Fontaine, Jean de la

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Fables Choises by Jean de la Fontaine.
Hand-colored engravings, Paris, 1759.

Gillray, James

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James Gillray was a British cartoonist well known for his etched political and social satires. They were published between 1792 and 1810 by Miss Hannah Humphrey who owned and operated a print seller shop in London. Gillray lived with her during the entire period of his fame. Gillray's prints would be displayed in the windows of Humphrey's shoppe where crowds of people would gather to examine, discuss, and laugh at them.

Gillray was one of history's top caricaturists. His ludicrous wit and illustrative talent allowed him to sketch works of art that embodied sublime and sometimes course meanings. Following the French Revolution, he issued a number of caricatures ridiculing the French and Napoleon.

His last work came in 1811, after he became mentally incapable of continuing. He died in London on June 1, 1815. Presented here are copper plate engravings from the H.G Bohn edition, a complete works of Gillray published in two volumes in 1851, including a number of "supressed plates" intended for viewing by gentlemen only and not for the delicate sensibilities of the female population.

Grandville, J.J.

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J.J. Grandville was actually born as Jean Ignace Isidore Gerard (1803-1847), and took the name "Grandville" to honor his grandparents who used the name as their professional stage name. He received his first instruction in drawing from his father, and at the age of twenty-one published a collection of lithographs entitled Les Tribulations de la petite propriete. He followed this with two other publications, but the work which first established his fame was Les Metamorphoses du jour published in 1828-29. This human comedy was comprised of a series of seventy scenes featuring individuals with the bodies of men and faces of animals. His special illustrative skill in this work was the representation of human characteristics through the facial expressions of animals. Presented here are hand colored lithographs from Les Metamorphoses du jour.

Rowlandson, Thomas

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Thomas Rowlandson did all of the illustration and copper plate engraving work for the satirical publication the Tours of Doctor Syntax. The travels of the fictional bumbling reverand were created as a satire on William Gilpin's series of published journeys throughout England.

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