Item 24b: A Satirical Print, by Unknown, entitled “ARMS granted to JOHN WILKES, Lord Mayor of London", [ca. 1774-1775]

Item — Box: 6, Folder: 24b

Staff Only

A Satirical Print, by Unknown, entitled “ARMS granted to JOHN WILKES, Lord Mayor of London,” [ca. 1774-1775]

Dates

Created: [ca. 1774-1775]

Access:

All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.

Extent

1 items

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Type of Material:

Print/ Heraldry

Condition Note:

Good.

Measurements:

14 ⅛ in. x 9 ⅛ in.

Title:

Arms Granted to the Right Honourable John Wilkes

Description:

The following item, circa 1768-1774, depicts a satirical broadside in praise of John Wilkes with a mock coat-of-arms referring to his imprisonment, by an unknown creator. In 1764, John Wilkes was a member of parliament representing Aylesburg until he wrote a provocative satirical work called “An Essay on Women”, which was read to parliament by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), an opponent of his (for having pranked him). This work was declared libel and blasphemous so he was expelled from parliament and made an outlaw after he fled to Paris. After hiding in Paris for 4 years, in 1768 he returned to England and was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. In this context this piece is likely a satirical take on John Wilkes’ situation with such inclusions as the Tower of London and the set of keys. It is suggested here, on Wikimedia, that this piece was created between 1768 and 1770. The information on that page was sourced from a digitized piece at the British Museum. The curator, Stephens “suggests that the print was published to mark the revocation of the outlawry of Wilkes on 8 June 1768, but it seems more likely that it appeared at the time of his release from King's Bench Prison in April 1770; it was referred to in the Public Advertiser, 22 June 1770” (The British Museum). The letter “f” in the transcription is to denote the long “s” found in bulk through literature of the 8th to early 19th centuries. An accompanying exhibition note states: “This is an admiring but comic proposal for a coat of arms for Wilkes, which includes - and explains - the principal symbols of his public career. In addition to his own motto (Arcui Meo Non Confido) there is the sonorous pro rege lege et grege: For the crown, the law, and the people. [This appears to be number 4206, dated June 8, 1768, in the listing of British Museum holdings, but it may be a later version, perhaps from 1774, updated to include the title “Lord-Mayor of the City of London.”]”

Transcription:

ARMS granted to John Wilkes, Efq; The ASSERTOR of BRITISH FREEDOM, At the United Request of the PEOPLE of ENGLAND. BY LIBERTY KING AT ARMS

EXPLANATION. ARMS 1.A General Warrant torn to rags; and, 2, A Bunch of broken Keys, denoting the ruin of arbitrary Power.

3. The Tower of London, the Gates wide open, with a Flag, bearing the white horse (the Arms of the illustrious House of Hannover and MAGNA CARTA denoting Freedom to all loyal subjects and Friends to the Constitution; the words HABEAS CORPUS, under the open Gates, imply, that no British subject can be imprisoned contrary to the Law.

4, 5. Two Messengers in Mourning, with a Handkerchief in one Hand, lamenting their lost Places; and in the other Hand, a Staff with a Greyhound on it denoting their Offices.

SUPPORTERS. 6. An English Mastiff expressive of Fidelity, Constancy, and Watchfulness; the regal Crown in his Paws, denotes Loyalty. 7. An English Game-Cock, an Emblem of British Courage, never to be subdued but by Death.

CREST. 8. An Esquires Helmet. 9. The Cap of Liberty, the indisputable Right of every Englishman, from the Prince to the Peasant.

MOTTO

Pro Grege, Lege et Grege

Vivant Rex et Regina