[Hand-Colored Satirical Print] Wolves Triumphant or A Figfor Public Opinion Jan. 1825

London: John Fairburn, 1825. First Edition. Very Good. Robert Cruikshank. A satirical print of audience reaction to the scandal swirling around Shakespearean actor Edmund Kean in 1824 and 1825 when Kean's extra-marital affair with Charlotte Cox, the wife of an alderman, became the talk of the town. Cox's husband sued Kean for criminal conversation, and the month this print was issued prevailed in court. The uproar came close to derailing Kean's career for good, with audiences at his home theatre, the Drury Lane, jeering and throwing fruits on the stage as he performed. But in this print, we see an audience cheering him on. Of course the seats in the stalls are occupied entirely by wolves! They are joined by human women in the boxes, who it would seem came to their support from a fan crush on the actor. We think the print is also a comment on the public's conflating the actor's private life with his theatrical personality and performance, not that this was a point Robert Cruikshank intended. The print is 26.5 by 36.5 cm. Scarce -- only copy alluded to on OCLC First Search at the LOC. Assumed British Library has a copy also, although it doesn't come up when one checks its catalogue online. Light soiling in the margins, including the band of framing yellow in which the caption is written. Two corners with small abrasions, probably the vestige of the picture having once been matted. But for a small spot in a corner, there is no visible soiling in the picture proper. The color remains fresh and vivid. (Inventory #: 20272)