Two 19th Century Caricature Prints Relating to the Great Reform Act

"Mazeppa"
John ('HB') Doyle (Lettered HB Sketches No.219)
Lithographed by Alfred Ducôte
Original hand colouring
Published by T McLean, Haymarket
London, August 7th 1832
28 cm x 37 cm

"Sir Joddrill and The Grim Grey Woman"
John ('HB') Doyle (Lettered HB Sketches No.255)
Lithographed by Alfred Ducôte
Original hand colouring
Published by T McLean, Haymarket
London, April 20th 1833
28 cm 39 cm

Both with "Tho McLean" blindstamps.

These two prints both relate to the Great Reform Art.
In "Mazeppa" King William IV has been strapped to the wild horse "Reform" which leaps the fallen tree of "Vested Interests" into the waters of the "Revolutionary Torrent" beneath. Various ghoulish wolves look on with caricature faces, including the Duke of Wellington. The image is based on Lord Byron's poem 'Mazeppa' (1819) which relates the story of a Cossack punished for an indiscretion by being tied to a wild horse. Doyle has also drawn on a painting of the subject by the French artist Horace Vernet (1783-1863). The idea of the cartoon being that King William IV is now the hapless victim of 'Reform' which is being driven by the political "wolves" on all sides: failiure to reform may lead to revolution - but granting it may open the floodgates also leading to disaster. The reference would have been very familiar to the 19th Century audience: the famous equestrian showman Andrew Ducrow opened the 1831 season at Astley's Circus with an act based on 'Mazeppa'. The Reform Act was passed on 4 June 1832 in response to years of criticism of the British electoral system.

In "Sir Joddrill and The Grim Grey Woman", published the following year, William IV rides an out of control horse encouraged by a caricature of Earl Grey (The Grim Grey Woman). The idea here being that William IV isn't really in control. The title and imagery is based on "The Elfin Sprite and the Grim Grey Woman" staged at Covent Garden at Easter 1833 in which one of the main characters "Sir Joddrill" is an obstacle to the happy conclusion of the plot - but is diverted by the a benevolent fairy (the "Grim Grey Woman") who gallops off with him into a quagmire where he gets stuck!

Both framed and glazed.