THE CANEING IN CONDIUT (CONDUIT) STREET. Gillray's Famous Caricature of the Assault on Captain George Vancouver by Midshipman Thomas Pitt.

The Caneing in Condiut (Conduit) Street. Dedicated to the Flag Officers of the British Navy. Pubd. Octr. 1st 1796 by H[annah] Humphrey, New Bond Street. Image 154 from The Works of James Gillray, published in London by Henry G. Bohn, 1851 (being a restrike from the original 1796 plate). Image area 9.75 inches x 14 inches on sheet 12 inches x 18.5 inches. Hand-coloured etching. Another unrelated and uncoloured Gillray etching is present on the verso. Matted. Clean and bright. When Captain George Vancouver (1757-1798) returned to London from his epic Voyage of Discovery in September 1795, he turned his full attention to preparing his charts and journals for publication. But during the voyage, Vancouver had some particular difficulty with a young midshipman by the name of Thomas Pitt (1775-1804), who was indifferent to official commands. Pitt had also apparently broken the glass on the ship's compass, and was caught sleeping on his watch, for which he was placed in irons. Vancouver's patience came to an end when it was discovered that Pitt had stolen some copper sheathing from the ship's stores (a vitally-important material used for hull repair) in exchange for sexual favours from a Tahitian woman. Pitt was flogged and sent home to England in disgrace aboard another ship. Unbeknownst to anyone during the voyage, Pitt had become a hereditary Member of the House of Lords upon the death of his father on 19 June 1793. When Pitt finally returned to London and learned of his new position in society as 2nd Baron Camelford, he sent Vancouver a letter full of insults and challenged him to a duel. The British Prime Minister at the time was William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806), who also happened to be Thomas Pitt's cousin, and offered him full support in his argument with Vancouver. Pitt eventually caught up with Vancouver as he strolled the streets of London with his brother John in late 1796. This satirical cartoon by James Gillray depicts the moment when Pitt attempted to assault George Vancouver on Conduit Street, with John Vancouver attempting to keep the two apart. Children, standing to one side, look amused while they chuckle at the commotion in front of the South Sea Company fur warehouse. Lord Camelford, with his cane raised in threat, yells "Give me Satisfaction, Rascal! draw your Sword, Coward! What, you won't? why then take that Lubber! & that! & that! & that." Vancouver, staggering back with arms outstretched, shouts "Murder! - Murder! Watch! Constable! Keep him off me Brother! while I run for my Lord-Chancellor for Protection! Murder! Murder! Murder!" On the ground lies a pile of shackles labelled "For the Navy" likely in reference to the irons used by Vancouver to punish Pitt's insubordination during the voyage of discovery. Vancouver wears an enormous sword and a feather cloak on his shoulders inscribed "This Present from the King of Owyhee to George IIId forgot to be delivered" (in reference to the feather cloak given to Vancouver by Kamehameha specifically for King George III). From Vancouver's coat pocket hangs a scroll with a "List of those disgraced during the Voyage, etc." It was believed that the encounter weighed heavily on Vancouver's spirit, and hastened his end on 10 May 1798. Lord Camelford met a violent death on 7 March 1804 when he challenged a former friend to a duel (over comments regarding a young lady) and lost.…