"The King of Brobdingnag and Gulliver - Plate 2)" depicts King George III and his court looking on with amusement as a tiny Napoleon (acting as Gulliver) sails a toy boat in a cistern, making fun of the failed French invasion of Britain.
The print features several key figures and humorous details arranged around a rectangular water tank.
King George III and Queen Charlotte sit on state chairs, gazing intently at the spectacle.
Napoleon, dressed as Gulliver, attempts to manoeuvre his little boat in a tub.
Two pages are positioned on either side of the tank, puffing their cheeks to blow the sail and propel the miniature vessel.
The background and sides are filled with grinning beefeaters, observing princesses, and court officials like Lord Salisbury holding his wand of office.
This artwork serves as a satirical sequel to Gillray's 1803 print, shifting the narrative from a threatening "Invasion Scare" to one of total British naval dominance and public ridicule.
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".
