Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford
"ATn" Alfred Thompson · Vanity Fair, 5 February 1870
Alfred Thompson's chromolithograph presents Lord Chelmsford — Lord Chancellor under Derby and Disraeli — as a stout, self-satisfied figure in a rust-brown overcoat, double-breasted waistcoat, and top hat held at his side. The crown device in the upper corner signals his peerage. Plate 66 in the Statesmen series, it is captioned: "It is hardly to be believed that two political leaders should fall out only because their wives cannot agree" — a waspish allusion to the personal friction between Disraeli and Derby, implying their quarrel was drawing-room gossip dressed up as high politics. Chelmsford's heavy-jowled, slightly pop-eyed rendering is typical period caricature, with physicality enlisted to suggest pomposity and comfortable irrelevance.
About this artifact
- Creator
- "ATn" Alfred Thompson
- Date
- Vanity Fair, 5 February 1870
- Rights
- Public domain — free to view, share, and reuse.
- Restoration
- Digitally restored and hosted by ComicBooks.com.
Part of our mission to preserve and restore the public-domain heritage of the medium.