Gerard James Noel, M.P. — 'A nice little fellow'

Signed Ape (Carlo Pellegrini), this chromolithograph — plate 106, Statesmen No. 78 — caricatures Gerard James Noel (1823–1911), Conservative M.P. and later Chief Whip. Pellegrini renders him as a compact, almost spherical figure: the head is enlarged and pushed low onto the shoulders, a classic Ape device. Noel wears a black frock coat, grey trousers, white shirt with a bow tie, and a tall top hat that adds the height his body noticeably lacks. The caption, 'A nice little fellow,' is gently condescending — parliamentary praise that doubles as dismissal. The mockery is one of physical stature and political weight, placing Noel among the affable but unformidable men Westminster quietly forgot.