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A leap year drawing room, or the pleasures of petticoat government / Cruikshank fecit. – Historic Reproduction

A leap year drawing room, or the pleasures of petticoat government / Cruikshank fecit., [London] : Pub'd by Benbow, St. Clements Church Yard Strand, 1820 June. — historic drawing
A leap year drawing room, or the pleasures of petticoat government / Cruikshank fecit., [London] : Pub'd by Benbow, St. Clements Church Yard Strand, 1820 June.. Historic drawing from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Step back in time with A leap year drawing room, or the pleasures of petticoat government / Cruikshank fecit., a historic drawing rich in period detail. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

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A leap year drawing room, or the pleasures of petticoat government / Cruikshank fecit.

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George IV, who had succeeded to the throne only months earlier, is the target of this etching, shown in the cross-dressing masquerade that the title's "petticoat government" implies. George Cruikshank, one of the most prolific caricaturists of the Regency, drew the scene, and Benbow published it in June 1820, when the king's effort to divorce Queen Caroline was dividing London. Cross-dressing was a common satirical way to mock men in power, and here it echoes the familiar charge that the court was run by mistresses and favorites. The hand coloring, added to this impression, was typical of prints sold to a broad public in this period.

Created / published[London] : Pub'd by Benbow, St. Clements Church Yard Strand, 1820 June.
Medium1 print : etching, hand-colored ; 27.6 x 39 cm. (sheet)
GenreSatires (Visual works) British 1820.Etchings Hand-colored 1820.
NotesTitle from item. Forms part of: British Cartoon Prints Collection (Library of Congress).
SubjectsGeorge--IV,--King of Great Britain,--1762-1830. Cross dressing--England--London--1820. Politics & government--England--London--1820. Drawing rooms--England--London--1820. Clothing & dress--England--London--1820.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan5,000 × 3,990 px · prints to 17 × 13 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-223202

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