Skip to main content
Advanced Search
1960-37, Print
THE REPEAL, OR THE FUNERAL OF MISS AME=STAMP.
1960-37, Print

THE REPEAL, OR THE FUNERAL OF MISS AME=STAMP.

Date1766
After work by
OriginEngland, London
MediumEtching and line engraving on laid paper
DimensionsOverall: 11 1/2 × 18 in (29.21 × 45.72cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1960-37
DescriptionUpper margin reads: "THE REPEAL/OR THE FUNERAL OF MISS AME=STAMP"

A funeral procession composed of supporters of the Stamp Act carry a small coffin containing the remains of the bill toward an open vault, appropriately adorned with two skulls. It has been prepared for the internment of all unjust acts that would alienate Englishmen. Leading the cortege and preparing to deliver the funeral eulogy is the Reverend W. Scott, who is followed by the mourners: Grenville, carrying the coffin; Bute; Bedford; and Temple.

By setting the action on the dock, Wilson is able to depict the large unshipped cargoes destined for America that accumulated during the period when the act was in force. Ships labeled "Conway", “Rockingham", and "Grafton" that represent Whig leaders responsible for the repeal of the bill now stand ready to carry goods. Stamps just returned from America are stacked on the warf. One crate contains the statue of William Pitt, another English leader responsible for the repeal.

Label TextDeeply in debt after the Seven Years War, which ended in 1763, the victorious English government decided to tax the American colonies. Accordingly, Paliament imposed a stamp tax in 1764. This type of taxation, although common in England, created an uproar in the colonies. Resistance culminated in the convening of a Stamp Act Congress in New York, which resulted in an agreement not to use the stamps in any of the colonies.

THE REPEAL, published very shortly after the official repeal, illustrates the mournful Parliamentary members being led to a crypt that contains other unjust political actions. To the right are bales of stamps and black mourning cloth sent from America. Although the stamp act was repealed, Parliament still retained the right to tax the colonies.ProvenanceBefore 1960, H. Dunscombe Colt [1901-1973] (New York, NY); before 1960, purchased by the Old Print Shop (New York, NY); 1960-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).