Divorce Court. Vanity Fair legal caricature reproduction print

by Vanity Fair

Spy caricature of Mr. Frederic Andrew Inderwick, Q.C. (1836-1904)

Reproduction print of Vanity Fair legal caricature by Leslie Ward (Spy) for Men of the Day 654, originally published on July 30, 1896. 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, Leslie Ward, James Tissot and Alfred Thompson.

Approximate sizes: Page, 330 x 225mm (12 7/8 x 8 7/8 inches). Image, 235 x 150mm (9 1/4 x 5 7/8 inches).