London: Thos McLean, 1830. First Edition. Sketch #37 in the political sketches series. The king reads a bill by candle light. "It seems pretty evident that the Windsor correspondent of the Morning Herald meant only to pay a compliment to His Majesty's eyesight, which, at the age of sixty-nine, must have been pretty good if he could read the newspaper by candle-light, without the aid of glasses ; but the writer, in order to give his compliment the greater force, has almost left His Majesty in the dark ; for gloomy, indeed, must be any of the lofty rooms of Windsor- Castle, if lighted only by a single candle. H. B. has caught a very humorous view of the compliment, and made it apply, not to optics, but to domestic economy ; and here is George IV., the luxurious George IV.-the Comus of Carlton-House--the restorer of Windsor- Castle at the expense of a million of money-the builder of Buckingham Palace and the Pavilion at Brighton : he who never calculated the cost of whatever might promote his indulgence or gratify his taste :-here is this dignified, splendour loving
Monarch, reading a newspaper by the light of a single mutton-fat ; and reading, too, the market prices of butcher's meat, with a view to check the bills of the purveyors to the royal household. Dionysius at Corinth, or Timon in his cave, hardly present a more violent contrast." (Thomas McLean, An Illustrative Key to the Political Sketches of H.B.). Nice clean image. Pasted onto a mustard card backing. Backing card has been trimmed to 2.5cm around the plate. Print is 28cm x 32cm. Backing card is 32cm x 37cm. Also held under a temporary white passe partout. Conforms to the National Portrait Gallery copy Ref: NPG D40972 King George IV. John Doyle was born in Dublin and moved to London in 1822 where he initially worked as a portrait lithographer. In 1827 Doyle began publishing political prints anonymously. From 1829-1851 Doyle published his well-known Political Sketches series, signing his work with the initials "HB" to hide his identity.