The Politician

What it is

This is an engraved caricature print from 1771, after a drawing by S.H. Grimm. It shows a seated, bespectacled man draped in a sheet with his mouth wide open, holding a paper, while a figure with tall powdered hair leans over him. The room has maps, a bust of Oliver Cromwell on the bookcase and papers on the floor. The record identifies the seated man as Lord North and describes a Speaker's Warrant dated 27 March 1771 to the Lieutenant of the Tower. The print is held by the Library of Congress in its British Cartoon Prints Collection.

Why it matters

The print shows how contemporaries mocked North's character and his public role in 1771. The Speaker's Warrant ties the picture to a real dispute about the Lord Mayor of London, and the map of the Falkland Islands points to the tensions with Spain that year. The catalogue record notes that some details come from an unverified caption card, so students should treat the exact meaning of the scene with care.

Look closer

• What does the artist suggest about North by showing him with an open mouth and no teeth?
• Why might the hairdresser be a French figure, and what does that imply?
• What does the Cromwell bust or the warrant add to the message, and what might be missing?