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Direct scan of object
News from America, or the Patriots in the Dumps.
Direct scan of object

News from America, or the Patriots in the Dumps.

DateNovember 1776
OriginEngland, London
MediumBlack and white line engraving
DimensionsOH: 8 1/4" x OW: 5"; Plate H: 6" x W: 4 1/4"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1960-55
Description"News From America", published in the "London Magazine” in November 1776, is an excellent example of a misconception. In October, news reached London that Gen. George Howe's troops had successfully taken Long Island. The printmaker has depicted a gleeful government ministry - North, Mansfield, Bute, and George III - standing on a platform proclaiming the news to the people. Distressed patriots, including the colonial supporter Wilkes, mourn the event, while a disheveled woman holding a liberty cap sits weeping. To the rear, more warships sail off across the ocean.

In actuality, only a few days after the news of Howe's victory was received in London, the story of his defeat arrived, but it was too late to stop the printing of this satire.





ProvenanceEx coll: H. Dunscombe Colt. Other known copies in Halsey Collection at Brown, Peel Collection at the Morgan Library; the New York Historical Society, and the New York Public Library Collection.