The Union Club
- Medium
- Hand-colored etching
- Dimensions
- 11 3/4 x 17 1/2 in. (29.85 x 44.45 cm) (plate)
- Genre
Tags
England
About
The Union Club was established in 1800 when the Acts of Union joined Great Britain and Ireland. Though the club was intended to cultivate common interests between the two nations, James Gillray paints a scene of wild debauchery: the clock reads 3:00 am, and the Prince of Wales lies passed out under the table. To blame are bottles of wine and an overflowing barrel of “whiskey punch.” One of Europe’s oldest distilled beverages, the manufacture of Irish whiskey dates back to the 1100s.
