(click image to enlarge)
SIGNED WITH MONOGRAM AND DATED 1864
INSCRIBED WITH TITLE AND PUBLICATION DETAILS ON ORIGINAL MOUNT
PENCIL
8 1/4 X 6 1/4 INCHES
PROVENANCE: MARY GREEN (NEE TENNIEL). THE ARTIST'S SISTER,
AND THENCE BY FAMILY DESCENT
ILLUSTRATED: PUNCH, 23 JULY 1864, PAGE 35
EXHIBITED: 'THE ILLUSTRATORS. THE BRITISH ART OF ILLUSTRATION 1837-2012',
NOVEMBER 2012 - JANUARY 2013, NO 114
Winner of the Queen’s Prize
Founded in 1859, the National Rifle Association held its first annual meeting on Wimbledon Common on 2 July 1860, and on the same day inaugurated the prestigious Queen’s Prize for rifle shooting. By 1864, the meeting lasted almost a fortnight, from 11 to 23 July, with a total of 2200 Volunteers – two men from each company – competing for the Queen’s Prize over several days. That year, the winner was Private John Wyatt of the 1st London Rifle Brigade. Other events during the meeting included a match between the Lords and the Commons, which was won by the former.
The final paragraph of ‘Punch’s Essence of Parliament’ for 23 July 1864 states that ‘Mr Punch was much too busy at Wimbledon, shooting for the Queen’s Prize, to have any time or attention for any more Parliament at present’ (page 32). Taking his lead from this comment, Tenniel depicts Lord Palmerston as a crack shot at the time that he appeared to have overcome criticism of his avowed support of Denmark in the war over Schleswig-Holstein. However, by the end of the month, his policy was shown to have failed, the King of Denmark having renounced all rights in the duchies in favour of the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria.
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