The POLITICAL MIRROR or an EXHIBITION of MINISTERS for April 1782.

DateApril 1782

Engraver Crunk Fogo

After work by Razo Rezio

OriginEngland

MediumBlack and white line engraving

DimensionsOH: 8 1/8" x OW: 11 3/8"; Plate H: 6 1/4" x W: 9 1/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1960-101

DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "The POLITICAL MIRROR/ or an EXHIBITION of MINISTERS for April 1782./ Razo Rezio inv.t/ Crunk Fogo sculp"

Observed by new leaders and by Britannia, the defeated politicians tumble into an open pit presided over by the Devil. Britannia notes that had they remained in power they would have ruined her. Overhead, Truth, an angel, reflects the political "Mirror of Truth" toward the pit.

The satirist provides each person with remarks appropriate to his present situation. Among the more familiar and influential ex-leaders are Bute, being carried through the air on the back of a witch labeled "England's Evil Genius"; Sandwich, still gripping a violin and requesting a whore and a bottle; and North, holding papers that represent his proposed taxes on soap, salt, and beer as he falls backward into the pit.

The new ministers, who were primarily pro-American during the Revolution, including Lord Camden, Edmund Burke, the duke of Richmond, and the current prime minister, the marquess Rockingham. They pledge to return England to fiscal soundness and international power. From an otherwise black sky, rays of sun appear over the new minister's heads to indicate that the new government would enjoy general approval.
ProvenanceEx coll: H. Dunscombe Colt. Other known copies: Halsy collection at Brown; New York Historical Society.