Billingsgate Eloquence

Billingsgate Eloquence is one of a series of caricatured portraits (all listed as being published on January 6th, 1795) illustrating eight kinds of eloquence, and sometimes associated with particular, real-life individuals. For more about the series as a whole, see my Overview.

Billingsgate was the location of a popular fish market on the north bank of the Thames in the 18th century. Opening at 4 AM, it attracted a drunken late night crowd and an early morning business crowd. Like most port side locations, it was a rough neighborhood where fights among the fishwomen were not uncommon. And there are several caricatures by other artists that reflect this. Indeed, as early as 1645, "billingsgate eloquence" had become a synonym for coarse or vulgarly abusive language.

The print is based on a drawing in the British Museum, signed "AS.inv" most likely created by Samuel Collings using his sometime alias Annibal Scratch.

The drawing allows us to see how thoroughly Gillray revises and improves the image provided to him— extending her figure to include her fish wife's apron, emphasizing the strength of her hands and arms, creating depth and shading to her face and dress, and giving her an enormous sense of life and energy. But it also enables us to see the complete text which is redacted in the published version.

What do you Know, you bitch? every one Knows I am a whore & a thief & setting that aside who can say black to my eye.

The expression "who can say black to my eye." is a slang expression for who can prove a blot in my character.

As many people have noted, in Gillray's version, the portrait bears some some resemblance to Lady Cecilia Johnston who was a favorite target of his, and reputed, even among her friends to be frequently sharp-tongued and caustic. But given what this virago says about herself, this is NOT a portrait caricature of Lady Cecilia but a wonderfully realized rendition of a recognizable stereotype. At most, the hint of Lady Ceciia in Billingsgate Eloquence might have served as a satiric reminder to those familiar with Gillray's work that vulgar abuse is not restricted to the environs of Billingsgate.

Sources and Reading

• Commentary from the British Museum on Billingsgate Eloquence.
• "Billingsgate," Wikipedia
• "Samuel Collings," Wikipedia
• John Badcock, Slang: A Dictionary of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, the Pit, Or Bon-ton ..., London, 1823.

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