Uncorking Old Sherry

James Gillray’s Uncorking Old Sherry (1805) is a particularly memorable image even at a visual level.  This political satire was published just days after a debate between Prime Minister William Pitt and Richard Brinsley Sheridan.  In this image Richard Brinsley Sheridan is caricatured as a bottle of Sherry that William Pitt has just uncorked.  Instead of producing a lovely bottle of wine, out spews a collection of “Old Puns”, “Lame Puns”, and “Fibs, Fibs, Fibs”.

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Uncorking Old Sherry. Gillray, James. March 10, 1805. Museum Number 1851,0901.1165.  The British Museum.