To be seen at Mr. S------n's menagerie the wonderful learned Han[...]r colt who writes a letter blindfolded : NB. he is in training for sev[era]l other useful purposes ; also a very curious monkey who can read & write a little & imitates the human voice ; also several very extraordinary rats from Holland, Buckinghamshire, Wilton, Poole & other places / JS [monogram] f.

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James Sayers
1748-1823
To be seen at Mr. S------n's menagerie the wonderful learned Han[...]r colt who writes a letter blindfolded : NB. he is in training for sev[era]l other useful purposes ; also a very curious monkey who can read & write a little & imitates the human voice ; also several very extraordinary rats from Holland, Buckinghamshire, Wilton, Poole & other places / JS [monogram] f.
[London] : Pubd. 27 Jany. 1789 by Thos. Cornell, [1789
etching
image: 180 x 252 mm; plate mark: 208 x 258 mm; sheet: 222 x 274 mm
Peel 1643
Provenance: 
Formerly owned by Sir Robert Peel.
Inscription: 

Subjects identified in the margins in pencil.

Notes: 

A satire on the celebrated answer by the Prince to Pitt's letter (on the Regency restrictions) of Dec. 30, generally attributed to Sheridan. Cf. George.

Summary: 

Print shows a spirited horse, wearing the feathers of the Prince of Wales in his headband, standing on his hind legs, a pen in his fore-foot, writing a letter while Sheridan (right) guides the pen; his blinkers cover his eyes. Sheridan, who leans across the table in profile to the left, holds the paper: 'To Mr Pi[tt] ....' An ape with the (simian) features of Lord Derby squats on the table behind Sheridan, reading a paper: 'Rough Drat of the Letter', and saying "Hear hear hear". On the extreme left appear the profile, hands, and one foot of Weltje, saying, "By Got he vill teach de Orse to speak". Under the table is a circular rat-trap, in which are five rats with quasi-human faces. Cf. George.

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