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Martha Ray; John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich

7 of 25 portraits of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Martha Ray; John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich

after Unknown artists
line engraving, published 1769
4 1/4 in. x 6 7/8 in. (108 mm x 176 mm) plate size; 5 1/4 in. x 8 1/8 in. (133 mm x 207 mm) paper size
Given by The Warburg Institute, 1958
Reference Collection
NPG D16795

Sittersback to top

  • Martha Ray (1742?-1779), Singer and murder victim; mistress of 4th Earl of Sandwich. Sitter in 7 portraits.
  • John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), First Lord of the Admiralty. Sitter associated with 25 portraits.

Artistback to top

Events of 1769back to top

Current affairs

Radical John Wilkes is expelled from Parliament once again, on the grounds that he was an outlaw when he was voted in. He is re-elected by his Middlesex constituents, then expelled and re-elected twice more, until Parliament declares his opponent, Henry Luttrell, the winner.
First of 69 anonymous Letters of Junius appears in the Public Advertiser, exposing political corruption. The politician Sir Philip Francis is now believed to have been responsible.

Art and science

Josiah Wedgwood opens his Etruria Works for the manufacture of pottery.
Inventor Richard Arkwright patents a spinning frame able to weave fabric mechanically.
Gordon's London Dry Gin is produced for the first time.
First Royal Academy exhibition is held.
Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage is first published.

International

Captain Cook observes the transit of Venus in Tahiti while his passengers, Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, collect valuable specimens of Pacific flora. The expedition travels on to New Zealand where Cook begins charting the country's entire coastline.
Treaty of Madras ends the First Anglo-Mysore War but fails to settle dispute.
French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot tests a steam wagon, probably the first working mechanical vehicle.

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Hazel Whitehead

07 August 2015, 16:54

This image is from the Town and Country Magazine 'Tete-a-tete' series where they exposed famous or notorious people every month who were having an affair. They always started with twinned portraits followed by a long scandalous article about the pair, which took the tone of humour rather than outrage. Martha Ray & John Montagu feature in Histories of the tete-a-tete, numbers 31 & 32, pp561-564 Town & Country Magazine for November 1769.