Sir john jervis sits in profile to the right at a table; his left hand clutches a pile of guineas, his right fist is raised to emphasize his words which are etched below the title: 'phaedrus: - "the first share is mine, because, i bore my part in killing the prey; - the second falls to my lot, because i am king of the beasts; - & if any one presumes to touch the third!!!'
the table is inscribed 'unclaimed dividends'; on it is a book: 'hints on st eustatia prize money'. On the carpeted floor lie torn papers: [1] 'petition of widow of. Praying for payment of her husbands dividend. ' [2] 'humble petition of john lost a leg in the battle. . ' [3] 'starving for want of just dividend,' [4] 'petition of major. Who lost is [?] beauty', and others which are illegible. On the wall which forms a background is an oval picture of 'thieves dividing the spoil', in the centre of four oblong prints: [1] two bodies hanging from a gallows inscribed 'peculation \ tyburn'; [2] a map of 'st vincents'; [3] 'loaves & fishes'; [4] a map of 'martinico' showing 'fort bourbon'. Jervis wears admiral's uniform with a cocked hat and jack-boots. 2 january 1797
hand-coloured etching. Date: 1797. Dimensions: Height: 344 mm; Width: 252 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: John Jervis, Earl of St Vincent. Collection: British Museum. The lion's share. (BM 1851,0901.837)
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