"Snuffing out Boney."

By Yango - March 07, 2018



An 1814 cartoon by George Cruikshank.

George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience.
"Boney" was a British epithet for Napoleon Bonaparte. Looking that up, I ran across the British cartoonist, James Gillray (1756 - 1815), called "the father of the political cartoon," whose "Maniac-raving's-or-Little Boney in a strong fit" is the reason for spread of the false belief that Napoleon was short:
In it, the famed caricaturist James Gillray portrays a diminutive Bonaparte flipping over furniture in a childish temper tantrum while raving about the “British Parliament” and “London Newspapers! Oh! Oh! Oh!”

  • Share:

You Might Also Like

0 comments