Last modified: 2016-06-13 by rob raeside
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Many cartoons by James Gillray (1756 or 1757 - 1815) show an unusual
depiction of Union Jack, with red cross over blue saltire on white field. A good
example is the cartoon titled "The reception of the diplomatique and his suite,
at the Court of Pekin" [1, 2], published in 1792 and ridiculing an unsuccessful
British diplomatic mission to China earlier same year. The same flag also
appears in the cartoons "Posting to the election, - a scene on the road to
Brentford, Novr 1806" [3], published by the end of the year mentioned in the
title, and "British tars, towing the Danish fleet into harbour" [4], published
in 1807 after the Second Battle of Copenhagen and depicting conflicting public
opinions on the event.
The reason for the use of this design is not quite
clear; perhaps Gillray worried that he might have been prosecuted for the flag
desecration if he had depicted the correct design, for the depicted persons who
were offended by his cartoons, would have probably gladly used such an
accusation against him. However, the same design appears in a number of
patriotic cartoons as well, like the "Buonapartè, 48 hours after landing!" of
1803 [5] and "John Bull offering little Boney fair play" of same year [6], where
the use of correct design would be far less desecrating, if any,
especially when it is known that the correct flag design was used in at least
one such cartoon, namely the "French invasion - or - Buonaparte landing in Great
Britain", also of 1803 [7].
Square versions of the described flag, with
additional charges like the royal crown or inscriptions, appear as the military
colors in the scenes depicted in cartoons "The salute" of 1797 [8] and
"Westminster conscripts under the training act" of 1806 [9].
The same
design appears as the charges on Britannia's shield, like "The genius of France
triumphant, - or - Britannia petitioning for peace" of 1795 [10], "The nursery,
with Britannia reposing in peace" of 1802 [11], "Britannia between death and the
doctor's" of 1804 [12], and a number of others [13].
Sources:
[1] Cartoon "The reception of the diplomatique and his
suite, at the Court of Pekin", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw61584/The-reception-of-the-diplomatique-and-his-suite-at-the-Court-of-Pekin?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=13&rNo=263
[2] Cartoon "The reception of the diplomatique and his suite,
at the Court of Pekin", at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Reception.JPG
[3] Cartoon
"Posting to the election, - a scene on the road to Brentford, Novr 1806", at
National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw63580/Posting-to-the-election---a-scene-on-the-road-to-Brentford-Novr-1806?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=38&rNo=770
[4] Cartoon "British tars, towing the Danish fleet into harbour",
at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62985/British-tars-towing-the-Danish-fleet-into-harbour?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=39&rNo=786
[5] Cartoon "Buonapartè, 48 hours after landing!", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62685/Napoleon-Bonaparte-Buonapart-48-hours-after-landing?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=34&rNo=685
[6] Cartoon "John Bull offering little Boney fair play", at National Portrait
Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62687/Napoleon-Bonaparte-John-Bull-offering-little-Boney-fair-play?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=34&rNo=687
[7] Cartoon "French invasion - or - Buonaparte landing in Great
Britain", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw63553/Napoleon-Bonaparte-French-invasion---or---Buonaparte-landing-in-Great-Britain?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=34&rNo=695
[8] Cartoon "The salute", National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62166/Thomas-Davies-The-salute?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=22&rNo=450
[9] Cartoon "Westminster
conscripts under the training act", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62742/Westminster-conscripts-under-the-training-act?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=37&rNo=756
[10]
Cartoon "The genius of France triumphant, - or - Britannia petitioning for
peace", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw61895/The-genius-of-France-triumphant---or---Britannia-petitioning-for-peace?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=16&rNo=336
[11] Cartoon "The nursery, with Britannia reposing in peace",
at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62658/The-nursery-with-Britannia-reposing-in-peace?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=32&rNo=659
[12]
Cartoon "Britannia between death and the doctor's", at National Portrait
Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62698/Britannia-between-death-and-the-doctors?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=35&rNo=703
[13] List of
James Gillray's cartoons in the collection of National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php?LinkID=mp01777&role=art
Tomislav Todorovic, 20 May 2013
The misplaced blue in the Union Jack is probably a colouring error. In black
and white, the depiction of the pre-1801 Union Jack is reasonably accurate. I am
not sure of the process but colour was added later, and different prints of the
same cartoon can be found in which the colouring is different.
See the pairs
of prints at http://tinyurl.com/qgn5o5t
David Prothero, 21 May 2013
I have seen myself several examples of different colouring of the same
cartoon while preparing my contribution. Still the flag colouring, regardless of
the person responsible, seems to be consistent enough to be contributed about -
and certainly was repeated too many times to be just an accidental error.
Tomislav Todorovic, 21 May 2013
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 21 May 2013
A swallow-tailed flag, with the previously described pattern at the hoist and
plain red fly, is shown in the cartoon titled "Britannia between Scylla and
Charybdis" or "Britannia between Scylla & Charybdis. or - The Vessel of the
Constitution steered clear of the Rock of Democracy, and the Whirlpool of
Arbitrary-Power", which was published in 1793 [14, 15]. The flag is flown from
the boat named "The Constitution", which carries William Pitt the Younger, the
then Prime Minister, and Britannia (note the pattern on the shield), sailing
between Scylla, represented with the Phrygian cap on a pole atop the rock
(symbolizing ideas of the French Revolution) and Charybdis, whose huge mouth,
shaped like an inverted crown, is swallowing water and producing a whirlpool
(symbolizing the absolute monarchy) [16].
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 21 May 2013
A similar flag appears in the
cartoon "Middlesex-election. 1804" (year of publishing as in the title) [17].
In this satiric depiction of a contemporary election campaign, a flag appears
which resembles the previously described one, but the tails seem to be
shorter here, leaving much of the red field undivided. The other flag to be
noted is the one charged with the scene of Britannia being whipped (note the
shield again).
Both of
the above flags resemble the Red Ensign somewhat, but even more, the "Flag of
the English People" from the 16-18th flag charts which suggests that such
flags might have really existed and served as the model for Gillray's flag
drawings.
image by
Tomislav Todorovic, 21 May 2013
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 21 May 2013
Another similar flag is shown in top central part of the
cartoon "Camera-obscura", published in 1788 [18]. Here, both the flag and the
tails are much less oblong and the hoist field is approximately square.
However, this flag is much less visible than the one shown in the top left
corner, which is clearly based on the Red Ensign, only with swallow-tailed
fly and the canton patterned as above.
Whatever were the
reasons for use of such flags, they must have been absent from the motives
for the creation of cartoon named "Light expelling darkness, - evaporation of
Stygian exhalations, - or - the sun of the Constitution, rising superior to
the clouds of opposition" [capitalizations are mine], published in 1795 [19],
where a flying female figure carries the pre-1801 Red Ensign, correctly
depicted, in the right hand and scales in the left hand. This character,
which might be the personification of Justice, seems to guide the chariot of
Sun, drawn by a lion and a unicorn and decorated with a line drawing of the
royal arms beneath the sun disc. Although the explanation of this cartoon is
not given, as well as for all the others from the same source, the
charioteer's face resembles that of William Pitt the Younger from "Britannia
between Scylla and Charybdis" [15, 16], so it is probably him, for he was the
Prime Minister at both cartoons' publishing times. Even the idea behind both
cartoons might have been the same, which is suggested by the words *COMMONS -
KING - LORDS* inscribed within the sun disc, which is indeed a brief
definition of the then constitutional system in Great Britain. These words,
together with Classicist composition of the picture, also suggest that Gillray intended to compare the contemporary British government with that of
the Roman Republic, which was described by Polybius in his Histories as a
combination of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy.
Sources [continued
from above]:
[14] Cartoon "Britannia between Scylla and Charybdis", at
National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw61615/Britannia-between-Scylla-and-Charybdis-Charles-James-Fox-Joseph-Priestley-Richard-Brinsley-Sheridan-William-Pitt?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=14&rNo=284
[15] Cartoon "Britannia between Scylla and Charybdis", reproduction at
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GillrayBritannia.jpg
[16] Cartoon
"Britannia between Scylla and Charybdis", explanation at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Between_Scylla_and_Charybdis#Cultural_and_popular_references
[17] Cartoon "Middlesex-election. 1804", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw63575/Middlesex-election-1804?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=35&rNo=717
[18] Cartoon "Camera-obscura",
at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw61343/Camera-obscura?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=7&rNo=146
[19] Cartoon "Light expelling darkness, - evaporation of Stygian
exhalations, - or - the sun of the Constitution, rising superior to the clouds
of opposition", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw63485/Light-expelling-darkness---evaporation-of-stygian-exhalations---or---the-sun-of-the-constitution-rising-superior-to-the-clouds-of-pposition?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=18&rNo=372
Tomislav Todorovic, 21 May 2013
The section contains a paragraph about the use of the pre-1801 Red Ensign in
one of Gillray's cartoons. At the time of making the said contribution
(2013-05-21) the source for the said cartoon (listed under number [19]) did not
list the sitters' names. In the meantime, the source for cartoon named "Light
expelling darkness, - evaporation of Stygian exhalations, - or - the sun of the
Constitution, rising superior to the clouds of opposition" [19] was expanded to
display the sitters' names, and one of them is indeed William Pitt the Younger,
the then Prime minister, so he is obviously the man depicted as the Sun's
charioteer - the logical position for him, given the composition of the picture
and the idea behind it.
Tomislav Todorovic, 9 May 2015
It shall be noted that a real-life flag charged with the red cross
over blue saltire on white field was used by two shipping companies -
first by G.D. Tyser & Co. (1860-1914)
image by
Tomislav Todorovic, 21 May 2013 A flag derived from the usual Gillray pattern by adding a repeated pattern
in the canton, is shown in the cartoon "A block for the wigs - or, the new
state whirligig", published in 1783 [20]. The flag is flying from the top of
a pillar in center of a carousel on which sit several ministers of the then
government [21]. Another copy of this cartoon exists, with a different
coloring of the same flag, looking much less consistent (greater and lesser
patterns colored differently) [22].
image by
Tomislav Todorovic, 21 May 2013 A flag derived from the one described above and modeled
like the "Flag of English People" from the 16-18th flag charts, appears in
the cartoon "A French hail storm, - or - Neptune losing sight of the Brest
fleet", published in 1793 [23]. The cartoon depicts Admiral Richard Howe, 1st
Earl Howe (1726-1799), in Neptune's chariot - large shell, drawn by two
dolphins - with the trident as the flagstaff from which the described flag is
flying. Sources
[continued from above]:
image by
Tomislav Todorovic, 23 May 2013 Flags with the usual Gillray pattern, but with red and blue reversed, appear
in the cartoon "The high-flying-candidate, (i.e. little Paul-goose,) mounting
from a blanket", published in 1806 [24]. They have various ratios,
from 1:1 to 3:5, some of them have fringes along the edge, and all of them
bear with inscriptions which are not easy to read, except names of two
sitters, (Alexander) Hood and (Richard Brinsley) Sheridan. Considering that
all the identified sitters were contemporary politicians, the scene is
clearly another Gillray's mocking with the then British political life. One
of the flags seems to be white, with the described pattern in canton and no
visible inscriptions, but is mostly hidden behind other flags, so it will be
left without a detailed description or an image here. These flags' pattern
was more likely an error than those from the other cartoons; it is unclear
whether the error was intentional, but seems to have been less likely so than
in case of other patterns, especially because it seems not to have been
repeated elsewhere.
image by
Tomislav Todorovic, 21 May 2013 The
flag which resembles the pre-1801 Union Jack the most, but with a voided
saltire, appears in the cartoon "Delicious dreams! - Castles in the air! -
Glorious prospects!", published in 1808 [25]. The flag is flown from the
chariot in top part of the drawing, where a dream of the characters from the
bottom part is shown. Beside the flags in these two cartoons, one satiric
and the other quite the opposite, this pattern also appears on Britannia's
shield in cartoon "St George and the dragon", published in 1805 [27], a scene
in which King George III on horse saves Britannia from a monster with the
head of Napoleon. The same shield appears as the shield of Zeus/Jupiter in
the cartoon "Destruction of the French collossus", published in 1798 [28],
where this god's lightnings destroy the French Republic, depicted as a
monstrous variation of the Colossus of Rhodes. (Beside the shield, held by
one of god's hands, only his other arm, which holds the lightnings, is
visible.)
image by
Tomislav Todorovic, 21 May 2013 A flag modeled
both after the above one and the "Flag of English People" appears in the
cartoon "Scene le vrog house", published in 1782 [29], which is a rather
indecent scene involving several British and French characters and, along
with the said flag flying, a French flag, white with fleurs-de-lys, laying
humiliated on the ground.
image by
Tomislav Todorovic, 22 May 2016 Another variant of the flag appears in the cartoon "Improvement in Weights &
Measures. - or - Sir John Sinclair discovering ye Ballance of ye British Flag."
The sitter is Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, 1st Baronet (1754-1835), British
politician and writer on finance and agriculture. He is shown as holding the
scales with a Phrygian cap and some vegetables and inscribed scrolls on one
side, and the said flag on the other; the whole is an allusion to his career,
along with the other details of the picture, like books and scrolls on the table
behind Sinclair, or picture and paper sheet on the wall, all bearing the
inscriptions which are not completely readable in the source image, but even
when they are, their meaning was certainly immediately understood by the
contemporaries of Gillray and Sinclair, which is not the case with most of the
present observers. The flag itself resembles several other variants by Gillray,
but also differs from all of them: red cross and blue saltire, both within a
white fimbriation (only around, but not between them), all on blue field, the
whole pattern repeated in the canton. Conclusion:
image located by David Prothero, 12 February 2009 Gillray's flag depictions with the white field, charged with red cross over
blue saltire, and the plain red fly resemble the "Cap Presmant Pendant" from the
notebook of William Downman, 1685-6, which was reproduced in "Flags at Sea" by
Timothy Wilson, National Maritime Museum, 1986. Their hoist pattern resembles
the yet unidentified flag currently listed as UFE 09-7, which is depicted on a
painting from 17th or 18th century. All of these sources are unrelated to each
other, but since Gillray's cartoons were created some time after the other
pictures, it is possible that he drew inspiration from something he did see in
real life - if not these very pictures, then something else that may have even
not survived until present day. Whether his sources were based on real life
themselves, is another matter which may remain unexplained until some new
evidence is discovered. The British flag from the painting "The Death of General Warren at the Battle
of Bunker Hill on 17 June 1775", made in 1786 by John Trumbull, resembles the
contemporary Red Ensign, but blue and white had swapped places in the canton.
Tomislav Todorovic, 15 May 2015
[20] Cartoon "A block for the wigs - or, the new
state whirligig", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw61152/A-block-for-the-wigs---or-the-new-state-hirligig?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=4&rNo=81
[21] Cartoon "A block for the wigs - or, the new state whirligig", at
Wikipedia:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_block_for_the_wigs_-_or,_the_new_state_whirligig_by_James_Gillray.jpg/a>
[22] Cartoon "A block for the wigs - or, the new state whirligig", alternate
coloring, at Wikipedia:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A-Block-for-the-Wigs-illray.jpeg
[23] Cartoon "A French hail storm, - or - Neptune losing sight of the Brest
fleet", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw61618/Richard-Howe-1st-Earl-Howe-A-French-hail-storm---or---Neptune-losing-sight-of-the-Brest-fleet?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=14&rNo=287
Tomislav Todorovic, 22 May 2013
The same flag appears in the cartoon titled "The
death of Admiral Lord Nelson - in the moment of victory!", published in 1805
[26]. The scene both glorifies Nelson's victory - note the inscription
Immortality on the arch made of clouds and winged figure blowing a trumpet
- and expresses nationwide mourning after his death, the latter being
represented by grieving Britannia, her shield patterned exactly like the
flag, above dying Nelson. The flag is also charged with inscription
VICTORY, which is the name of Nelson's ship (note the holes on the flag as
the result of the fighting), but is also related to the whole event. The
other flag shown is a war trophy: French flag, depicted as a horizontal
tricolor (typical for Gillray [13]), with incompletely visible inscription
VIVE L'EMPEREUR.
Sources
[continued from above]:
[24] Cartoon "The high-flying-candidate, (i.e. little
Paul-goose,) mounting from a blanket", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62755/The-high-flying-candidate-ie-little-Paul-goose-mounting-from-a-blanket?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=38&rNo=766/a>>
[25] Cartoon "Delicious dreams! - Castles in the air! - Glorious
prospects!", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62994/Delicious-dreams---Castles-in-the-air---Glorious-prospects?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=40&rNo=800
[26] Cartoon "The death of Admiral Lord Nelson - in the moment of victory!",
at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62724/The-death-of-Admiral-Lord-Nelson---in-the-moment-of-victory-Horatio-Nelson-Sir-Thomas-Masterman-Hardy-1st-Bt?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=36&rNo=735
[27] Cartoon "St George and the dragon", at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw63578/St-George-and-the-dragon-Napoleon-Bonaparte-King-George-III?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=37&rNo=740
[28] Cartoon "Destruction of the French colossus", at National Portrait
Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62271/Destruction-of-the-French-collossus?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=24&rNo=496
[29] Cartoon "Scene le vrog house", at National Portrait Gallery (WARNING: an indecent scene,
listed only due to the flags depicted):
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw63195/Scene-le-vrog-house?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=3&rNo=67
Tomislav Todorovic, 23 May 2013
Sources:
[30] Biography of Sir
John Sinclair at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_John_Sinclair,_1st_Baronet
[31]
Cartoon "Improvement in Weights & Measures. - or - Sir John Sinclair discovering
ye Ballance of ye British Flag." at National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw62288/Sir-John-Sinclair-1st-Bt?LinkID=mp01777&role=art&wPage=25&rNo=501
Tomislav Todorovic, 22 May 2016
The erroneously depicted Union Jack and
derived flags appear in too many cartoons by James Gillray to be considered
unintentional errors, still the reason for their use remains unclear, for the
cartoons include both satiric and patriotic ones, both those in which the
sitters are ridiculed and those in which they are glorified. To make the things
even more complicated, correctly depicted Union Jack and derived flags also
appear sometimes, but very rarely and never in satiric drawings, while some of
Gillray's depictions do resemble some real-life flags, as well as some works by
other artists.
Tomislav Todorovic, 22 May 2016
Cap Presmant Pendant
Tomislav Todorovic, 22 May 2016
British flag from the painting "The Death of General Warren
at the Battle of Bunker Hill on 17 June 1775"
This flag also resembles several depictions by James Gillray. While its
existence could not have been confirmed so far and it is viewed as example of
artistic license, one shall bear on mind that Trumbull did reside in London
during several longer periods between 1780 and 1795, so it can be rightfully
assumed that he must have been familiar with Gillray's works, bearing on mind
their impact at the time. Although it is probably impossible to prove, he might
have found the inspiration for his flag in some of them - in real life, indeed,
even though the same might not be true for his model.
Tomislav Todorovic,
22 May 2016