

Satire, sewers and statesmen: why James Gillray was king of the cartoon - pepys
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/mar/21/satire-sewers-and-statesmen-james-gillray-king-of-cartoon

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chestnut-tree
We tend to think that as history progresses, more and more taboos are broken
and we're freer today to publish or lampoon ideas, people and events than in
the past. One thing that's surprised me about satirical images from the 18th
century is how bold they sometimes are.

For example, here's an anonymous cartoon from 1740 mocking Thomas Walpole - a
prominent British politician and banker.

[http://images.library.yale.edu/walpoleimages/dl/000000/lwlpr...](http://images.library.yale.edu/walpoleimages/dl/000000/lwlpr00981/lwlpr00981.jpg)

Here is a quote from a BBC documentary explaining the image: _" There was a
new force at work in Georgian society: satire. One of the Georgian age's most
notorious images is Walpole's huge naked bottom blocking the way into the
Treasury. To get on in 18th century government, this is what you had to kiss"_
[1]

[1]
[https://youtu.be/-EDmxfSydCw?t=50m18s](https://youtu.be/-EDmxfSydCw?t=50m18s)

