Click for full size!
Humbugging. Or Raising The Devil. Thomas Rowlandson, Aquatint coloured, 1800. Subject: Wizards, Confidence Trickster, Pickpocket.
Hocus Pocus Or Searching For The Philosopher’s Stone. Thomas Rowlandson, Aquatint coloured, 1800. Subject: Count Alessandro Cagliostro (Giuseppe Balsamo), Alchemy, Sex.
James Gillray did a scathing piece on Cagliostro, click for full size:
Humbugging made me laugh, because the “devil” is coming up from below, but the customer is all aghast over the crocodile. I guess the devil doesn’t hold near the terror of a crocodile. :D
I like the pickpocket behind the curtain.
Given the shock and horror caused by the crocodile, yeah, an excellent set up for picking pockets. I really like the side eye the “wizard” is giving the mark, making sure he’s properly distracted.
Caine @1 -- Once again I quote my favorite Flip Wilson punchline, “you can deny the allegation but you cannot deny the alligator.”
Busterggi, most apt!
I wonder if the first piece is where Pratchett got his idea of a wizard having a stuffed alligator as standard apparatus.