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Author Biography

Ersy Contogouris is associate professor of art history at the Université de Montréal, where she specializes in the study of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century art, as well as the history of caricature and graphic satire. She is the author of Emma Hamilton and Late Eighteenth-Century Art: Agency, Performance, and Representation (Routledge, 2018) and the assistant editor of The Efflorescence of Caricature, 1759-1838 (Ashgate, 2011). Béatrice Denis is a PhD student in the Interuniversity Doctoral Program in Art History at Université de Montréal. She holds an MA in art history (2020) and a BA in History (2018). Her research interests include the representation of war during the Napoleonic period and the relationship between images and written text.

Abstract

Hannah Humphrey (ca. 1745-1818) was the exclusive publisher of James Gillray's (1756-1815) caricatures from 1791 until Gillray's death. His achievements were made possible in large part thanks to Humphrey and her innovative business acumen. But while Gillray has been celebrated and studied by art historians, Humphrey’s contribution to his success and to the history of graphic satire has remained unexamined. This article is a first attempt to shift the focus onto her in the story of the “golden age” of British caricature. It outlines Humphrey’s career, takes a closer look at her relationship with Gillray, and finally considers some of the reasons she has remained in the shade.

Keywords

Hannah Humphrey; James Gillray; Caricature; Print sellers

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