The Reformers Attack on the Old Rotten Tree - or the Foul Nests of the Cormorants in Danger (Printed Silk Ephemera)

Unknown

1831

London, ca. 1831. Original printed silk scarf. Approximately 31 X 32" including small margins, with a large central design partly printed in colors depicting the parliamentary battle over the Reform Bill of 1832. Some spotting and stains, occasional tear or worn spot resulting in brief losses. Fragile and very scarce British political ephemera from the period just prior to the Victorian era. The large tree in the image is identified as the "Rotten Borough System" in which over a dozen nesting cormorants (each bearing the name of a particular Member of Parliament) are threatened with the need for a new home as a throng of several dozen men attack the tree's trunk with broad axes. The death of George IV in 1830 and the ascension of William IV to the throne opened the door for reformers to demand changes in the government. Legislation was passed in 1832 which helped to shift representation in Parliament from the gentry to the populace, and was instrumental in transforming Britain from an aged colonial power into the industrial empire that dominated the world's economy. Oxford appears to have a copy at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford: John Johnson Collection. See our pictures.