GILLRAY, James. ~ Gentle Emetic. London: H[annah] Humphrey, Jan 28 1804.
Etching and engraving with stipple (264 × 200 mm, sheet size 285 × 216 mm)
One of a set of three Gillray prints of medical conditions that were also astute studies in facial expression.
The printer, Hannah Humphrey, is an interesting figure. Known as ‘Mrs Humphrey’ although she was unmarried, she was sister of printer William Humphrey from whose address in St Martin's Lane she published her first prints. She became the leading publisher of expensive satirical prints, especially by Gillray who worked for her exclusively from 1791, and who lived in her house for the last twenty years of his life. ‘The two lived together in circumstances of domestic intimacy for many years, but so discreetly that the prurient gossips of the next generation could find little to say against them. When Gillray made his will in 1807 he left all his possessions 'to my dearest friend Hannah Humphrey' (Oxford DNB). BM Satires 10304.