The Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering

R. Sayer and J. Bennett|Philip Dawe

October 31, 1774 · Mezzotint and etching · Drawings and Prints

This pre-American Revolution satire published in London shows John Malcom, British customs agent in Massachusetts, tarred, feathered, and forced to drink tea. The event of January 24, 1774 occurred soon after the Boston Tea party of December 16, 1773 where colonists famously dumped imported tea into the harbor to protest a tax levied by the British Parliament. This is the earliest known representation of the later event with strong tonal contrasts and broad details produced by a worn printing plate.

Artist

R. Sayer and J. Bennett|Philip Dawe

Date

October 31, 1774

Medium

Mezzotint and etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of William H. Huntington, 1883