Exeter Election, 1868, "Shakespeare illustrated" No.4, "By and bye is easily said"

Exeter Election, 1868, "Shakespeare illustrated" No.4

"By and bye is easily said" Dedicated to the great and illustrious Liberal (!) Party of Exeter.

A black and white lithograph satirical illustration with accompanying text. The image shows a group of six middle-aged white men gathered in discussion. Second to the left is a caricature of Sir John Bowring whilst his son Edgar Bowring, the Liberal candidate, appears on the far-right, holding a basket with a saw poking out, labelled 'PARTY TOOLS'. A poster on the wall behind them states 'PRELIMINARY NOTICE MESS. GLADSTONE & Co. BEG TO ANNOUNCE THEY INTEND SHORTLY OFFERING FOR SALE ANY SACRIFICE THE WHOLE OF THE PRESENT FITTINGS OF THE IRISH CHURCH IN ORDER TO MAKE ROOM FOR SOME STARTLING NOVELTIES FROM ROME! A SIMILAR ARRANGEMENT IS ALSO CONTEMPLATED WITH REGARD TO THE ENGLISH CHURCH FURTHER PARTICULARS ANON.' Underlined text above the image reads 'EXETER ELECTION, 1868. "SHAKESPERE [sic] ILLUSTRATED."-NO. 4. " 'BY AND BYE' IS EASILY SAID."-Hamlet, Act III, Scene 2.' Below the image central text reads 'DEDICATED TO THE GREAT AND ILLUSTRIOUS LIBERAL (!) PARTY OF EXETER. A Scene from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" ', which is followed by a shortened version of Act I, Scene II of Shakespeare's play.

This satirical poster is one in a series of ten illustrated by the artist G Palmer, published by the Devon and Somerset Steam Printing Company, created by the Tories inspired by lines from various works of Shakespeare (though with characters, scenarios and quotations coming from an additional mixture of literary sources.) Conservative leaning Exeter and Plymouth Gazette wrote on Friday 25 September 1868 that, "Another smart Exeter election caricaturee was issued yesterday. It travesties the well-known scene...in which Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout, Quince and Starveling arrange for the play. The Liberal candidates and their prominent supporters are the dramatis personae, and the dialogue hits some of their peculiarities with remarkably [sic] precision and aptness." By placing the Liberal figures alongside the iconography of the Rude Mechanicals (thus named by Puck), a rather dim troupe of six incompetent actors within the play, the Tories suggest that the Liberal party is anything but "great and illustrious".

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