hand coloured caricature engraving "Gentle Emetic"/after Gillray (?Dublin issue of 1801) 25.5x19cm. to border

An emetic is a liquid treatment that is drunk to cause vomiting. The theory was that it would rid the body of the poisons that caused disease. It was a universal treatment for many conditions. In this print, the bowl is ready for when the man vomits and he has a cold compress applied to his head.

This print was etched by James Gillray (1757-1815), a British caricaturist. Gillray lived above a bookshop belonging to Hannah Humphrey (1778-1822), who printed this caricature in 1804 and many others by Gillray.