Creator
G. Cruikshank
Title
The Queen’s Matrimonial Ladder.
Coverage
London
Publisher
Printed by and for William Hone, Ludgate-Hill
Date
1820
Subject
Title page and Toy Matrimonial Ladder: A narrow pasteboard strip, which folds in the middle, with 14 tiny wood engravings by Cruikshank (done in Bewick's "white-line" style, white lines carved out of the printed black background), adapted from the 14 steps illustrated in the pamphlet.
Description
The fourteen woodcuts illustrating the pamphlet and the toy depict the 14 steps of the matrimonial ladder, satirizing the history of the Regent’s marriage to his cousin, Princess Caroline in 1795 and his attempts to get rid of her when he became George IV in 1820. Cruikshank’s depiction of the King and his debauchery was a tribute to Britain’s mild censorship of graphic material at the time.
Source
Source: Political Tracts. Six unnumbered volumes containing 42 pamphlets written by William Hone, illustrated with wood engravings by George Cruikshank, published 1819-1821.
The Queen’s Matrimonial Ladder. A National Toy, with Fourteen Step Scenes; and Illustrations in Verse, with Eighteen Other Cuts. By the Author of “The Political House that Jack Built.” Sixth Edition.
The Queen’s Matrimonial Ladder. A National Toy, with Fourteen Step Scenes; and Illustrations in Verse, with Eighteen Other Cuts. By the Author of “The Political House that Jack Built.” Sixth Edition.
Relation
From the collection of Josephine Lea Iselin.