'Gang Forward' — Mr William Stuart Stirling-Crawford

Spy renders Stirling-Crawford in full-length profile, a compositional formula the magazine had perfected by 1879: the subject fills the vertical field, hands pocketed, walking-cane dangling, viewed from the left. He wears a rust-brown three-piece suit, bowler hat, and red cravat — the ensemble of a prosperous country gentleman rather than a Westminster dandy. The caricature exaggerates a prominent nose and ruddy cheeks without ethnic distortion, locating its comedy firmly in class type: the bluff, self-satisfied Scottish laird. The caption 'Gang forward' — Scots for 'go ahead' — signals his nationality and forward manner. Stirling-Crawford sat as a Conservative MP and was known in racing and wagering circles, hence Vanity Fair's 'Wagerers' series placement.