Caricature of Arthur Balfour
Date
1910
Sitter
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848 - 1930, British) , Politician
Creator
'XIT', Cartoonist
Creator - Organisation
Hentschel-Colourtype, Printer
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 280mm
width (print): 265mm
width (print): 265mm
Subject
Description
Caricature of Arthur Balfour, leaning against a dispatch box, gesturing towards papers laid out below him, and inclined to the right as viewed.
Signed in the bottom right corner of the print: ‘XIT’
Inscribed above: ‘VANITY FAIR Supplement’
Inscribed below: ‘Hentschel Colourtype, London/ “Dialectics”/ (The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour.)’
This caricature is titled ‘Dialectics’ and was number 1213 of the ‘Men of the Day’ series published in Vanity Fair.
The associated text begins: ‘He is heartily ashamed of himself.
There has been no more brilliant failure in any phase of life for a century past. Following those family traditions which so often force a man to uncongenial courses, he entered Parliament in 1874 as member for Hertford. His debut was most unpromising. For two years he never opened his mouth; hardly attended the sittings of Parliament in fact […]’
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848-1930), British Conservative statesman and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1888 and served as its Vice President between 1912-1914.
‘Xit’ (active 1910), artist and cartoonist in Vanity Fair.
Signed in the bottom right corner of the print: ‘XIT’
Inscribed above: ‘VANITY FAIR Supplement’
Inscribed below: ‘Hentschel Colourtype, London/ “Dialectics”/ (The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour.)’
This caricature is titled ‘Dialectics’ and was number 1213 of the ‘Men of the Day’ series published in Vanity Fair.
The associated text begins: ‘He is heartily ashamed of himself.
There has been no more brilliant failure in any phase of life for a century past. Following those family traditions which so often force a man to uncongenial courses, he entered Parliament in 1874 as member for Hertford. His debut was most unpromising. For two years he never opened his mouth; hardly attended the sittings of Parliament in fact […]’
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848-1930), British Conservative statesman and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1888 and served as its Vice President between 1912-1914.
‘Xit’ (active 1910), artist and cartoonist in Vanity Fair.
Object history
Vanity Fair’s ‘Men of the Day’ series, which featured a full page, colour caricature of a significant public figure and text commentary, largely written by "Jehu Junior", was a popular feature that ran between 1868 and 1913.
This print was purchased by the Royal Society in 1999.
This print was purchased by the Royal Society in 1999.
Associated place