Presages of the Millenium

Presages of the Millenium

‘Presages of the Millenium’ shows William Pitt as Death, riding naked on the White Horse of Hanover. In his right hand he holds a flaming sword and in his left the thread-like body of a scaly monster with gaping jaws, webbed wings and a serpent’s tail. In the foreground (right) Pitt’s opponents are being kicked towards Hell by the horse’s hind legs. Charles James Fox has just been violently struck in the face, while Richard Brinsley Sheridan lays face downward. All the figures behind the horse wear the bonnet-rouge. In this print, Gillray likens the Foxites to French authorities with Pitt being able to overcome them.

James Gillray

The British Museum

Hannah Humphrey

Published 4 June 1795 in London

The British Museum

© Trustees of the British Museum

Hand-colored etching

Image: 32.5 x 37.4 cm

Still Images