Caricature of Thomas Henry Huxley
Date
1871
Sitter
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825 - 1895, British) , Biologist
Creator
Carlo Pellegrini (1605, Italian) , Caricaturist
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 350mm
width (print): 230mm
width (print): 230mm
Subject
Description
Caricature of Thomas Henry Huxley at full length, shown in left profile as viewed with his arms crossed over his chest.
Inscribed in the bottom right corner of the print: ‘Ape’
Inscribed above: ‘306 VANITY FAIR. Jan. 28, 1871.’
Inscribed below: ‘No. 117. MEN OF THE DAY No. 19./ “A great Med'cine-Man among the inquiring Redskins [sic]’
This caricature is titled ‘A great Med'cine-Man among the inquiring Redskins [sic]’ and was number 19 of the ‘Men of the Day’ series published in Vanity Fair between 1868-1913.
The associated text reads: ‘Professor Huxley, like the rest of the Ongpatonga tribe, is wonderfully matter-of-fact; but, with all his hardness and anti-transcendentalism, his geniality of temperament and his happy talent for illustration are hardly less remarkable than the logical clearness of his discourse - of which it will be quite sufficient to state that the denizens of 'Vanity Fair' will find a good popular specimen in his "Lay Sermons". Professor Huxley favours the movement for the Scientific education for Women. He wants them to be the associates of men in the "feast of reason and the flow of soul", and would no longer feed them with the fag-ends and scraps of knowledge which they have been accustomed to pick-up […]’
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), British biologist and science educator, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1851 and served as its President between 1883-1885.
Carlo Pellegrini (1839-1889), Italian artist who did much of his work under the pseudonym ‘Ape’ and served as a caricaturist for Vanity Fair between 1869-1889.
Inscribed in the bottom right corner of the print: ‘Ape’
Inscribed above: ‘306 VANITY FAIR. Jan. 28, 1871.’
Inscribed below: ‘No. 117. MEN OF THE DAY No. 19./ “A great Med'cine-Man among the inquiring Redskins [sic]’
This caricature is titled ‘A great Med'cine-Man among the inquiring Redskins [sic]’ and was number 19 of the ‘Men of the Day’ series published in Vanity Fair between 1868-1913.
The associated text reads: ‘Professor Huxley, like the rest of the Ongpatonga tribe, is wonderfully matter-of-fact; but, with all his hardness and anti-transcendentalism, his geniality of temperament and his happy talent for illustration are hardly less remarkable than the logical clearness of his discourse - of which it will be quite sufficient to state that the denizens of 'Vanity Fair' will find a good popular specimen in his "Lay Sermons". Professor Huxley favours the movement for the Scientific education for Women. He wants them to be the associates of men in the "feast of reason and the flow of soul", and would no longer feed them with the fag-ends and scraps of knowledge which they have been accustomed to pick-up […]’
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), British biologist and science educator, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1851 and served as its President between 1883-1885.
Carlo Pellegrini (1839-1889), Italian artist who did much of his work under the pseudonym ‘Ape’ and served as a caricaturist for Vanity Fair between 1869-1889.
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.