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Voltaire and Mr Watson, (an Edinburgh Messenger)
Kay, John, 1789, Etching
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Voltaire and Mr Watson, (an Edinburgh Messenger)
Voltaire and Mr Watson, (an Edinburgh Messenger)
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Category
Library Item
Item no
13528
Title
Voltaire, the French Philosopher, and Mr Watson, (An Edinburgh Messenger.)
Description
Reflected in the lenses of a pair of spectacles balanced on a person's nose are the portraits of Voltaire, the famous French philosopher and Edinburgh working man. The men appear to look at each other from their positions within the framed lenses. Although differently attired and with different hairstyles, their likeness is unmistakeable.
Artist / maker
Kay, John
Date
1789
Size
5.5 x 10.5 cm
Type
Etching
Location
Edinburgh and Scottish Collection
The accompanying text in the volume begins as follows:
"The remarkable similarity of physiognomy existing between the Philosopher of Ferney and the humble Edinburgh Messenger was the cause of their heads being etched in the present form. About the period of the execution of this print, the Scottish capital was profuse in the display of odd characters; and living portraitures of some of the greatest men of the age were to be found walking the streets of the city. In Miles McPhail the caddy, Lord North the British Prime Minister, might daily be seen shouldering a load of beef or mutton; while, in the still more exact personification of Old Watson the messenger, the noted Philosopher of France became a petty process-server and a beagle of the law."
Exhibitions with this item
The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage
Intellectual Tradition, Education and Law
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Edinburgh
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