James Gillray was born in London in the Chelsey district. His father was Scottish and a war veteran. The young Gillray learned the profession of letter engraver and was later accepted as a student at the Royal Academy, working as an engraver time and again to finance his studies and livelihood. From a very young age he was interested in caricature, he especially loved William Hogarth, a very famous caricaturist of the 18th century who was his great idol. Very soon Gillray also began to publish caricatures himself, albeit at first under a fictitious name. Only little by little did drawings with his name appear. For many contemporaries and even today James Gillrey is considered "the father of political and social caricature". Of course, he also lived in a time of great political and social upheavals and also in a time when caricature as an important means of expression for depicting events and their interpretation became fashionable and suitable for the masses. Gillrey's intellect, his wit, his sometimes pitch-black humour and his gift for observation, but also his great talent for drawing made his works unique.
In his private life he was not so successful and happy. He suffered from arthritis or gout in his hands at a younger age, which caused him great pain, and his vision was also increasingly poor. Disabled in his work, he became melancholy and increasingly addicted to alcohol. James Gillray did not start a family either, but he probably lived with his publisher Hannah Humphrey for many years and thought about marrying her from time to time. At least contemporaries ascribe a relationship to the two and it is a fact that Hannah Humphrey took care of Gillray after he wanted to take his own life by jumping out of a window in 1811. He survived, but was repeatedly confronted with severe depressions and psychoses. In 1815 the artist died at the age of only 58 years. Among collectors the caricatures of James Gillray are still very popular. Key prints such as "Fashionable Contrasts" and "Light Expelling Darkness" have already fetched prices of 10,000 to 20,000 US dollars at auctions.
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.jpg "The Plum Pudding in danger or State Epicures taking un Petit Souper, pub. 1805 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Nelson")
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.jpg "A Voluptuary Under the Horrors of Digestion, July 2, 1792 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Fashionable Contrasts, or The Duchess")
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.jpg "The Grand Coronation Procession of Napoleon the 1st Emperor of France, from the Church of Notre-Dame by James Gillray")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-161499).jpg "Dido in Despair, published by Hannah Humphrey by James Gillray")
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.jpg "John Bull Taking a Luncheon, or British Cooks, cramming Old Grumble-Gizzard with Bonne-Chere, published by Hannah Humphrey by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Le Baiser a la Wirtembourg, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1797 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Fighting for the Dunghill or Jack Tar settling Buonaparte by James Gillray")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-297654).jpg "Tales of Wonder, pub. H. Humphrey, London, 1802 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "National Conveniences, 1769 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Destruction of the French Colossus by James Gillray")
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.jpg "A Kick at the Broad Bottoms, i.e. Emancipation of all the Talents by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Gillray Cartoon on Vaccination Against Smallpox Using Cowpox Serum by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Wine Duty, or The Triumph of Bacchus and Silenus with John Bull")
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.jpg "Punch Cures the Gout, the Colic, and the Tisick, 1799 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Death of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Moment of Victory! published by Hannah Humphrey in 1805 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Mary of Buttermere, sketched from life in July 1800, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1802 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Feast of Reason, and the Flow of the Soul - i.e. The Wits of the Age, setting the Table in a Roar by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Pig and Its Two Piglets, or Rich Pickings for a Noble Appetite, Published by Hannah Humphrey in 1792 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Dido")
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_published_by_Hannah_Humph_-_(MeisterDrucke-185733).jpg "Portrait of Charles Howard, Duke of Norfolk, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1800 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Plate 3 from")
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.jpg "Exhibition of a Democratic Transparency, with its Effect upon Patriotic Feelings by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Pic-Nic Orchestra by James Gillray")
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.jpg "A Voluptuary under the Horrors of Digestion, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1792 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Taming of the Shrew: Katherine and Petruchio, or The Modern Quixote, Published by S.W. Fores in 1791 by James Gillray")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-41804).jpg "The Plum Pudding in Danger, 1805 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "A Broad Hint of Not Meaning to Dance by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Balance of Power, or The Posterity of the Immortal Chatham turned")
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.jpg "The Pigs Possessed, or the Broad bottom’d Litter running headlong into the Sea of Perdition, 1807 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "A Peep at Christies; or Tally-ho, and His Nimeney-Pimmeney Taking the Morning Lounge by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Le Diable-Boiteux, or The Devil upon Two Sticks Conveying John Bull to the Land of Promise, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1806 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Buonaparte hearing of Nelson")
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.jpg "Crumbs of Comfort, or Old Orthodox Restoring Consolation to his Fallen Children, Published by G. Humphrey in 1782 by James Gillray")
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 published by - (MeisterDrucke-254406).jpg "The King of Brobdingnag and Gulliver (Plate 2d) by James Gillray")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-391115).jpg "The Comet of 1811 by James Gillray")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-55000).jpg "The Union Club by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Valley of the Shadow of Death by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Gout by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Man of Feeling in Search of Indispensibles, or A Scene at the French Milliners by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Accommodating Spouse; Tyrant")
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.jpg "The American Rattle Snake, 1782 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Republican-Hercules Defending His Country (1797) by James Gillray")
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.jpg "All Bond Street Trembled as He Strode by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Allied Powers Un-Booting Egalite by James Gillray")
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.jpg "A Sun Setting in the Fog, with the Old Hanover Hack Defending, Published by J. Williams by James Gillray")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-230558).jpg "The Finishing Touch, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1791 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Grand Coronation Procession of Napoleon, the 1st Emperor of France, from the Church of Notre-Dame, 2nd December 1804, published 1805 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Acting Magistrates Committing Themselves, Being Their First Appearance as Performed at the National Theatre Covent Garden, 1809 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Hanging and Drowning, or Fatal Effects of the French Defeat by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Progress of the Toilet, or Dress Completed, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1810 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Supplementary Militia, turning out for Twenty Days Amusement, pub. 1796 by James Gillray")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-391925).jpg "A Masonic Anecdote, pub. 1786 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Election Candidate, or the Republican Goose at the Top of the Pole, Published by Hannah Humphrey in 1807 by James Gillray")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-392733).jpg "Gloria Mundi, or The Devil addressing the Sun, pub. 1782 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "A Natural Crop; Alias - A Norfolk Dumpling by James Gillray")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-158012).jpg "The House that Jack Built, published by Walker by James Gillray")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-196785).jpg "The Cole-Heavers, published by William Humphrey in 1783 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Dissolution or The Alchemist producing an Aetherial Representation by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Triumphant Britons, 1780 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "French-Telegraph Making Signals in the Dark, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1795 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Scotch Harry")
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.jpg "The Death of the Great Wolf, 1795 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Zenith of French Glory, - the Pinnacle of Liberty, February 12, 1793 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "A Right Honourable, alias a Sans-Culotte, published by J. Fores in 1792 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Spanish Bull Fight or the Corsican Matador in Danger, pub. 1805 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Enchantments lately seen upon the Mountains of Wales or Shon-ap Morgans Reconcilement to the Fairy Princess, pub. 1796 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "A peep at Christies; - or - tally-ho, and his Nimeny-pimmeney taking the morning lounge, pub. 1796 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The National Parachute or John Bull conducted to Plenty and Emancipation by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Rodney Triumphant or Admiral LeeShore in the Dumps by James Gillray")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-176596).jpg "Progress of the Toilet - The Wig, early 19th century by James Gillray")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-258514).jpg "A Man of Importance, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1799 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Modern Grace by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Spanish Bull Fight, or The Corsican Matador in Danger, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1808 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Thirty Years Have I Lived in the Parish of Covent Garden and Nobody Can Say- Mistress Cole, Why Did You Do So? by James Gillray")
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 Taking Leave of his Wife and Family 1793 - (MeisterDrucke-90947).jpg "Louis XVI Taking Leave of his Wife and Family, 1793 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Zenith of French Glory; The Pinnacle of Liberty by James Gillray")
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.jpg "A New Way to Pay the National Debt, published by W. Holland in 1786 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Famous Battle Between Richard Humphreys and Daniel Mendoza, January 9th 1788 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "John Bull Triumphant by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Glorious Reception of the Ambassador of Peace on his Entry into Paris by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Acting Magistrates committing themselves, being their first appearance as performed at the National Theatre Covent Garden, published in 1809 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Westminster School or Dr Busby settling accounts with Master Billy and his Playmates, pub. 1785 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Great South Sea Caterpillar Transformed into a Bath Butterfly by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The French Consular Triumvirate by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Ci-devant Occupations, or Madame Talian and the Empress Josephine Dancing Naked before Barrass in the Winter of 1797, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1805 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "The Friend of Humanity and the Knife-Grinder, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1797 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "King Henry IV: the Last Scene, Published by S.W. Fores in 1788 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Opposition Coaches, Published by S.W. Fores in 1788 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Two-Penny Whist, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1796 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "Sketch of the Interior of St. Stephen")
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.jpg "L")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-392478).jpg "The Giant Factotum amusing himself by James Gillray")
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.jpg "St. George and the Dragon, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1782 by James Gillray")
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.jpg "An Old Maid on a Journey by James Gillray")
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