The Irish Devil-Fish

John Tenniel, artist

Swain, engraver

Punch (18 June 1881)

“The creature is formidable, but thee is a way of resisting it * * * * The Devil-Fish, in fact, is only vulnerable through the head.” Victor Hugo, Toilers of the Sea, Book IV, Ch. iii.

Gladstone grabs the throat of the octopus-like monster, which wears the hat that caricaturists use for Irish Fenians, as he attempts to stab “Land League.” The monster’s arms bear the labels “rebellion,” “terrorism,” “sedition,” “intimidation,” “obstruction,” and “outrage.”

Ireland (homepage)

Check to King Mob

Image capture and text by George P. Landow

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