The engraved record of the Jacobite movement

1996 sees the 250th anniversary of the last Jacobite rising. The history of the movement can be charted through the large number of engravings that exist on the subject. These include some 200 portraits of the exiled Royal Family and over 450 images of 130 individuals associated with the Jacobite cause. At the time when most of the prints were published Jacobite sympathy was officially regarded as treasonable and possession of such images could result in prosecution. Consequently many of the images were published abroad, without identification, or trimmed of such incriminating detail by their British owners. In such circumstances it is remarkable that some prints continued to be engraved, as well as distributed, in Britain for several generations after the deposition of James II and VII in 1688. The long publishing history of other plates, showing demand for certain images continuing over several decades, is also an illuminating index of the enduring loyalties evoked by the Jacobite cause. In this generously illustrated catalogue, Richard Sharp discusses how patterns of publishing activity coincide with political and military crises, indicating the importance of prints as propaganda. The comprehensive nature of this engraved record makes this book of interest to political and social historians, as well as those concerned with the prints' aesthetic qualities.