Price: $3,000.00
SKU: 69904
MEDIUM: Engraving
DATE: Undated, c.1766.
EDITION SIZE: Image size 10 3/4 x 17 9/16" (27.4 x 44.5 cm).
DESCRIPTION: In an attempt to bolster the British treasury, weakened by military commitment abroad, George Grenville proposed a series of levies on certain colonial activities. Presented to Parliament in February 1765, the Stamp Act recommended taxing colonial papers relating to land transactions, legal documents, court proceedings, newspapers, advertisements, pamphlets, shipping clearances, and even diplomas and dice. The act went so far as to stipulate that violators would be tried in an Admiralty Court. Despite overriding objections and outspoken dissent from the colonies, the Stamp Act was approved and the taxes levied. Americans reacted in protest, and such groups as the Sons of Liberty formed in direct response to the Act. Resistance, both verbal and violent, flared up throughout the colonies and many of the local stamp distributors were forced to resign. The violent dissent, as well as the statement made by colonial delegates in the “Declaration of Rights and Grievances,” convinced Parliament of the impossibility of enforcing such direct taxation measures, and the Stamp Act was repealed.<br><br> Printed to commemorate the end of the stamp levy, the work became one of the most reproduced images of the period. The print was designed by Benjamin Wilson, who boasted that it was published within ten minutes of the repeal. In the image, the supporters of the act walk in a funeral procession carrying a tiny coffin containing the remains of the bill. They proceed toward an open vault which has been has been prepared for the burial of all unjust acts that would alienate Englishmen. Reverend W. Scott leads the procession and prepares to deliver the eulogy, while a dog relieves himself on his leg. The ministers responsible for passing the act, Grenville, who carries the coffin, Bute, Bedford, and Temple, follow him. Surrounding the procession, Wilson has depicted a great quantity of trade cargoes, which were destined for America but remained unshipped during the act. In the background there are three ships bearing the names of Whig leaders, “Conway," “Rockingham," and “Grafton," responsible for repealing the act. The ships appear ready to set sail marking the end of England’s trade embargos. A large package of stamps, recently arrived from America, are left unused on the dry dock, and a crate containing a statue of William Pitt, another minister responsible for the repeal, is being loaded onto a boat bound for South Carolina. This is the earliest impression of this important print, which became an icon of Revolutionary War satire.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
CONDITION: Generally good condition. Added lower margin and several short repaired tears in the top and side margins. Black & white.
REFERENCE: George, Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the British Museum # 4140;
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