The Present State of Great Britain

James Phillips|William Humphrey

1779 · Etching · Drawings and Prints

Issued in London at the height of the American Revolution, this print summarizes the situation in 1779 from Britain’s point of view. As in traditional allegories, the figures represent specific nations, but their dramatic interaction anticipates the new kind of satire soon to come from Rowlandson and Gillray. John Bull stands at the center as an inattentive military volunteer dozing against a staff topped with Britannia’s attribute, the cap of Liberty. He is being attacked from all sides. An Indian, traditional emblem of America, takes Liberty’s cap in a reference to the Declaration of Independence by the Thirteen Colonies in 1776. A Dutch toper slyly steals John Bull’s purse while France is represented by an emaciated dandy restrained by a rugged Highlander, a reminder that Scottish volunteers helped make up for the British army’s poor state of preparation.

Artist

James Phillips|William Humphrey

Date

1779

Medium

Etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of William H. Huntington, 1883