Unhappy Ghosts Crossing the Styx
28 of 159 portraits of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
Unhappy Ghosts Crossing the Styx
by John ('HB') Doyle, printed by Ducôte & Stephens, published by Thomas McLean
lithograph, published 11 December 1834
11 1/4 in. x 16 3/8 in. (286 mm x 415 mm) overall
Acquired, before 1900
Reference Collection
NPG D41293
Artistsback to top
- John ('HB') Doyle (1797-1868), 'HB'; caricaturist. Artist or producer associated with 746 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.
- Ducôte & Stephens (active 1829), Lithographic printers. Artist or producer associated with 69 portraits.
- Thomas McLean (1788-1875), Publisher and dealer. Artist or producer associated with 1058 portraits.
Sittersback to top
- John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough (1781-1847), Politician; MP for several constituencies. Sitter associated with 37 portraits. Identify
- Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868), Lord Chancellor. Sitter associated with 280 portraits. Identify
- William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779-1848), Prime Minister. Sitter associated with 159 portraits. Identify
- Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon (1790-1866), Whig politician; Chancellor of the Exchequer. Sitter in 85 portraits. Identify
- Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784-1865), Prime Minister. Sitter in 146 portraits. Identify
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), Field Marshal and Prime Minister. Sitter associated with 640 portraits. Identify
- King William IV (1765-1837), Reigned 1830-37. Sitter associated with 175 portraits. Identify
Events of 1834back to top
Current affairs
Sir Robert Peel, Tory, replaces Whig Lord Melbourne as Prime Minister, promising measured reform in a shift from reactionary 'Tory' to more measured 'Conservative' politics (he had voted for the 1832 Reform Act).Trial of Tolpuddle Martyrs, six labourers transported to Australia after trying to raise funds for workers in need by forming a Friendly Society.
Art and science
Charles Babbage's invents the Analytic Machine. Considered to be the forerunner to the modern computer, the machine was able to make automatic mathematical calculations.Edward Bulwer-Lytton publishes his hugely popular, but now largely neglected, novel Last Days of Pompeii, set in the Italian city at the time of Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79AD.
International
Dom Miguel I, King of Portugal, is defeated by his brother Pedro IV, in the Portuguese civil war.Slavery is abolished in the British dominions, although slaves still working are indentured to their former owners in an 'apprenticeship' system; the philanthropist Joseph Sturge was a prominent critic of the policy, which was abolished in 1838. Whilst slave owners received compensation, slaves received nothing.
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