"Dizzy" and "Monty" (The Earl Beaconsfield and Mr. Montagu Corry, Lord Rowton)

Two studies of "Dizzy" and "Monty" (The Earl Beaconsfield and Mr. Montagu Corry, Lord Rowton) by Sir Leslie Ward ('Spy'), 1851-1922, chromolithograph and black-and-white photo, facing p. 240 in Forty Years of Spy. Originally published in Vanity Fair, 16 December 1879. 15.2 cm by 9 cm (6 by 3 ⅛ ½ inches), framed. An earlier study of Disraeli, Sir Benjamin Disraeli (Statesmen, No. 1) was published by Singe on 30 January 1869 in the same magazine. [Click on the images to enlarge them; mouse over links.]

Passage Complemented: Spy's recalls how he studied Disraeli and his aide-de-camp

Gladstone and Disraeli I drew in black and white, of course many years before, for The Graphic, and on subsequent occasions for Vanity Fair. As a careful observation of the movement of my subject is always necessary, one day in talking to Monty Corry I told him I was on the look-out for an opportunity to complete my study of his chief, whom I wished to observe at a distance sufficiently near and far to get his gait. He said that they would be leaving Downing Street for the House of Lords together at a certain hour, and he suggested that I should follow them or walk on the opposite side of the road. At the appointed time I was at my post and keenly watched them start, Disraeli leaning on Monty Corry's arm. As they strolled towards the House of Lords I followed along on the other side, mentally taking in their movements and completing my impression of the great leader and his secretary. Also at the request of Mr. Monty Corry, Disraeli's valet gave me an opportunity of inspecting the coat with the astrachan collar which seemed to hold a share in its owner's strong individuality, and from these observations I made the caricature "Power and Place" which appeared in due course in Vanity Fair, and was published in a special number.

That the character of the man may be seen in his walk I have frequently proved, though never more clearly than through the two most distinguished statesmen of their generation; Disraeli walked, or [241] appeared to walk, on his heels as though he were avoiding hot ashes. In strongest contrast was the walk of Gladstone, who planted his feet with deliberate but most vigorous firmness as though with every step he would iron his strong opinion into the mind of the nation. ["The Grand Old Man," pp. 240-241]

Caricatures of Other Political and Literary Figures in Vanity Fair

Bibliography

Ward, Leslie ['Spy']. "Dizzy" and "Monty" Corry (Lord Rowton). First published in Vanity Fair on 16 December 1879. Forty Years of 'Spy'. London: Chatto and Windus, 1915. Facing p. 240.

Created 19 July 2023