Gillray - An Old Maid on a Journey

The subject of this Gillray satire is Sarah Sophia Banks (1744-1818) who was an English collector of antiquarian items and sister of the naturalist Joseph Banks. She collected coins and medals and ephemera which is now historically valuable like broadsheets, newspaper clippings, visiting cards, engravings, advertisements, and playbills. Joseph Banks lived with his sister until 1779, and she lived with him and his wife until her death. Her collections were given to the British Museum and British Library. Originally published in 1804, 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.