Primary sourcePainting1780

The State Tinkers

James Gillray · 1780

A 1780 satirical print by James Gillray showing Lord North and fellow ministers clumsily mending a cracked kettle while George III watches.

North is shown chiselling at a cracked kettle, a satire of his ministry's mishandling of the war, with George III looking on.

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Hand-coloured satirical etching titled The State Tinkers. Three men work on a large cracked, patched kettle-like pot in a stone-walled room. One in blue coat raises a hammer, another in red coat and tricorn raises a mallet, and a kneeling man in red chisels inside the pot. Behind them, a man in a cap and a man in a red coat with a crown-topped figure look on. Verse text and publication line appear below. — James Gillray, The State Tinkers, 1780. British Museum.

About this source

What it is

This is a hand-coloured satirical etching by James Gillray, published in 1780 and now held by the British Museum. It shows Frederick North chiselling inside a large cracked and patched kettle, alongside Lord Sandwich and Lord George Germain, while George III looks on with raised hands. Papers labelled 'List of the Navy' and 'Plan of Minden' hang on the wall.

Why it matters

The print mocks North's government for mismanaging the war effort during the American Revolution, using the broken kettle as a symbol of the state. It shows how caricature was used in this period to criticise ministers and the king, and reveals the public frustration with North's leadership during a difficult war.

Look closer

What does the broken, patched kettle represent?
Why might the artist show the king reacting with surprise?
What does this kind of satire tell us about how much criticism public figures could face at the time?

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

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