HB

Sketch by John Doyle [image copyright London School of Economics]

As "HB", John Doyle (1797-1868) was political cartoonist for the London Times newspaper.

Dating from 1841, this is sketch no. 442 from the Doyle collection (Coll Misc 0443), entitled A pitiful-looking group.

This refers to Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847), who was an Irish MP and leader of the Catholic Emancipation movement. He became also the first Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1841. In the 1841 general election he was unseated as MP for Dublin, and his allies tried to get up a subscription which would allow him to regain his seat. The beggar is presumably O' Connell, while the dog is radical MP Joseph Hume (1777-1855), a Scottish MP who also campaigned for Catholic emancipation. It is not clear who the owl is supposed to be.

Image copyright London School of Economics.

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