"Map of Ireland", Merry, Tom

This iconic satirical map was created by William Mecham under the pseudonym Tom Merry and published in the conservative political periodical, St. Stephen's Review. It illustrates the Irish Home Rule crisis of 1886 in which the leader of the Liberal Party, William Ewart Gladstone, introduced the First Home Rule Bill, which caused a rift in the Liberal Party and was defeated in a vote in the House of Commons. This anthropomorphic map portrays Gladstone as an old lady, dubbed the "hag of Hawarden" as Hawarden Castle in Wales was his home estate. Gladstone plays the harp, a symbol of Ireland's national identity, with the pillar represented by John Morley, who served as Gladstone’s chief secretary of Ireland. Gladstone is being strangled by Erin, the female personification of Ireland, dressed in white with a shamrock headband. Beneath her foot is a sinister-looking masked man with a firearm, knife, dynamite box, and coins, likely representing the Fenians, who had organized a rebellion against British rule in 1867 and had assassinated the British Chief Secretary for Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish, in 1882.

Mecham used Robert Dighton’s 1793 caricature map of Ireland as the basis for his creation. Dighton's map of Ireland had been part of a series of maps of the British Isles called "Geography Bewitched," whose title Mecham also re-used on his map.

William Mecham was a well-known British cartoonist and performer. He created numerous caricatures and political cartoons for St. Stephen's Review, and was known to incorporate his drawings into his stage acts.

References:

Condition: B+

A bright example that has been trimmed at top with loss of header title, with a bit of toning at top center and a short tear that just enters the map border at top.