Whilst sorting though some newly acquired (old) prints on a cold Saturday afternoon, my colleague and I came across this example of political satire. Some crafty detective work on the part of my colleague soon established that the two equine combatants were Edward Ackroyd and James Stansfeld.
It seems to refer to the 1868 election. The two men were candidates for an uncontested seat of North West Yorkshire and the fact that they were both liberals did not stop in infighting over some significant political issues (the Irish Church Act 1869, formation of trade unions 1868 and reduction of spending on the Army and Navy) which shouldn’t surprise any of us!
We were quite pleased with Mr Stansfeld’s views – not least his support for women’s issues which you can read about in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (little plug for our e resources!) and the poor. He became known for his sympathy for those fighting (this was eventually successful) against the Contagious Diseases Act which affected women in seaports; he was the first Minister of the Crown to employ a highly ranked woman and he supported the introduction of the Married Women’s Property Act.
Read this synopsis of his life here. If you would like to learn more about Mr Stansfeld, we have an envelope of press cuttings and copies of the 1971 edition of the Halifax Antiquarian Transactions which contains an article about him.
We have a growing and eclectic collection of prints and illustration which you can search for on our catalogue.
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