Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Oratory

Image not available
Wilbraham Frederick Evelyn Liardet

Oratory

Published

[London?] : [J. Netherclift's Lithographic Establishment?], [approximately 1830]

lithograph on brown paper touched with white
sheet: 109 x 147 mm
Peel 2665
Notes
Title from item.
One of a set of twelve groups of skeletons reproducing those drawn on a wall between Turnham Green and Brentford, engaged in various activities including singing, dancing, playing in a band, playing billiards, cards, dice and games, at a hustings and in a portrait and a sculpture studio; a cop the first design of the series in the collection of the British Museum is titled in pencil: "Sketches of celebrated skeletons originally designed on the Long Wall between Turnham Green & Brentford, by F C Liardet". Cf. British Museum online catalog, Museum numbers 1878,0713.4674-4685.
The Lewis Walpole Library has in its collection a sheet numbered "No. 1 Gaming" with six of the 12 designs on a single sheet, the designs individually captioned and the sheet titled with imprint: Sketches of the celebrated skeletons, Originally designed on the long wall between Turnham Green and Brentford. Drawn by W.F.E. Liardet, designer of the skeletons on the wall. Printed & published at J. Netherclift's Lithographic Establishment, 8 Newman St.
"A note made by Thomas Hardy seems likely to relate to these images: "Wonderful sketches on a wall, when the people get up one morning at Turnham Green. (skeletons &c it seems...); done by a young man out of employ, at a very early hour, to divert his mind for dwelling on his wretched situation [& to prevent suicide]" (reproduced in 'Thomas Hardy's 'facts' notebook : a critical edition', edited by William Greenslade, Ashgate 2004, p.84)"--Curator's comments, British Museum online catalog.
Provenance

Formerly owned by Sir Robert Peel.

Summary

A satire on elections and campaign oratory; four skeletons standing at a hustings address a crowd of skeletons waving campaign signs.

Associated names
Liardet, Wilbraham Frederick Evelyn, 1799-1878, artist.
Netherclift, Joseph, 1792-1863, publisher, printer.
Peel, Robert, 1788-1850, former owner.
Bibliography

V. Bott. "The Skeletons on the Wall". Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society Journal, XXIII, 2014, page 6-9.

Classification
Department
Century prints