René Lalique
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THE ROLEX DAYTONA 19TH-CENTURY SATIRICAL PRINTS VICTORIAN POT LIDS ANTIQUE COLLECTING MARCH 2021 AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO Inside CHRISTINA TREVANION ON BRIDGERTON RENÉ SOLE SURVIVORS 300 YEARS OF FOOTWEAR LALIQUE EARLY ENGLISH ANTIQUE COLLECTING VOL 55 N0. 9 MARCH 2021 N0. 9 MARCH VOL 55 ANTIQUE COLLECTING THE LEGENDARY ART NOUVEAU PORCELAIN JEWELLER TURNED GLASS MAKER In the loupe Become an expert with our new jewellery and watch focus Music5 legends Why the memorabilia of Jimi Hendrix and Marc Bolan rocks Reading the Room How to create a Regency library in any home ALSO INSIDE Heal’s of London • View from the saleroom • Expert opinion COLLECTING GUIDES ‘Injured Queen’ satirical prints a number of prints casting an important critical eye on one of the most contentious affairs of the day. Widely in circulation and easy to acquire, they make a charming PRINTS foundation or addition to a print collection, as well as a delightful hanging in a Georgian-styled interior. REGENT CHANCE DISCOVERY In 1973, I knew very little about Queen Caroline, and 19th-century satirical prints were the her place in our history. It was then that I spotted her silver coffin plate displayed on a bookshelf in the home polarising social media of their day – none of Stephen Lushington, a descendant of Dr Stephen more so than those of the sensational case Lushington, the anti-slavery campaigner who rose to prominence in 1820 as counsel to Queen Caroline. of ‘injured’ Queen Caroline who died 200 It sparked an interest in the ‘injured’ queen and a years ago, writes Stewart Abbott collection of political and satirical prints which help to record her life after her return to England. First the historical context, which may be known his year, 2021 marks the 200th anniversary Above Sir George Hayter to some, but could do with revisiting. In 1795, in need of the death of Caroline, wife and uncrowned (1792-1871) The Trial of Queen Caroline, of an heir and in order to silence public disquiet over queen of King George IV. Theirs was a ruinous 1820 his rakish ways, the then Prince Regent (later George relationship, mired in scandal, politics and IV) agreed to marry Caroline of Brunswick. Gambling Tthe need for an heir, and as doomed an affair as any had left him heavily in debt and he agreed to marry for portrayed in the series The Crown. clearance of his debts. And like any Royal intrigue since time began, the The union was a disaster from the start. The warring parties fought for public approval (the poet womanising prince, known as ‘Prinny’ had already Shelley even warned the scandal could topple the married Mrs Fitzherbert (although, without the monarchy). Long before today’s NDAs and gagging agreement of George III the union was invalid under orders, George IV feared the power of the age’s satirical English civil law) and felt little attraction or regard for prints so much that he bought the satiricists’ silence – his new bride. However they set aside their differences further affecting the way the drama played out. enough to conceive Princess Charlotte born a year later. However, his efforts were far from successful with From 1796 until 1820, the royal couple led 40 ANTIQUE COLLECTING Left Sir George Hayter (1792-1871) Caroline of Brunswick (Caroline ANTI-CAROLINE Amelia Elizabeth; BACKLASH German: Caroline Amalie Elisabeth Caroline’s ascendancy von Braunschweig- following the decision to Wolfenbüttel) (1768 drop the Pains and Penalties –1821) Bill on November 10, 1820, Right George Cruikshank did not last long. With the (1792-1878) Any Port in fickle public opinion behind a Storm, 1821 them, the satirists soon Below right George started to publish anti- Cruikshank (1792- Caroline (encouraged by 1878) A Pas de Deux Love, Love at First payments from George IV) Sight, 1821 imagery. A series of prints by George Bottom right Sir George Hayter (1792-1871) Cruikshank, Les Gloires des Honetes Gens, published Caroline of Brunswick in early June 1820, was an attack on Caroline’s (Caroline Amelia behaviour while she was living abroad, depicting the Elizabeth; German) (1768 –1821) Queen unmodestly dressed cavorting with Baron Bergami (her alleged lover). Two further prints were published in 1821, the year of the coronation, A Pas de Deux Love, Love at independent lives, with George launching several First Sight shows Caroline dancing in an unseemly undercover investigations to try to expose Caroline’s manner with Bergami, and allegedly promiscuous lifestyle, and he restricted her A Wooden Substitute, or access to Princess Charlotte. In 1814, Caroline went Any Port in a Storm, shows into exile and only discovered the news of Charlotte’s Caroline as Queen with Sir death in 1817 by accident. When George III died in Mathew Wood, an adviser January 1820, Caroline asserted her claim to be the to whom she was lawful queen of Britain and announced her intention to linked. Wood takes the return to England. Queen’s left arm, she is wearing twin miniatures: PUBLIC DISCONTENT one of Bergami and the The country was in a state of political unrest after other of Wood. the Peterloo massacre and execution of the Cato Street conspirators. Caroline, on the other hand, was regarded as an injured wife and mother shunned by the establishment. Anticipating a PR war, George IV determined to stop her return to the UK, intercepting her at St Omer with the offer of £50,000 a year to renounce her claim and permanent exile. Refusal meant prosecution for adultery and ignominy. Caroline stood firm, resumed her journey to Calais, and arrived at Dover on June 5, 1820. Huge crowds of ecstatic fans welcomed her return and she was mobbed all the way to London. Undeterred, George IV called on parliament to achieve a divorce. The ‘trial’ of the queen in the House of Lords was not as we know a trial today, but a political and contentious action by the king. Evidence ‘The marriage was a disaster from the start. The womanising prince, known as Prinny, had already wed Mrs Fitzherbert (although, without the agreement of George III the union was invalid under English civil law) and felt little attraction or regard for his new bride’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 41 COLLECTING GUIDES ‘Injured’ Queen satirical prints Before his ‘gagging order’, the first satirical prints by Gorge Cruikshank were firmly against the King. The print below, published July 23, 1820, shows George IV, in the title role of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, surprised by the sudden arrival of his wife, Caroline, depicted as the wronged wife Donna Anna. A number of bare-breasted women are present, while on the left, Lord Castlereagh, playing the role of Leporello, holds a long list of the king’s female conquests. It reflects the fact public opinion was with Caroline rather than George IV at this point. of Caroline’s behaviour abroad was collected by the Milan Commission and presented to parliament as part of the passage of The Pains and Penalties Bill. It Above The Abyssinian Monster a rare print, included alleged adultery between the would-be queen published by J Dawson, and Baron Bartolomeo Bergami in Italy. Evidence Camden Town, London, against her was presented in two green bags, which in December 1820, were to feature in many subsequent satirical prints. portrays George IV in a poor light It was fair game to the satirists, with prints published supporting the Queen and King, with the latter being in a position to silence his critics. We know Printed in November 1820, the print titled The from records from Windsor Castle that in 1820 the R(oya)I Hen and the Dunghill Cock, and King spent £2,600 in payments to quieten satirists. attributed to George Cruikshank. It shows a cock There is a receipt at Windsor recording that George with the face of the king standing on a dunghill Cruikshank was paid £100 and his brother Robert (one of the green bags in which evidence against £70 ‘in consideration of a pledge not to caricature His Caroline had been carried to England), while a Majesty in any immoral situation’. large eagle emblazoned with Public Disapprobation . swoops down to pluck the Royal crown from his MOURNING GLORY head. Queen Caroline was not successful in her attempts Rays from the sun irradiate Queen Caroline, to be crowned monarch and it wasn’t long before public in contrast to the clouds which hover above the opinion, broadly for her, swung to her opposition. King. She has been crowned by a hand that reaches The antipathy came to the fore when she failed in down from the clouds. The inference being she has her attempt to gain entry to her husband’s coronation powers from heaven as well as ancient powers from on July 19, 2021. She died a few days later. Death had Roman times. enhanced her reputation once more, as witnessed by a ‘penny print’ by Gally of her funeral procession, dated August 14, 1821 with her journey to her final resting place in Brunswick. It was the Queen’s wish that her coffinrecorded her as the ‘Injured Queen’ of George IV. But the plate was replaced by one noting just her name and dates – the original being the one mentioned at the start of the article. History has largely forgotten the ‘Injured Queen’, one of the most colourful characters of the Royal family. Prints of the period bring the story back to life. Dr Stewart Abbott has collected porcelain, glass, political and satirical prints since the late 1960s. Many of the prints mentioned in this article are available to buy from his website sandjabbottceramicsplus.co.uk with prices ranging from £150 to £600.