Legal caricature, “La Reyne le veult.” (“Queen’s assent..”)

$175.00

Vanity Fair caricature, Sir John George Shaw-Lefevre, K.C.B. "It is he who attends the Sovereign to receive her decisions upon bills, and he it is who, standing with his back to Mr. Speaker, and turning his head with the condescension of reflected royalty, announces the time-honoured words, "La reyne le veult", or its denial by the formula "La reyne s'avisera".
Sir John happily possesses a bearing and presence most appropriate to the traditions that are embodied in these forms and his appearance in the House of Commons is always calculated to remind the members that they are living under a system which may seem to the vain to be laughable, but which from its antiquity and success must always be respectable." 

Original chromolithograph c1871 for Vanity Fair after the caricature by “Ape” (Carlo Pellegrini, 1839-1889), the first artist for the magazine (who had established his reputation as a caricaturist for the society of Naples before he moved to London). The caricatures published in Vanity Fair were often responsible for the reputation of hapless individuals who were newsworthy.

Vanity Fair was a weekly magazine of social comment, published in London from 1868 to 1914 by Thomas Gibson Bowles, whose inclusion of one caricature each week from 1869 guaranteed the magazine’s popularity. Bowles considered the images to be “grim faces made more grim, grotesque figures made more grotesque, and dull people made duller by the genius of our talented collaborator ‘Ape’" (Carlo Pellegrini). Under various pseudonyms Bowles wrote most of the editorial for the eight to ten page magazine. He was a keen observer of human frailty and under the nom de plume of Jehu Junior (after the biblical prophet who effected the downfall of his enemies), he wrote witty text to accompany each caricature.

The page is approximately 390 x 255mm (15.1/4 x 10 inches). Image size is 320 x 200mm (12.1/2 x 8 inches).