Gillray - A Peep at Christies

'A Peep at Christies;-or-Tally-ho, & his Nimeney-pimmeney taking the Morning Lounge' Originally published in 1796, this impression is from Henry Bohn's folio of Gillray's etchings - note the plate is numbered top right and the reverse also has another Gillray etching on it. James Christie, who conducted his first sale on December 5, 1766, was a friend to such celebrated artists as Gainsborough and Reynolds, and his auction house was a gathering place for fashionable London society. Gillray here shows Lord Derby with the actress Elizabeth Farren, studying paintings on view in the exhibition rooms at Christie's. In Gillray's title, 'Tally-ho' refers to Lord Derby's reputation as a great hunter (also reflected in the painting on the wall, 'The Death'), and 'Nimeney-pimmeney' to Miss Farren's successful portrayal of Nimeney-pimmeney in General Burgoyne's The Heiress, a work dedicated to Lord Derby.