Procession Attending the Great National Petition of 3,317,702 to the House of Commons, 1842

British 19th century unknown

Engraving

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Image of Procession Attending the Great National Petition of 3,317,702 to the House of Commons, 1842
  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Downing Street

    This wood engraving celebrates the presentation of the Chartists’ Great National Petition of1842, which included 3,317,702 signatures and was written on a 6 mile length of paper. The Great National Petition was the largest of several Chartist petitions presented to Parliament.

    The central image shows the Chartist procession through Whitehall with the petition. To the left is a meeting of ‘Members of the National [Chartist] Convention’. To the right, politician Thomas Slingsby Duncombe is seen presenting the petition to the House of Commons. Images of London architecture along the top and bottom of the print represent the route of the procession.

    Between 26 March and 18 June 1842 ‘The Northern Star’ newspaper advertised that Chartist leader and founder of the paper Feargus Edward O'Connor planned to present subscribers with an engraving of the ‘Presentation of the Great National Petition to the House of Commons’. The plate would ultimately be issued to every subscriber, although in meeting this promise O’Connor did not commit himself to any particular timescale:

    ‘… the work will be one of such a character, and will need such careful attention on the part of the Engraver, as to defy anyone to fix an exact time.’

  • Explore
    Places
    England, London, Westminster, Whitehall
    Subjects
    carriage, horseback, theatre, hoop-rolling, topography, townscape/cityscape, Victorian Genre, horse, boy, man, woman, girl, 19th century costume, hat, flag, procession, public square, lamp post, street, monument, bridge (urban), government building, house, abbey, church, spire, hall, terrace, balcony
    Materials & Techniques
    engraving
  • Details
    Artist
    British 19th century unknown
    Title
    Procession Attending the Great National Petition of 3,317,702 to the House of Commons, 1842
    Date
    Medium
    Engraving
    Dimensions
    height: 32.50 cm, width: 59.70 cm
    Acquisition
    Transferred from HM Revenue and Customs, December 2012
    Inscription
    bottom right [in pencil] 623
    Provenance
    Bequest of Sir Ernest Clark to the Inland Revenue, 1951 (received 1972); transferred to GAC 2012
    GAC number
    10376