Catalogue Number
NMLH.1995.91.1.2
Object Name
mug
Title
'Wilkes and Liberty. No general warrants'
Place
Middlesex, London, England, UK
People
John Wilkes, The North Briton (publication)
Date
c 1763
Description
A mug with a portrait of John Wilkes surrounded by decorative scrollwork. Below is the slogan 'Wilkes and Liberty' and the message 'No general warrants'.
John Wilkes was an 18th century politician, journalist and radical reformer. While acceptable by modern sensibilities, many ideas of political reformers at this time were contested by those in power. In his publication, the North Briton, he wrote about corruption in government and opposed the extensive power of the monarchy. In one issue of the North Briton, he criticised the King and was sent to prison for libel, although he was released because he was a Member of Parliament. This mug was created after the Wilkes fled to Paris in 1763 to avoid arrest, and it shows support for the exiled radical.
**ON DISPLAY**
Multimedia
