William Hone Part II

Some images taken from various Tory versions of The Political House which were brought out in 1819-20. Mathew Crowther explains >

“Unfortunately I know very little about who wrote or illustrated these works. It is perfectly possible that some of the illustrations were produced by Cruikshank, who can be identified as the illustrator for at least one Tory pamphlet -- The Radical Ladder; or Hone's Political Ladder and his Non Mi Ricordo Explained -- which was published in 1820 (I've already sent you a copy of the frontispiece for this pamphlet which was re-worked into a full copper plate engraving by Theodore Lane). Cruikshank, despite his close personal friendship with Hone, was clearly willing to take paid work wherever he could find it.

I would imagine that these pieces were probably funded either directly by the government, or by various loyalist 'Church and King'-type organizations which were concerned by the spread of seditious materials amongst the lower orders. The comparatively low number of editions that these pamphlets all appear to have gone through gives some indication of their popularity.”

Go back to Part I HERE

Next: William Hone's The Man in the Moon