James Gillray, 
British 1756-1815- 
Doctor Sangrado curing John Bull of repletion - with the kind...

James Gillray, 
British 1756-1815- 

Doctor Sangrado curing John Bull of repletion - with the kind offices of young Clysterpipe & little Boney - a hint from Gil Blas; 

hand-coloured engraving on wove paper with narrow margins, Published 2 May 1803 by H. Humphrey, 27 St James' Street, 25.5 x 35.5 cm. (VAT charged on the hammer price). 

Provenance: 
Anon. sale, Bonhams, Oxford, 30 June 2015, lot 239 (£1,250). 

Note: 
BM 9986. 

Prime minister Henry Addington (right) bleeds John Bull, who sits exhausted and faint, supported by foreign secretary Lord Hawkesbury. Addington stands tall, exclaiming 'Courage John Bull - Courage!!!' Hawkesbury, by contrast, is drooping and rather melancholy, repeating 'Courage Johnny.' Napoleon Bonaparte (right) holds out his hat to catch the blood that spurts from Bull's arm. The blood is inscribed 'West Indies', 'Cape of Good Hope', 'Malta', 'Ceylon'. A young boy, standing behind Addington holds out another hat, inscribed 'Clerk [of the] Pells', to catch a stream of blood inscribed '£3,000 Pr Annum'; and the boy echoes 'Courage'. On the left stand Whig politicians Charles James Fox and Richard Brinsley Sheridan proffering bowls of 'Warm Water'; both say 'Courage'. Bull sits on a commode inscribed 'Reservoir for the Clyster-pipe Family' (the Addingtons), and beside him lie his damaged hat and stick along with a torn paper: 'Rule Britannia, an old song'. In this satirical print, Gillray appears to represent the British nation being bled of resources by bad government policies and foreign powers. The enemy, Napoleon, stands to benefit from a weakened Great Britain.