English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. Volume 2 (of 2) — Context and Discussion

The Caricature as News Bulletin

Ashton's chapters often open with a précis of recent events, then present the prints that reacted to them. The Battle of Vittoria (June 1813) generated at least three caricatures within days: Cruikshank's 'Boney receiving an account' (July 8), 'Jourdan and King Joe' (July 9), and 'A Scene after the Battle' (July 10). The speed of production is striking. Ashton notes that one print 'will do for any time during the year,' suggesting that some images were generic enough to be repurposed. The caricatures functioned as a kind of visual journalism, compressing complex campaigns into single, legible scenes.

Recurring Figures: Boney, John Bull, and the Mameluke

Certain figures recur across the volume. Napoleon is consistently miniaturized—a 'Little Emperor' in a 'great Passion,' stamping and tearing his hair. John Bull appears as a sturdy, exasperated everyman, as in 'John Bull teazed by an Earwig' (1813), where Boney, perched on his shoulder, pricks his cheek with a Lilliputian sword. The Mameluke Roustem, Napoleon's bodyguard, is shown in undisguised terror. These recurring types create a stable visual vocabulary: the reader learns to expect Napoleon's tantrums, John Bull's patient strength, and the Mameluke's comic fear. The consistency of these figures across different artists suggests a shared satirical language.

Movement and Setting: From Battlefield to Nursery

The excerpts reveal a striking range of settings. The volume moves from battlefields (Vittoria, Borodino) to domestic interiors (John Bull's frugal meal of bread, cheese, and beer) to the nursery (Napoleon 'in the Nursery' with the King of Rome). This variety is not accidental; it reflects the satirists' strategy of deflating Napoleon by placing him in incongruous contexts. The 'broken bridge over the Danube' and the 'burning of Moscow' are set pieces of disaster, while the nursery scenes reduce the Emperor to a domestic figure. Ashton's commentary often notes the shift in tone, from the grand guignol of the Russian retreat to the mock-heroic of the nursery.

Ashton's Method: Description Without Interpretation

Ashton rarely offers aesthetic judgment. His typical entry describes the print's date, artist, publisher, and then enumerates its visual elements: 'A ragged postilion, mounted on the back of a kneeling soldier, holds up a long roll.' He transcribes speech bubbles and captions verbatim, letting the caricatures speak for themselves. This descriptive approach gives the volume the character of a catalogue raisonné. The reader is left to infer the political slant. When Ashton does editorialize, it is usually to note a historical inaccuracy or to explain an obscure allusion. The result is a work that prioritizes documentation over argument, making it a valuable resource for scholars of visual culture.

Readers approaching this volume should treat it as a reference work best consulted alongside a timeline of the Napoleonic Wars. The index of artists and the chronological arrangement make it easy to locate prints by date or campaign. Ashton's transcriptions of the caricatures' lettering are especially useful, as many of the original prints are now difficult to read. For those interested in the intersection of politics and popular art, this volume offers a dense, detailed record of how British satirists saw—and shaped—the war.

Flipping through these plates, I recalled my grandfather’s worn atlas, where he’d penciled tiny mustaches on every portrait. It felt like that same quiet mischief. A similar warmth stirred when I first held English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. Volume 1 (of 2) — A Closer Reading, as if history weren’t distant, but just someone’s familiar, laughing face.