Honi. Soi. Qui. Mal. Y. Pense: The Caricature Shop of G. Humphrey, 27 St. James's Street, London

Honi. Soi. Qui. Mal. Y. Pense: The Caricature Shop of G. Humphrey, 27 St. James's Street, London

Theodore Lane

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A crowd of boisterous Londoners is shown inspecting satires critical of Queen Caroline, the estranged wife of the recently crowned King George IV. These are displayed in the bow-front shop window of George Humphrey, a print publisher who inherited a successful business from his aunt Hannah in 1818. Humphrey supported the king in the dramatic period between 1820 and 1821 when Caroline returned to England from the Continent hoping to be recognized as consort, but was sued for divorce, barred from the coronation, collapsed and died. From the mid eighteenth century, print publishers placed newly issued satires against the panes of their shop windows to draw customers. Humorous, topical images drew viewers from all social classes and encouraged lively interaction.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Honi. Soi. Qui. Mal. Y. Pense: The Caricature Shop of G. Humphrey, 27 St. James's Street, LondonHoni. Soi. Qui. Mal. Y. Pense: The Caricature Shop of G. Humphrey, 27 St. James's Street, LondonHoni. Soi. Qui. Mal. Y. Pense: The Caricature Shop of G. Humphrey, 27 St. James's Street, LondonHoni. Soi. Qui. Mal. Y. Pense: The Caricature Shop of G. Humphrey, 27 St. James's Street, LondonHoni. Soi. Qui. Mal. Y. Pense: The Caricature Shop of G. Humphrey, 27 St. James's Street, London

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.