Francis Greville, Lord Brooke — 'He sits for Colchester'

Ward presents Lord Brooke in full hussar dress uniform — black pelisse heavy with silver frogging, sword at hip, white gloves, and a sabretache bearing a crowned royal cipher — holding what appears to be a rolled document or baton. The profile pose is typical of Spy's formula: a recognizable face (here a neat auburn moustache and strong jaw) set atop a slightly elongated, stiffened body that gently mocks military self-importance. The caption 'He sits for Colchester' is a dual pun: Brooke held the parliamentary seat for Colchester while also commanding troops garrisoned there. No ethnic caricature is present. The plate is Statesmen No. 571, situating Brooke among Vanity Fair's gallery of gentleman-politicians who wore rank as comfortably as they wore their regimentals.