Under Sheriff, legal caricature, Vanity Fair Spy print

by Leslie Ward (Spy)

Mr Thomas Beard (1828-1895), legal caricature by Spy (Leslie Ward). Originally published May 23,1891 as Men of the Day 509 for Vanity Fair. Spy was the pseudonym of prolific and popular caricaturist, Sir Leslie Ward (1851-1922) (knighted in 1918).

In 1868 Thomas Gibson Bowles (1842-1922) founded Vanity Fair magazine with eight to ten pages each issue. Writing most of the regular editorial under various pseudonyms, Bowles's indiscriminate provocative and disarmingly fearless attitude gained a wide audience - and was beneficial to him during his later political career. Vanity Fair became immensely popular from 1869 on, after inclusion each week of one amusing lithographed caricature, parodying any newsworthy personage. While it became a point of pride with some to be the victim of one of the magazine's caricaturists, the caricatures were often responsible for the reputation of these hapless individuals. The most important artists were Carlo Pellegrini and Leslie Ward.

This larger series is more similar in style to the originial antique lithographs - both in colour and softer definition of image. Large margins all round... almost too large for the scanner. Page size approx. 325 x x 225mm (12 3/4 x 8 7/8 inches). Image size 280 x 165mm (11 x 6 1/2 inches). The price has been marked down because there is a mark below the title.