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A Very Im['Im' struck through]pertinent Question: P.14655-R

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

A Very Im['Im' struck through]pertinent Question
HB Sketches No. 54

Maker(s)

Printmaker: Doyle, John (HB)
Publisher: McLean, Thomas

Entities

Categories

Description

Lithograph (uncoloured) on white wove paper. Inlaid within a frame of buff wove paper (approx. height 360mm x width 515mm). An interior scene around a cloth-covered table with Wellington (Duke of Wellington; Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, 1769-1852; Prime Minister from 1828 to 1830) seated at the left, Peel (Sir Robert Peel; Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, 1788-1850; Prime Minister, 1834–1835 and 1841–1846) seated beside him. Wellington holds a paper taken from an open displatch box. The actor, John Liston (1776-1846) in the character of Paul Pry stands before the two men offering his hat and holding an umbrella under his left arm. Paul Pry was characterised as a meddlesome and mischievous fellow consumed with curiosity and unable to mind his own business and was played by Liston in the three-act farce of the same name which premiered at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 13 September 1825. Text contained inside a (faint) speech bubble: 'I have just dropped in to ask / you a little question, I want to know - / if you are really desirous to releive [sic] / the people by retrenchment and / economy - why you don't begin / by reducing your own / Salaries?'. Wellington answers in text contained inside a speech bubble (faint): 'Your question Sir, is a very / impertinent question! / and I take it to be / exceedingly personal!'. Peel responds with text inside a (faint) speech bubble: 'What a very / disagreeable question!'. The title is printed below the border: 'A VERY IM['IM' struck through]PERTINENT QUESTION'. The publisher's details printed below, the lower part of the text cropped by the edge of the paper: 'Published by Thomas McLean 26 Haymarket, 3rd March 1830'. Handwritten in graphite at upper right: '54'. See 16065,_Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires_, Vol. XI, 1828-1832, M.D. George, published 1954, pp. 273-4. A number '[54]' printed in square brackets in the right-hand margin on p. 273 relates to the handwritten number at upper right, both referencing the sequence of John Doyle's Political Sketches series.

Legal notes

Given by Mrs J.E. Foster, 1895

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1895) by Foster, J.E., Mrs

Dating

19th Century
Production date: AD 1830-03-03

Note

Height 285mm x width 356mm

School or Style

British

Techniques used in production

Lithography

Identification numbers

Accession number: P.14655-R
Primary reference Number: 225244
Stephens/George: 16065
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Wednesday 5 September 2018 Updated: Thursday 6 January 2022 Last processed: Wednesday 13 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "A Very Im['Im' struck through]pertinent Question" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/225244 Accessed: 2024-12-23 01:00:05

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/225244 |title=A Very Im['Im' struck through]pertinent Question |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-23 01:00:05|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-225244

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