The Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering

Attributed to Philip Dawe British
 Publisher R. Sayer and J. Bennett British

Not on view

This pre-American Revolution satire published in London shows John Malcolm, British customs agent in Massachusetts, tarred, feathered, and forced to drink tea. The event of January 24, 1774 occurred soon after the Boston Tea party of December 16, 1773 where colonists famously dumped imported tea into the harbor to protest a tax levied by the British Parliament. This is the earliest known representation of the later event with strong tonal contrasts and broad details produced by a worn printing plate.

The Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering, Attributed to Philip Dawe (British, 1745?–?1809), Mezzotint and etching

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.