The Times, Plate I

DateSeptember 7, 1762

Engraver William Hogarth (1697 - 1764)

MediumLine engraving and etching on laid paper

DimensionsOverall: 11 1/4 × 15 1/4in. (28.6 × 38.7cm) Other (Plate): 9 3/4 × 12in. (24.8 × 30.5cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1959-435

DescriptionLower margin reads, "The Times, Plate 1/ Designed & Engraved by W Hogarth/ Published as the Act Directs/ Sep.r 7 1762"
Label TextIn this print, painter and engraver William Hogarth sought to defend the current Prime Minister, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, against his critics. Hogarth depicted Lord Bute valiantly saving the world from a fire, crediting Bute with ending the Seven Years War and protecting Great Britain. In this first stage of the print, King Henry VIII aims a bellows, adding fuel to the fire. Within about two weeks after the print’s initial publication, Hogarth replaced Henry VIII with William Pitt, a member of Parliament and future Prime Minister who loudly disagreed with Bute’s decision to end the Seven Years War. While many engravers created anti-Bute propaganda during his ministry, Hogarth defended the deeply unpopular Lord Bute.

The Times, Plate I also maligned member of Parliament and journalist John Wilkes and his periodical, the "North Briton." Hogarth illustrated a man peddling the "North Briton" attempting to mow down a Scottish Highlander, who carries buckets of water to help extinguish the flames. The scene criticized Wilkes’ anti-Scottish prejudice against the Scottish Lord Bute. Hogarth’s criticism of the "North Briton" and Wilkes’ political ally, Pitt, led to a feud between the engraver and the politician. Previously friends, Wilkes scathingly critiqued The Times, Plate I, arguing that Hogarth should continue making morality prints instead of satires about factional politics. Hogarth responded with a caricature portrait print of Wilkes (see 2000-116).
MarkingsDesigned and engraved by William Hogarth.
ProvenanceBefore 1958, Old Print Shop (New York, NY); 1959-present, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).