The Prevailing Candidate, or the Election carried by Bribery and the Devil. Here's a Minion sent down to a Corporate Town ...
[n.d. c.1722]
Scarce engraving, sight size 165 x 175mm (6˝ x 7"). Old mount stain.
Satire on the 1722 general election. A grand room with two long windows and a pier glass in the middle; a screen with seven folds is located to the left of this. Three men are visible on the right, one of whom is holding an office staff. They are reflected in the glass behind the screen. A candidate for office approaches a voter from the left side of the screen, taking him by the right hand while placing a purse in the man's pocket with his left. The voter, whose leg is chained, is described in the verses as a corporation member in a borough where only members of that kind could cast ballots. A clergyman standing in a doorway assures his wife that "bribery no sin." The voter is touched on the shoulder by the devil, who is hovering over the candidate and carrying a blank scroll. One of the two boys in the front, who is holding a wooden shoe—a representation of the repressive French regime—points to the transaction. The screen itself has small stars all over it. At the top are the names of several acts that the previous government passed, along with the years 1715–1722, written on seven folds: "Quarantine Act.../South Sea Act/Act to indemnify S.S. V[illai]ns/Part of ye Succession Act repeal'd/Septennial Act."
BM Satires 1717.
[Ref: 62333] £230.00
Scarce engraving, sight size 165 x 175mm (6˝ x 7"). Old mount stain.
Satire on the 1722 general election. A grand room with two long windows and a pier glass in the middle; a screen with seven folds is located to the left of this. Three men are visible on the right, one of whom is holding an office staff. They are reflected in the glass behind the screen. A candidate for office approaches a voter from the left side of the screen, taking him by the right hand while placing a purse in the man's pocket with his left. The voter, whose leg is chained, is described in the verses as a corporation member in a borough where only members of that kind could cast ballots. A clergyman standing in a doorway assures his wife that "bribery no sin." The voter is touched on the shoulder by the devil, who is hovering over the candidate and carrying a blank scroll. One of the two boys in the front, who is holding a wooden shoe—a representation of the repressive French regime—points to the transaction. The screen itself has small stars all over it. At the top are the names of several acts that the previous government passed, along with the years 1715–1722, written on seven folds: "Quarantine Act.../South Sea Act/Act to indemnify S.S. V[illai]ns/Part of ye Succession Act repeal'd/Septennial Act."
BM Satires 1717.
[Ref: 62333] £230.00