Caricature of Samuel Smiles
Date
1882
Sitter
Samuel Smiles (1812 - 1904, British) , Author
Creator
Sir Leslie Matthew Ward (1851 - 1922, British) , Artist
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 380mm
width (print): 263mm
width (print): 263mm
Subject
Description
Caricature of Samuel Smiles at full length inclined to and pointing to the right as viewed.
Inscribed in the bottom right corner: ‘Spy’
This caricature is titled ‘Self Help’ and was number 252 of the ‘Men of the Day’ series published in Vanity Fair between 1868-1913.
The associated text reads: ‘By dint of unsparing study and practice he learned to write a fine prose style, and, on becoming secretary to a railway company, he employed his evenings in making books. He did not think it fair that great soldiers should have a monopoly of the laudatory biographies. He remembered that railways as well as battlefields help occasionally to lessen the pressure of population, and he determined that the constructors of junctions, Tay bridges, and other destructive agencies should be rightly estimated […]’
Samuel Smiles (1812-1904), British author and government reformer, was not a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Sir Leslie Matthew Ward (1851-1922), British artist who did much of his work under the pseudonym ‘Spy’ and served as a caricaturist for Vanity Fair between 1873-1911.
Inscribed in the bottom right corner: ‘Spy’
This caricature is titled ‘Self Help’ and was number 252 of the ‘Men of the Day’ series published in Vanity Fair between 1868-1913.
The associated text reads: ‘By dint of unsparing study and practice he learned to write a fine prose style, and, on becoming secretary to a railway company, he employed his evenings in making books. He did not think it fair that great soldiers should have a monopoly of the laudatory biographies. He remembered that railways as well as battlefields help occasionally to lessen the pressure of population, and he determined that the constructors of junctions, Tay bridges, and other destructive agencies should be rightly estimated […]’
Samuel Smiles (1812-1904), British author and government reformer, was not a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Sir Leslie Matthew Ward (1851-1922), British artist who did much of his work under the pseudonym ‘Spy’ and served as a caricaturist for Vanity Fair between 1873-1911.
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.