Social ornithology
George Cruikshank
1845
Steel plate etching by G. Cruikshank
8½ x 5½ inches
Illustration for Social zoology - ornithology, facing p.165.
One of a series of illustrations for Gilbert a Beckett’s satirical commentaries in which people are compared to animals. Cruikshank’s design enshrines a wide-ranging critique that extends from lowly clerks (who have trouble taking off) to the bold acrobatics of the wealthy.
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke