Joseph Hume
(1777-1855), Doctor and politician; MP for Aberdeen Burghs, Middlesex and Montrose BurghsEarly Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter associated with 76 portraits
Before entering Westminster, Hume worked for the East India Company as an officer and a surgeon before returning to Scotland to continue working for the company. During debates on the Reform Bill, Hume suggested extending the franchise to the colonies. Upon the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833 he strongly supported compensation for slave-owners. During this time Hume’s brother-in-law owned property and enslaved people in Trinidad, for which he would receive substantial compensation. This drew criticism in the press towards Hume for putting the wealth of his family above any moral arguments.
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.