William Henry Peregrine Carington, 'Bill' (1893)

Leslie Ward's chromolithograph, signed Spy at lower left, presents Colonel the Hon. William Henry Peregrine Carington, M.P., as 'Men of the Day No. 557.' The caption reads simply 'Bill' — the familiar register typical of Vanity Fair's insider tone, signalling a subject well-known enough to need no surname. Ward gives Carington an exaggerated walrus moustache in auburn-orange, a ruddy complexion, and an oversized head set atop a trim khaki-brown lounge suit with matching waistcoat. Both hands are pocketed, posture relaxed — the portrait of an Establishment insider at ease with his own consequence. Ward's distortions emphasise the military man turned parliamentary gentleman.