SHOW MENUMulready Caricatures (seldom seen types)
Introduction
It is rarely mentioned that at least two publications reviewed the new design in a positive light. The Morning Chronicle had seen a proof impression in early April and described it as "a beautiful piece of art; and from its universal diffusion cannot fail to have an effect on the national taste". A contrasting opinion.
The first caricatures must have been produced within days of the Mulready's distribution on May 1st since R.W.Hume sent a Comic No 1 envelope to Mulready on May 13th. There is also a Fores Comic Envelope No 1 surviving sent by the artist himself, John Leech, to a London Regent Street address on May 22nd.
Used caricatures are quite rare, while unused examples of some are even scarcer. King George V acquired a large collection of mainly mint caricatures. Some publishers, such as Fores, Spooner and Southgate are relatively common, however this exhibit concentrates on the designs which are but seldom seen. They show a transition from simple Caricatures to Pictorial designs and led to the later Propaganda envelopes.
Sources of information
The Mulready Envelope and Its Caricatures 1891 Major E B Evans
The Mulready & Associated Pictorial Envelopes the Yates Collection Robson Lowe Auction 1949
British Pictorial Envelopes of the Nineteenth Century 1986 Bodily, Jarvis & Hahn
The Mulready Caricatures RPSL due in 2024 Robin Cassell & Richard Hobbs personal communication
