“George IV as the ‘Great Babe’ lies asleep in his cradle rocked by Lady Conyngham, while Wellington, seated before a pier-glass, places the crown on his own head. The glass reflects the dark emaciated features of British Museum Satires No. 15520. The Duke wears uniform with boots and sword. On a table below the glass the sceptre and orb lie on a cushion. Lady Conyngham, with a towering coiffure as in British Museum Satires No. 15508, croons: Oh slumber my darling | The time may soon come | When thy rest may be broken | By Trumpet & Drum [the last three words in large letters]. The infant sucks a thumb; a gouty foot projects from the coverlet. On the floor is a line of toys: a sailing boat on wheels, a model of Buckingham Palace reconstructed by Nash as in British Museum Satires No. 15668, a giraffe (see British Museum Satires No. 15425), a Life Guard on a toy horse, a Foot-Guard, a dismantled or unfinished ship resting on a prostrate toy soldier. A napkin on a towel-horse (right) indicates a nursery.”–British Museum online catalogue.
- Printmaker: Heath, William, 1795-1840, printmaker.
- Title: A political reflection [graphic] / [man with an umbrella] Esqr.
- Publication: [London] : Pub. by T. McLean, 26 Haymarket, London, [ca. February 1828]
828.02.00.05+
Acquired June 2020