Common House Martin Gallery

Charles I and Speaker Lenthall, c1850, (1947). Creator: Unknown

Charles I and Speaker Lenthall, c1850, (1947). On 4 January 1642, King Charles I (1600-1649, standing, in hat) entered the House of Commons to arrest five Members of Parliament for high treason. Speaker William Lenthall (1591-1662) defied the King to uphold the privileges of Parliament. The King had to leave without arresting the Five Members. No monarch has entered the House of Commons since then. After Speaker Lenthall Asserting the Privileges of the Commons Against Charles I when the Attempt was made to Seize the Five Members, painting by Charles West Cope in the Palace of Westminster in London. From "The House of Commons", by Martin Lindsay M.P. [Collins, London, 1947]

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Kings Challenger Entering Westminster Hall, 1684, (1947). Creator: M. Yeates

The King's Challenger Entering Westminster Hall, 1684, (1947). Officials and nobles inside Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster, London. The King's Champion ...once rode...between the tables of the roystering nobles to challenge any that disputed the Sovereign's right to rule'. The Champion was required to ride in full armour into Westminster Hall during the coronation banquet, escorted by the Earl Marshal and the Lord High Constable, all in full dress, robes and coronets, and await the challenge to all comers. From "The House of Commons", by Martin Lindsay M.P. [Collins, London, 1947]

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The seven stages of the office seeker

The seven stages of the office seeker. A satire on patronage and corruption in New York State politics, based on the medieval theme, perpetuated in American folk art, of the life and ages of man. Here the seven stages are illustrated as key points in the life and career of a political hack. At each stage the figure occupies a different step of a pyramid, under which is shown his metaphorical counterpart in the animal kingdom. According to Elizabeth Sears the compositional device of a stepped pyramid is used in this context as early as the sixteenth century. Here, the author gives a corresponding epigram for each stage. Clay, a Whig, appears to incorporate in his rendition of the theme an indictment of the patronage policies of the Democrats in New York, controlled almost continuously since 1828 by presidents loyal to that party. Former Democratic governor of New York and later president Martin Van Buren apears as the Govenor in vignette number three, Begging for Office. Under Van Buren's administration, the Custom House, here the office seeker's center of power, was the focus of Democratic corruption in New York City. The seven stages proceed from left to right. 1. Treating - the candidate in a saloon toasts supporters. He proves to thirsty loafers he's the man, / And drowns their judgment in the flowing can. Below, a fox eyes a cock on a fence. 2. Stumping - the candidate is surrounded by supporters, before a banner Regular Nominations and a weather vane crowned by a liberty cap. Then on the Stump he takes his station, / The purest patriot in the nation. Below, a fox at a lectern or pulpit is cheered by geese. 3. Begging for Office - Next we see him stand before the Govenor's face, / And crouching like a spaniel for a place. A begging dog appears below. 4. In Office - The candidate strides past the U.S. Custom House oblivious of two supplicant gentlemen. His object gained, he spurns the common herd, / Nor deigns to applicants a single word. The seven stages of the

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10600957