Lord de Rothschild’s Egyptian Soothing-Syrup. Feeding-Time; a Little Treat All Round. Linley Sambourne, artist, and Swain, engraver. Punch (8 August 1885): 63. Mr. Punch comments on the persistent problem of Egyptian debt, the result of European attempts to modernize and democratize Egypt’s government and society. Here the British government depends another loan from de Rothschild to maintain the status quo as he feeds his sweet financial syrup to Egyptian crocodiles, one on one of whom appears the word “privileged” while another, “unified,” awaits its turn. Meanwhile the lion of England and double-eagle of Russia, England’s dangerous rival, look on. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Note: Shirley Nicholson writes: "Sambourne's diary entry for 31 July 1885 reads, 'Worked hard all day on crocodile and Rothschild.'"
Related Material, including other editorial cartoons from Punch
- The New Knight — the problem of Egypt’s European debts (Punch January 1880)
- Nurse Gladstone. Punch (25 August 1883)
- Palmerston, the Imperialism of Free Trade, and the Inadvertant Destruction of Turkish and Egyptian Rulers
[This image may be used without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (a) credit the Hathi Digital Library Trust and the University of California Library and (b) link to this page in a web document or cite it in a print one. — George P. Landow]
Last modified 11 August 2020