The Upsetting of the Reform Coach

June 4, 1834

Not on view

This political satire responds to the resignation of four Cabinet members from Lord Gray's administration in May 1834. A coach (lettered "Reform") tips over in the background as William IV looks out the window and shouts "Help! help!". On the roof, Lord Brougham says to Lord Melbourne "Sit fast Mlbne, these fellows have done much better to have kept their places; I think one ought always to keep one's place as long as one can." Behind the coatch, the Duke of Richmond holds the head of Lord Ripon who lies on the ground. At left, Edward Stanley addresses Sir James Graham, who is on the ground and says, "Well I think we did right to jump off, although we may have got a little hurt or so:__I told you Johnny would upset the Coach."

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: The Upsetting of the Reform Coach
Series/Portfolio: HB Sketches, No. 324
Artist: John Doyle (Irish, Dublin 1797–1868 London)
Publisher: Thomas McLean (British, 1788–1875)
Lithographer: Alfred Ducôte (British, active 1830–40)
Subject: Henry Peter Brougham (British, Edinburgh 1778–1868 Cannes, France)
Subject: Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (British, 1799–1869)
Subject: Sir James Robert George Graham (British, 1792–1861)
Subject: William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (British, London 1779–1848 Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire)
Subject: Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond and Lennox (British, 1791–1860)
Subject: Frederick John Robinson (British, Yorkshire 1782–1859 Putney, London)
Subject: William IV, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (British, 1765–1837)
Date: June 4, 1834
Medium: Lithograph
Dimensions: Sheet: 10 15/16 × 14 13/16 in. (27.8 × 37.6 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2014
Object Number: 2014.757.5(10)
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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