the distance post as before, but no longer holds the fleur-de-lis. Next comes a Dutchman mounted on a boar its progress hampered by a fleur-de-lis chained to its leg. The race approaches the grandstand from which hangs the prize, now a laurel wreath; the flag is now the Union flag, lettered "Made in France of true English Wool"; a raven, bird of ill-omen perches on the cross-bar.
[Ref: 52261] £480.00