"Begging No Robbery - ie - voluntary contribution; - or - John Bull escaping a forced loan" was originally published on December 10, 1796, by Hannah Humphrey.
The print serves as a harsh political critique of the massive financial burdens imposed on the British public to fund the ongoing war against France.
In late 1796, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger needed to raise £18 million for the war effort. Pitt corporate-veiled a threat to wealthy citizens and bankers, stating that if "voluntary" contributions were not made, a mandatory "forced loan" (compulsive clauses) would be legally enacted.
Critics likened Pitt's strategy to a highwayman cornering a victim, giving them an illusion of choice while demanding their money at gunpoint.
In the image, John Bull represents the British taxpayer, and is depicted trying to flee the aggressive financial demands of the government.
Figures like William Pitt and statesman Edmund Burke are satirised as aggressive beggars or highway robbers blocking his path.
The subtitle "A hint from Gil Blas" references a famous picaresque novel where a beggar aggressively demands alms while pointing a musket at passersby, perfectly mirroring Pitt's aggressive "voluntary" fundraising tactics.
Gillray was one of five children, and the only one to survive to maturity. In 1770 he was apprenticed to Harry Ashby, a London writing in engraver, and five years later W. Humphrey published a few of Gillray's illustrations including satirical works. By the time Gillray commenced his career satire was old, but personal caricature was in its infancy. Other exponents in this form of art were soon overshadowed by Gillray's superior craftsmanship. His figures were full of vitality, titillating and reflective of some political crisis or private scandal. As his popularity increased so did demand by the public to see more of his work. In the rapidly changing politics of the late18th century he would produce a plate in twenty-four hours. Although sometimes overlooked his speech bubbles were elaborate and Gillray would spend considerable time composing and redrafting the text.
Between 1791 to 1807 his career continued successfully in association with William and Hannah Humphrey. There after Gillray's health began to suffer. He eventually slipped into madness and died shortly before the Battle of Waterloo on June 1st 1815. Hannah, who had a close relationship with him nursed Gillray through out his final years and following his death the copper plates then formed part of Hannah's estate when she died in 1818. The executor's of Hannah's estate sold Gillray's painstakingly worked plates for there second hand copper weight. Hearing of this, the then publisher, Bohn who had previously expressed an interest in buying the plates set about purchasing them from a variety of different sources. Eventually acquiring over 500. In 1851 Bohn republished the engravings in a large folio volume, "The Works of James Gillray".
