Rowlandson the Caricaturist; a Selection from His Works. Vol. 2 by Joseph Grego

(2 User reviews)   5378
By Ava Marino Posted on Dec 26, 2025
In Category - Old Maps
Grego, Joseph, 1843-1908 Grego, Joseph, 1843-1908
English
Ever wonder what people in Georgian England *really* thought about their politicians, celebrities, and social climbers? This book is your backstage pass to the scandalous, hilarious, and often savage world of 18th-century satire. It's not just a collection of old cartoons; it's a guided tour through the gossip columns and political backrooms of the past, led by the era's most famous and feared artist, Thomas Rowlandson. Grego acts as your expert translator, unpacking jokes that would have had coffee houses roaring with laughter. Prepare to see history with its wig off.
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on the Lap of Delilah; The Resignation; The Prodigal Son; Mrs. Clarke's Last Effort; The York Dilly; Doctor O'Meara's Return to his Family; Mrs. Clarke's Farewell to her Audience; Original Plan for a Popular Monument to be Erected in Gloucester Place; A York Address to the Whale; The Flower of the City; The Modern Babel; The Sick Lion and the Asses; Burning the Books; A Piece-Offering; The Quaker and the Clarke; John Bull and the Genius of Corruption--Boney's Broken Bridge--Hell Broke Loose--The Tables are Turned--More of the Clarke--The Plot Thickens--Amusement for the Recess--The Bill of Wright's--Wonders, Wonders, Wonders!--The Rising Sun, or a View of the Continent--The Pope's Excommunication of Buonaparte--The Walcheren Expedition--Song by Commodore Curtis--A Design for a Monument to be Erected in Commemoration of the Glorious and Never-to-be-forgotten Grand Expedition, so ably planned and executed in the year 1809--General Cheathem's Marvellous Return from his Exhibition of Fireworks--Plan for a General Reform--This is the House that Jack Built--A Lump of Impertinence--A Lump of Innocence--Preparations for the Jubilee, or Theatricals Extraordinary--A Bill of Fare for Bond Street Epicures--The Boxes--A Peep at the Gas Lights in Pall Mall--Joint Stock Street--The 'Bull and Mouth'--A Glee--Rowlandson's 'Sketches from Nature'--Sterne's 'Sentimental Journey'--Butler's 'Hudibras'--'Surprising Adventures of the Renowned Baron Munchausen'--'The Beauties of Sterne'--'Poetical Magazine'--'The Schoolmaster's Tour' (Dr. Syntax)--The Mansion House Monitor--'Annals of Sporting,' by Calib Quizzem--'Trial of the Duke of York'--'Advice to Sportsmen' from the notes of Marmaduke Markwell--'The Pleasures of Human Life,' by Hilari Benevolus & Co.--Illustrations to Smollett's Miscellaneous Works--'Beauties of Tom Brown'--Views in Cornwall, &c.--'Scandal; Investigation of the Charges brought against H.R.H. the Duke of York, by G. L. Wardle, Esq., M.P. for Devon, with the evidence and remarks of the Members' 130 1810. Winding up the Medical Report of the Walcheren Expedition--Libel-Hunters on the Look-out, or Daily Examiners of the Liberty of the Press--A New Tap Wanted--The Boroughmongers Strangled in the Tower--Views of the Colleges of Oxford and Cambridge--A Bait for Kiddies on the North Road--Kissing for Love--Easterly Winds--Three Weeks after Marriage, or the Great Little Emperor Playing at Bo-peep--A Bonnet Shop--Peter Plumb's Diary--A Table d'Hôte, or French Ordinary in Paris--Paris Diligence--Boxing Match between Dutch Sam and Medley--Smuggling Out, or Starting for Gretna Green--Smuggling In, or a College Trick--Procession of the Cod Company from St. Giles's to Billingsgate--Rigging out a Smuggler--Dramatic Demireps at their Morning Rehearsal--Sports of a Country Fair--Spitfires--An Old Ewe Dressed Lamb Fashion--Dropsy Courting Consumption--Kitchen Stuff--A Hit at Backgammon--Medical Despatch--Bath Races--Doctor Drainbarrel--After Sweet Meat comes Sour Sauce--The Harmonic Society--Sign of the Four Alls--Signs--The Rabbit Merchant--A Sale of English Beauties in the East Indies--A Parody on Milton--Cries of London 182 1811. College Pranks--A Sleepy Congregation--The Gig Shop--Pigeon-Hole--A French Dentist--Bacon-faced Fellows of Brazenose Broke Loose--She Stoops to Conquer--The Anatomist--Sailors on Horseback--Pastime in Portugal--The Last Drop--Boney the Second, or the Little Baboon Created to Devour French Monkeys--A Picture of Misery--Puss in Boots, or General Junot taken by Surprise--Nursing the Spawn of a Tyrant--The Enraged Son of Mars and the Timid Tonsor--Rural Sports: A Cat in a Bowl--A Dog Fight--Touch for Touch--The Bassoon, with a French Horn Accompaniment--Easter Monday--Rural Sports--The Huntsman Rising--The Gamester Going to Bed--Love Laughs at Locksmiths--Masquerading--Accommodation Ladder--Looking at the Comet--Life and Death of the Racehorse--A Milling Match between Cribb and Molineaux--Smock-Racing--A Game at Quoits--How to Show off a well-shaped Leg--Twelfth Night Characters--Cricket Match Extraordinary--Minor Subjects--Six Classes of the Horse--Distillers--Dinners Dressed in the Neatest Manner--A Trip to Gretna Green--Balloon-Hunting--A Belvoir Leap--A Man of Feeling--Bel and the Dragon--A Milk-sop--Royal Academy, Somerset House--Travelling in France--Exhibition Starecase, Somerset House--The Manager's Last Kick--Preparing to Start--Awkward Squads Studying the Graces--Hiring a Servant--Anglers of 1811--Preparing for the Race--Patience in a Punt--A Templar at His Studies--A Barber's Shop--Modern Antiques--'Munchausen...

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This isn't a novel with a plot, but a curated journey through the mind and pen of a genius satirist. Joseph Grego, writing in the 1880s, acts as our guide, compiling and explaining hundreds of Thomas Rowlandson's drawings from the late 1700s and early 1800s. The 'story' is the unfolding social drama of Georgian England: the absurd fashions, the corrupt politicians, the drunken aristocrats, and the everyday struggles of ordinary people, all captured with Rowlandson's unmistakable, fluid line and wicked sense of humor.

Why You Should Read It

This book completely changed how I see that period. History books give you the dates and treaties; Rowlandson gives you the sneers, the side-eyes, and the belly laughs. Grego's commentary is key—he decodes the inside jokes and historical figures, so you're not just looking at funny pictures, you're understanding the punchlines. It’s like having the best history teacher point out all the gossip in a crowd scene. You realize how little human nature has changed; the targets of mockery—vanity, greed, hypocrisy—are all too familiar.

Final Verdict

Perfect for history buffs who want a less stuffy view of the past, art lovers curious about the power of caricature, and anyone who enjoys sharp, visual humor. It’s a fantastic coffee table book that’s actually worth reading. Just be warned: after this, portraits in stately homes will never look so serious again.



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Mark Clark
1 year ago

Great digital experience compared to other versions.

Sandra Torres
1 year ago

A bit long but worth it.

4.5
4.5 out of 5 (2 User reviews )

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