Original caricature by James Gillray, first pblished in 1803.
This edition dates from 1851 from the Bohn Edition, which used Gillray's original copper plates.
The image satirizes French leader Napoleon Bonaparte, exaggerating his infamous temper and depicting him as a diminutive, hysterical figure throwing a tantrum.
The cartoon was published shortly after a tense public meeting between Napoleon and the British ambassador, Lord Whitworth, in March 1803. The encounter was a pivotal moment in the deterioration of relations between the two countries and led to the resumption of war a week later.
During the meeting at the Tuileries Palace, a furious Napoleon ranted at Whitworth in front of hundreds of diplomats, prompting the British press to report on his short temper. Gillray's cartoon was directly inspired by these reports.
The print popularized the unflattering nickname "Little Boney" for Napoleon. It reinforced the myth of his short stature, even though he was of average height for his time.
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".
