A Peep at Christies;–or–Tally-ho & his Nimeny-pimeney taking the Morning Lounge

James Gillray|Hannah Humphrey

September 24, 1796 · Hand-colored etching and aquatint · Drawings and Prints

Gillray here contrasts the short, stout figure of the Earl of Derby with the tall, thin form of his mistress Elizabeth Farren, a leading comic actress associated with London's Drury Lane Theatre. The couple examine pictures in Christies's sale rooms at 125 Pall Mall. She admires "Zenocrates & Phryne" (an image of an ancient philosopher who loved a Greek courtesan), while he inspects a fox hunting scene titled "The Death." Nimeney-Pimeney, mentioned in the title, was a role that Farren had famously performed in General Burgoyne's play "The Heiress" in 1786. After a liason lasting eighteen years, the couple finally married in 1797--a year after this print was published--following the death of the Earl's wife.

Artist

James Gillray|Hannah Humphrey

Date

September 24, 1796

Medium

Hand-colored etching and aquatint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Jill Spalding, 2022