Americana.- American Revolutionary War.- Wilkinson (Robert) The Ballance of Power, etching with hand-colouring, 1781

£1,500 · At auction with Forum Auctions · No longer available

Americana.- American Revolutionary War.- Wilkinson (Robert, publisher) The Ballance of Power, etching with early hand-colouring, on wove paper without watermark, platemark 247 x 352 mm (9 3/4 x 13 7/8 in), 300 x 485 mm (11 3/4 x 19 1/8 in), good margins, some spotting within the image, various toning and browning to sheet, mainly marginal, soft creases, some small nicks to extremities, 1781Literature:BM Satires 5827*** The Ballance of Power depicts England standing on one side of a set of scales, holding the Sword of Justice and proclaiming, "No one injures me with impunity." Her weight tips the balance against the combined figures of America, France, Spain, and the Netherlands on the opposite side. Represented as a Native American figure with head in hand, America laments, "My ingratitude is justly punished."Five engraved couplets beneath the cartoon provide additional commentary on its message: "America, dup'd by a treacherous train, | Now finds she's a Tool both to France and to Spain; | Yet all three united can't weigh down the Scale: | So the Dutchman jumps in with the hope to prevail. | Yet Britain will boldly their efforts withstand, | And bravely defy them by Sea and by Land: | The Frenchman She'll Drub, and the Spaniard She'll Beat, | While the Dutchman She'll Ruin by Seizing his Fleet: | Th' Americans too will with Britons Unite, | And each to the other be Mutual Delight."

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