The royal ass / York sculpsit ; Stewart delt.
[London] : Pub accg. to act, May 20, 1780 by M Darly (39) Strand, [1780]
Library's copy trimmed within plate mark.
Formerly owned by Sir Robert Peel.
An ass, wearing a crown, is being led by a man who has the legs and tail of a devil, towards a dome and two steeples intended for St. Peter's and inscribed "Rome". The man, evidently Bute, is dressed partly in tartan, and is saying "This is my Ass & I'll lead it where I please." Behind, a bishop wearing a mitre and a long gown, flourishes a birch-rod and points at the animal's hind-quarters, saying, "Lead on my Lord I'll drive the beast along." This is Markham, the unpopular Archbishop of York (see BMSat 5553, &c). His birch-rod indicates that he had been head master of Westminster School; he was also (1771-6) preceptor to the Prince of Wales and his brother. Two little boys, one wearing the ribbon of an order, stand by Markham and point at the ass; one says to the other "Where are they driving Papa too [sic]." Cf. British Museum online catalog.
Peel, Robert, 1788-1850, former owner.