The Bostonians Paying the Excise - Man or Tarring & Feathering
David Claypoole Johnston, American, 1799 - 1865
1830
Hand colored lithograph on wove paper
Sight: 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm)
Sight: 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Julia L. Whittier Fund
PR.974.162
Publisher
Pendleton and Company, Boston
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Research Area
Not on view
Inscriptions
Inscribed, lower left to right: Copied on stone by D.C. Johnston from a print published in London 1774 Lith of Pendleton, Boston, 1830
Label
In this political cartoon, men have tarred and feathered a British customs agent, John Malcolm, to protest the excise tax. The Bostonians hold the collector by the neck and force him to drink tea—a reference to the infamous dumping of imported tea in 1774. Here, Johnston republishes a print originally developed by Philip Dawe from that same year, just months after the event originally occurred. As the focal point of this scene, tea represents both a desired commodity as well as a tool for political leverage and power.
The cynical expressions of the five men and the contorted figure of the tax collector underline the harsh, mocking challenge contained in this lithograph. Behind the figures, recognizable symbols such as the Liberty Tree, the Stamp Act poster, and the dumping of tea further emphasize these patriots’ appetite for revolution.
From the 2024 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 118, Coffee and Tea in Art: A Brew of Cultural Symbolism, Solace, and Introspection, curated by Jeffrey Liu '24, Class of 1954 Intern
Exhibition History
A Space for Dialogue 118, Coffee and Tea in Art: A Brew of Cultural Symbolism, Solace, and Introspection, Jeffrey Liu '24, Class of 1954 Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 11 - July 7, 2024
American Intellectual and Cultural History Through the Civil War, Harrington Gallery Teaching Exhibition, History 30, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 10-September 6, 1992.
Lower Jewett Corridor, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 23-February 21, 1976.
Provenance
John Wilmerding; sold to present collection, 1974.
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