The Fire of Faction, William Hogarth, 1762

A satire on writers and artists, particularly hogarth, who by their work exacerbate political faction. A demon armed with a snake-headed whip and a fiery broom drives three terrified printmakers who are clinging to a burin into a huge fire raging within the many fanged monstrous jaw of a bird-headed creature which represents the mouth of hell. The terrified henry howard with ass's ears falls headlong behind these three, a fool's cap, adorned with an image of the queen’s ass (see bm satires 3870) and inscribed "the dunciad" falls from his head. On the left another demon carries on his back a basket of papers to add to the flames. These are lettered the hungry mob (bm satires 3844), the auditor, the briton, the times plate i (paulson 211), scotch coal (bm satires 3735, or a more general implication that the latter publications had been funded by lord bute's scottish money). Crouched on the lower jaw of the mouth a demon with william hogarth's head pumps a large pair of bellows to fan the flames. Sixteen lines of verse beneath under the subtitle the fly machine for scotland comment on the role of hogarth and howard. 1762 etching. Date: 1762. Dimensions: Height: 264 mm; Width: 202 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: William Hogarth. Collection: British Museum. The Fire of Faction (BM 1904,0819.713)