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Vanity Fair Statesmen, No. 91. Mr John Locke, M.P. (Barrister) c1871.

Vanity Fair Statesmen, No. 91. Mr John Locke, M.P. (Barrister) c1871.

by Carlo Pellegrini (Ape)

Original lithograph of a watercolour caricature by Carlo Pellegrini (Ape) of Mr John Locke, M.P. "a sturdy Radical of the old style" for Vanity Fair, c1871.

"Mr. Locke regards political life neither as an arena for display nor as a pastime intervening between two sporting seasons, but as a field of hard work, in which steady attendance and correct votes are of more value than many speeches. Being a barrister and so important a man in his profession as to have become a "bencher" of the Inner Temple, he might be expected to believe overmuch in that talk for which it is now supposed that the Houses of Parliament were invented. Nevertheless, he rarely indulges in oratorical efforts. He speaks seldom and shortly, yet always to the purpose, and always, therefore, commands attention. He has, besides a considerable reputation for dry humour, many good stories are fathered upon him, and he is the only man who is ever known to make Mr. Gladstone smile."

Vanity Fair was a weekly magazine of social comment, published in London from 1868 to 1914. The weekly addition of an amusing chromolithographic caricature of a currently newsworthy person, guaranteed the magazine’s popularity. Thomas Gibson Bowles, who established the periodical, considered the images to be “grim faces made more grim, grotesque figures made more grotesque, and dull people made duller by the genius of our talented collaborator ‘Ape’ (Carlo Pellegrini, 1839-1889). The other major caricaturist was ‘Spy’ (Leslie Ward, 1851-1922). Vanity Fair caricatures parodied any noteworthy personage who had been mentioned in the news, and thereby was fair game for ridicule.

Page size 355 x 240 (14 x 9.5 inches). Slightly age-discoloured page and mark at base, but otherwise in good condition.

Stock Number: VF145Price: $90.00

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