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Royal Christmas Boxes and New Years Gifts 1815&16
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| Title | Royal Christmas Boxes and New Years Gifts 1815&16 |
| Creator | Cruikshank, George 1792-1878 |
| Publisher | Jones, M. |
| Place of Publication | England -- London -- Newgate Street |
| Date | 1816 |
| Caption Text | Caption on Image:
ROYAL CHRISTMAS BOXES and NEW YEARS GIFTS 1815&16
G. Cruickshank fec't
Pub'd by M. Jones, 5 Newgate St. Jan 1st 1816
Dialogue and Signage:
[King of Spain, dressed as a jester] Before thy shrine on bended knee,
Great Saint! Thy royal tailor see
He brings bright empress of the Skies!
A petticoat, to grace thy thighs
Tis Satir, richly wrought with gold,
I will keep out heat, ‘twill keep out cold.
[Queen Charlotte, holding teapot] my Tea sip Brother if you please
and eat to Charlotte's health her Cheese.
[Napoleon sitting on rock] Did you ever hear the story of some fellows who broke a poor devils head and then gave him a plaster?!!!
[Tsar Alexander of Russia] Well, Nap! You see, we don't forsake you,
Although we had such pains to take you.
‘Tis true we long have been profuse
of slang & Billinsgate abuse:
Have dealt in language most uncivil
And call'd you Robber, Murd'rer, Devil!
Man – butcher! – but of that no more—
For there we feel a common-sore!
So cease, at lenth to plague & tease you
And send you what we hope will please you.
[Bird on tree, right] I think mate we had better change our quarters.
[Bird on tree, left] I think so too, what fruit can we expect from a barren tree?
[Duc of Angouleme, kneeling holding silver statue of a baby on a stick] Chaste Virgin Mother, source of Life!
A Husband & a barren wife,
Whose nuptial bed no Children bless
To thee these vows, their Pray'rs address.
This costly silver Babe behold
(Had we been rich, it had been gold!)
This Babe we offer at thy shrine
Accept the gift O Queen divine!
Give us a Babe to crown our joy
Of flesh & blood, a chopping Boy!
[Fat nun, hand on the shoulder of the Duchess of Angouleme] You had better try the warming pan trick a[s] Boney did
[John Bull, kicking the backside of the Duke of Orange] That's your ‘Xmas Box! You'll neither get pay nor princess here.
[Prince of Orange] Look at me well—I come for inspection, so hope you'll give me my Christmas Box.
[Label on Church] The HOUSE that JACK Built
[Pile of signs/pictures] Picttures & & to ornament the House that Jack build – presented to by ; View of the good city of Paris; Map of France; View of the Pall of St. Cloud; A Representation of the Destruction of Malmaison; Burning of Moskow; Preserved Snow Balls
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| Historical Notes | Cruikshank takes a savage look at European royalty following the exile of Napoleon to St. Helena. Napoleon is in the center, seated on a rock in the shape of a giant in the middle of a pond. Tsar Alexander stands before him, presenting an array of hostile Christmas gifts: pictures of the destruction of Malmaison (Napoleon's home), of the burning of Moscow (where the Russians outfoxed Napoleon by burning the city rather than leaving shelter available for the French Army), and of the Battle of Waterloo. The pictures lean against a jar of "preserved snow balls." Alexander discounts all the previous hard feelings the Allies had towards Napoleon, and claims they assembled these gifts to please him. Napoleon's reply is that they've destroyed him, and are now offering a band-aid in exchange.
To the right of Alexander stands the somewhat rotund Prince Regent (eventually George IV), famous for his love of wine, women, and food. He bows toward Napoleon, offering two chests full of women, along with a punch bowl and three decanters. In front of the Regent is his secretary Sir John McMahon, who is shown ushering the women out of the trunks and into the pond to swim towards Napoleon. Behind the Regent is a house titled "The House That Jack Built", meaning that the British public paid for its construction.
To the right of the house, you see John Bull kicking the Prince of Orange out of the way. Princess Charlotte was engaged to him, but threw him over after she met Prince Frederick of Prussia. Public opinion was in favor of the breakup, because it avoided adding another royal to the payroll.
At the far left, you see Queen Charlotte (wife of King George III) offering tea to her brother, the Grand-Duke of Mecklenberg-Strelitz. The vignette refers to her opposition to the marriage of her son, the Duke of Cumberland, to his first cousin (her niece). Although she wrote a cordial letter to her brother and sent it with a gift of tea and cheese, she refused to receive her new daughter-in-law.
Above Charlotte in the drawing is Ferdinand VII of Spain, tying a macabre petticoat around the Virgin and Child. Ferdinand was imprisoned by Napoleon from 1808 to 1814, where he was rumored to spend his time embroidering petticoats for the Virgin. The petticoat is decorated with hanging corpses, crossed executioners' axes, and other bizarre symbols.
On the far right, the Duc of Angouleme, nephew to George III, offers a silver statue of a baby to the Virgin, praying for an end to his wife's barrenness. His Duchess kneels behind him. Two nuns lean toward her, counseling her to try the something else.
Reference source: George #12700
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| Publishing Notes | Published on January 1, 1816.
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| Subjects (LCSH) | Political cartoons
History--Caricatures & cartoons
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821
Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815
Alexander I, Emperor of Russia, 1777-1825
Angoulême, Louis-Antoine d'Artois, duc d', 1775-1844
Charlotte, consort of George III, King of Great Britain, 1744-1818
Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, 1768-1844
William I, King of the Netherlands, 1772-1843
Angoulême, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, duchesse d', 1778-1851
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| Geographic Coverage | France |
| Digital Collection | Napoleonic Period
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| Digital ID Number | NAP033 |
| Repository | University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. |
| Repository Collection | Napoleon Collection |
| UW Reference Number | E27 |
| Object Type | print |
| Physical Description | Etching, hand colored ; on sheet 22 x 49 cm. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original drawing in RGB at 200-400 dpi, saved in TIFF format, changed to indexed color, enhanced and resized using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using Contentdm software's JPEG2000 Extension. 2006. |
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