Gillray Bank-Notes

James Gillray.
Bank-Notes, _ Paper-Money, _ French Alarmists, _ o, the Devil, the Devil! _ ah! poor John-Bull!!!
London, H.G.Bohn, 1851. Etching, 260 x 360mm. Coloured. Trimmed from a larger sheet.
£250
Because of the need for gold for foreign trade during the war with the French, William Pitt the younger pressured the Bank of England into temporarily suspending its practice of honouring banknotes with gold. The Bank then issued £1 & £2 notes for the first time. Here Sheridan, Fox and Stanhope, dressed as French revolutionaries, try to persuade John Bull to refuse to accept them. First published 1797. GILL0008