New State Omnibus, or, The Man wot is Cad to the Man wot was Cad to the Man wot drove the Sovereign

New State Omnibus, or, The Man wot is Cad to the Man wot was Cad to the Man wot drove the Sovereign

John Doyle

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

An omnibus lettered "Public Reform" carries William IV as a passenger, with the Duke of Wellington travelling on the step as conductor or cad. The coachman is Sir Robert Peel, and John Bull stands at left as timekeeper holding a watch. The satire reflects the fact that Peel has now become Prime Minister but is not making a promising start with only one passenger. The title derives from an series of prints issued when George IV was king where Wellington was "The Man wot drives the Sovereign" and Peel, then leader of the house was the cad. Now the roles have been reversed.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

New State Omnibus, or, The Man wot is Cad to the Man wot was Cad to the Man wot drove the SovereignNew State Omnibus, or, The Man wot is Cad to the Man wot was Cad to the Man wot drove the SovereignNew State Omnibus, or, The Man wot is Cad to the Man wot was Cad to the Man wot drove the SovereignNew State Omnibus, or, The Man wot is Cad to the Man wot was Cad to the Man wot drove the SovereignNew State Omnibus, or, The Man wot is Cad to the Man wot was Cad to the Man wot drove the Sovereign

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.