Catalogue Number
NMLH.1994.168.158
Object Name
Emblem
Title
UNDER THESE GARBS DO WE ACT. THE UNITARIAN ARMS. ADDRESSED TO THOSE PEACEABLE SUBJECTS OF THIS KINGDOM WHO PREFER...ANARCHY AND BLOODSHED... ...BLAZONING OF THE UNITARIAN ARMS... ... EXPLANATION OF THE EMBLEMS INTRODUCED: AN HARPY IS DESCRIBED WITH THE
HEAD OF A WOMAN ... ...
Place
London & England & UK
People
[Priestley, Joseph; Paine, Thomas]; Klugmann, James (collector); women
Events
Revolution & France
Date
1792
Creator(s)Fores, S W
Description
This print of 1792 is a parody of traditional emblem forms at the time of the French Revolution. It satirises those in Britain, such as the radicals, who were thought by some to be traitors supporting the events unfolding in Paris.
Many people of non-conformist faiths, including those who held Unitarian and Deist beliefs, were radicals. They called for reform of a corrupt and unrepresentative Parliament in London. Radicals like Thomas Paine and Joseph Priestly were persecuted by Church and King 'mobs'.
The demonisation of political opponents, and of a perceived foreign threat, have long been a mainstay of British political life and culture, though not restricted to Britain or to the far right. European anti-semitism has long drawn on similar devices of demonisation.
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