A satire of the 1832 Reform Bill, with a see-saw with the Crown as the fulcrum. At the center is William IV, waving the Union flag; to the right is Lord Grey, seated on the lever, helping William balance with a scroll marked ‘Union’, with John Bull standing underneath, wedging the lever up with the ‘Reform Bill’; and to the right the Duke of Wellington tumbles backwards as the lever breaks under the weight of him and two huge scrolls marked ‘Anti Reform’.
- Title: Here we go up up up and there he goes down down downe [graphic].
- Publication: London : Pubd. by O. Hodgson, 10 Cloth Fair, [ca. 1831]
831.00.00.50
Acquired November 2020
“Mrs. Clarke (right) sits triumphantly astride the upper end of a see-saw which is supported on an upholstered stool. The Duke of York (left), dropping his sword, falls headlong from the other end which rests on the ground. She waves her arms, pointing a derisive finger at the Duke, and sings: “Here I go up up up and there you go Down Down Downy, The game it is pretty well up, and so you must fall to the Grouny!” The Duke sings: “What a way for to serve your own Sweety, how could you vex your own Deary, If you had not thrown me quite down, you’d have had your 4 hundred a Yeary.” On the ground are the Duke’s cocked hat (left) and (right) a mitre, with a book, ‘Ovid art of Love’, and crosier (see British Museum satires no. 11227), with writing materials and papers: a bundle of ‘Love Letters’ (see British Museum satires no. 11228, &c.) tied like legal documents, against which is a door-plate inscribed ‘for further particulars inquire within’, a bundle docketed ‘Account of Debts Gloucester’ [Place, see British Museum satires no. 11222, &c], a paper headed ‘To Col Wardle’. There is a landscape background irradiated by a setting sun.”–British Museum online catalogue.