A Standing-dish at Boodles

As the title hints, this is a portrait caricature of the Baronet Sir Frank Standish (1746-1812) sitting before a window at the well-known gentlemen's club, Boodles, which could claim as members Charles James Fox, Beau Brummel, the Earl of Shelburne, and Edward Gibbon among others.

Fifty-four and a confirmed bachelor at the time of the print's publication, Standish travelled in exclusive circles. In March of 1800, for instance, we find the following notice of a "grand entertainment" at the house of the Earl of Chesterfield

at which were present his Royal-Highness the Duke, of YORK, his Serene Highness the Prince of ORANGE, the Marquis of BATH, the Earls of CHATHAM and WESTMORELAND, Lord MALMESBURY, J. THYNNE, and Sir FRANK STANDISH. London Star p. 3

Like many of his royal friends, Standish owned and bet on horses. The steed shown in the picture behind him, Yellow Filly (later known as Yellow Mare) was owned by Standish and was the Epsom Oaks winner in 1786. She was also (likely) the victorious steed mentioned in a 1790 suit over bets made at the two-horse matchup between Standish's Filly and "one belonging to his Royal Highness the Prince of WALES" (London Times. Nov. 12, p. 3)

The print is based on an undated and untitled coloured drawing in the British Museum, most likely by an amateur. As usual when he worked from an external source provided to him, Gillray follows it more or less closely, making only small but critical changes. Through the addition of shading and a few creases, for instance, the hat, the face, the jacket, the breeches of Sir Frank all look fuller, less flat. He has given the windows a finish that makes them look more like glass. He has provided the picture frame around Yellow Filly convincing depth and has centered the title under the horse as one would expect in a real picture. And adhering to the conventions of portrait caricature, Gillray (or the gentleman who provided the drawing and gave him the commission) has provided a punning clue in the title which suggests both Standish's identity and the regularity with which he could be seen at Boodles. A footnote to the title: "Vide: A D...'d good Cocoa Tree Pun" may be intended as a comment upon its wit. The Cocoa Tree Club was supposedly "notorious for heavy drinking and gaming," so it not unlikely that Standish and his companions belonged to both. The title, then, may have been conceived there in a fit of drunken hilarity.

Both Boodles and the Cocoa Tree Club were located on St James's Street—Boodles at 28 and the Cocoa Tree at 64/65. Hannah Humphrey's shop was also on St James's Street at Number 27, in clear sight of Boodles, so it is likely that Gillray would have seen Sir Frank at the window. Because of that, I can't help thinking that the addition of the cane held to his lips (which strikes one as so right) was based on Gillray's direct observation.

Sources and Reading

• Commentary from the British Museum on A Standing-dish at Boodles.
• Draper Hill, Fashionable Contrasts, 1966, #71
• "Boodle's," Wikipedia
• "Cocoa Tree Club," Napoleon on St Helena
• "Epsom Oaks," Wikipedia
• Thomas Wright and R.H. Evans, Historical and Descriptive Account of the Caricatures of James Gillray #464.
• Thomas Wright and Joseph Grego, The Works of James Gillray, the Caricaturist; With the History of His Life and Times, p. 271.