Late 19th Century Antique Caricature of Alfred Austin Spy for Vanity Fair Print

Description

He is certainly a dapper fellow, our "Poet Laureate". From the original description that accompanied this print, Alfred Austin was … more He is certainly a dapper fellow, our "Poet Laureate". From the original description that accompanied this print, Alfred Austin was "a pedant who can write prose. He has a clever head; he is a gentleman of old-fashioned courtesy; and he is a wholesome fellow who dislikes the long-haired Poet." (Well!) "He not only rides, but he loves his horses; and he is devoted to gardening." (That's better....)

The original Vanity Fair was a British weekly magazine published from 1868 to 1914. The Life magazine of its day, perhaps, it offered its readers articles on fashion, current events, the theatre, books, social events and the latest scandals, like this one! Most issues featured a full-page, color lithograph of a contemporary celebrity or dignitary, and it is for these caricatures that Vanity Fair is best known today. These prints are often referred to as " Spy Prints " after Leslie Ward, perhaps Vanity Fair's most prolific and celebrated artist, who used the name "Spy" on his works, including this one. less