Description
- Abstract:
- Marie-Louise and the infant King of Rome lead a procession of toddlers, cripples, and scarecrows--all the new French recruits. Gesturing grandly, Marie Louise proudly invites this ragtag bunch to come to Napoleon's aid. She carries the young heir on her shoulders high above the rabble. Both heir and empress ride on a dilapidated old horse that dutifully plods forward despite its emaciated state. In addition, the nag has been decked out in imperial finery that heightens the grotesqueness of its appearance: garlands dangle from its neck, the saddle blanket is a frilly affair, and useless ornaments are perched on the horse's head and tail. Similarly, the young king is attired in a large crown and flowing robe. His long pigtail stiffly sticks out behind him while he gestures forward with a scepter. Once again, the satirist highlights the falsity of Napoleonic imperial trappings. The new conscripts who follow also make failed gestures towards finery. Many of the toddlers wear liberty caps or plumed barrels on their heads. These figures are crowded around a standard bearer who holds the eagle-topped banner of Napoleon in one hand, while he pulls a stubborn toddler's arm with his left hand. Amidst the bayonets on the right edge of the image, a figure carries a bushel on his head which is inscribed, "Sugar Plumbs for the Grand Army." In the center, two children attempt to carry weapons. One small boy lacking breeches tucks his enormous sword under his arm. His companion who follows him wears a frying pan as a helmet and straddles his rifle as a hobby horse. The crowd on the left of the image, mostly women, cheers the procession as it passes.
- Notes:
- 'Published for the Propritors of Town Talk,' November 1, 1813.
- Caption: Pubd for the Propritors of the Town Talk Novr--1st 1813
- Dialogue: Marie Louise: "Come Old & Young, Cripples, lame, blind deaf and dumb Napoleon wants you all at Dresden to bring him back to Paris, & to punish those rascals who have come with their long Beards & their long Pikes from the Banks of the Don, to annoy my poor Dear pacific husband."
- Dialogue: King of Rome: "Daddy's gone a hunting: naughty daddy to leave Mama & me on a Wild goose Chase. Morblieu I wish I [was] a man how I would fight these Cossacks."
- Dialogue: Crowds: "Vive l'Empereur," "Vive l'Empereur," "Vive l'Empereur!"
- Printed Signature: G. Cruikshank fect.
- Annotation: George Cruikshank, Cohn 802, Excollection: Bibliotheca Lindesiana (Earl of Crawford) 1847-1913, Lugt 1685c, $125.
- Annotation: 15 Oct 79 JHS [initialed], Hoffman P 10788
Access Conditions
- Rights
- No Copyright - United States
- Restrictions on Use
- Collection is open for research.
Citation
"French recruits, or a bird's eye view of the new conscription"
(1813).
Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection, Napoleonic Satires from the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:232216/
Relations
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