18th and 19th Century Legal Prints

Bow Street Office, 1808

Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)

Designed and etched by Auguste Charles Pugin (British (born France), Paris 1768/69–1832 London)

Aquatint by John Hill (American (born England), London 1770–1850 Clarksville, New York)

Published in The Microcosm of London, or, London in miniature by Rudolph Ackermann in 1808

Londoners crowd a courtroom in Bow Street, waiting to appear before a Westminster magistrate who sits on a podium in the left background. This court had been established in the 1740s to address minor crimes such as drunkenness, fighting and prostitution, and relieve pressure on higher courts such as the Old Bailey. By focusing on the waiting crowd, instead of those who administer justice, the print conveys the capital's popular energy. – Description by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art

The courtroom functioned from 1735 to 2006 and was the cite of many notable court cases, including prosecutions of Irish poet Oscar Wilde and English organized crime figures the Kray twins. Preserved as a Grade II historically significant structure by the UK Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, it is now home to the NoMad London hotel and the British Police Museum.

Sir William Blackstone, 1755

Print published in London by J.F.E. Grundy

Based on 1755 oil painting by Sir Joshua Renyolds, held by the National Portrait Gallery in London

Based on a 1755 oil painting depicting Sir William Blackstone by Joshua Reynolds (PRA) the founding President of the Royal Academy of Arts. The original portrait hangs at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Blackstone was a prominent English politician, lawyer, Justice of the Court of King's Bench and Justice of the Common Pleas. He is best known as the author of Commentaries on the Laws of England (commonly referred to as Blackstone’s Commentaries) an influential legal treatise on the English common law that is still used in legal education and discourse.

The Trial of “Bill Burn” Under Martin’s Act, 1838

This print depicts the prosecution of London costermonger (traveling fruit and vegetable seller) Bill Burn, the first conviction under the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822. This legislation was popularly known as Martin’s Act after its author, Irish Member of Parliament Richard Martin, who was referred to widely as “Humanity Dick” for his compassion towards animals.

Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, there are several satirical elements visible in this print. P. Mathews Stourbridge, the print’s creator, incorporates several self-referential elements. As indicated by a public notice beneath the clock reading “Whereas P. Mathews having been CONVICTED of stealing material from a popular song and MURDERING the subject” this print portrays a scene from the popular song The Trial of “Bill Burn” Under Martin’s Act.

Bill’s donkey was ordered into court,
In which he caused a deal of sport;
He cock’d his ears, and ope’d his jaws,
As if he wished to plead his cause.
I prov’d I’d been uncommonly kind,
The ass got a verdict—Bill got fined;

In addition to the “public notice of murder” bearing his name, the painter himself is likely portrayed in the front of the gally leaning against a wooden box labeled “Painting, keep dry. Per Amateur” a self-deprecating take on the phrase “Per Auteur”. Railway luggage with the initials P.M.S (P. Mathews Stourbridge) sit at the feet of this character, increasing the likelihood that this is a self-portrait. In reference to the law at the center of the Burn trial, a disheveled copy of Martin’s Act can be seen on the floor just behind the haggard donkey.

Lyrics of “The Trial of “Bill Burn” Under Martin’s Act” as reprinted in The Urban and Industrial Songs of the Black Country and Birmingham:

References

Bow Street Bows Out, The Guardian, July 14, 2006, https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jul/14/ukcrime.jamessturcke

A Donkey’s Day in Court, History Today, https://www.historytoday.com/archive/natural-histories/donkeys-day-court

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bow Street Office, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/744279

All three volumes the 1904 Microcosm of London are available at Thomas Blvd. https://pitt.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PITT_INST/g3767l/alma999354393406236

Available digitally via the Hati Trust https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000198605

Raven, Jon. 1977. The Urban & Industrial Songs of the Black Country and Birmingham. Wolverhampton: Broadside, p. 119-120.

Royal Academy of Art, Sir Joshua Renyolds, https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/joshua-reynolds-pra

The Letters of Sir William Blackstone: 1744-1780. Edited for the Selden Society by W.R. Prest., 2006. Available in print at the Barco Law Library: https://pitt.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PITT_INST/g3767l/alma9947789483406236

Images

National Portrait Gallery London, Sir William Blackstone, 1755: https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw00608/Sir-William-Blackstone?LinkID=mp00445&role=sit&rNo=0

Commentaries on the Laws of England

Available on microfilm at the Barco Law Library: https://pitt.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PITT_INST/t5l303/alma9945920243406236

Available in print from the Barco Law Library International Collection:

https://pitt.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PITT_INST/g3767l/alma9996368593406236

Available electronically via Heinonline: https://pitt.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PITT_INST/t5l303/alma99101638653406236

Available electronically via LLMC: https://pitt.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PITT_INST/t5l303/alma99101188047706236