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Primary sourcePainting1792

The Friends of the People

Isaac Cruikshank · 1792

A detailed 1792 satirical print by Isaac Cruikshank showing Thomas Paine and Joseph Priestley surrounded by weapons and revolutionary symbols.

This elaborate caricature depicts Paine as a dangerous revolutionary, reflecting hostile contemporary views of him.

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Satirical etching titled 'The Friends of the People' showing two men in profile seated across a table strewn with weapons and tools. A winged devil with horns sits above them between them. The left figure holds a lantern, the right figure holds knives and sits on a gunpowder barrel. Bookshelves on the sides list words like Treason, Revolution, Plots and Massacres. Framed scenes on the wall above show execution and mob violence. Caption at bottom reads 'The Friends of the People'.
Isaac Cruikshank, published by S. W. Fores, The Friends of the People, 1792.

About this source

What it is

This etching, The Friends of the People, was made by Isaac Cruikshank and published by S. W. Fores in 1792. It shows Paine and Joseph Priestley seated across a table covered in weapons, with a grinning devil above them and shelves of books labelled with words like 'Treason' and 'Revolution'.

Why it matters

This caricature captures the intense fear and hostility that Paine's revolutionary writings, including Rights of Man and Common Sense, provoked among critics in Britain. By depicting him alongside Priestley with instruments of violence and destruction, it shows how opponents tried to discredit radical thinkers by associating them with chaos and bloodshed.

Look closer

  • Why does the print include so many labelled objects and books around the two men?
  • What do the framed scenes of execution and violence in the background suggest about the artist's message?
  • How might a supporter of Paine have responded differently to this image than the artist intended?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Thomas Paine on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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