Polemicist Collection

Britannia in French Stays, or Re-Form at the Expense of Constitution, published by
XJF212297 Britannia in French Stays, or Re-Form at the Expense of Constitution, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1793 (etching) by Gillray, James (1757-1815); Private Collection; English

Arrest warrant issued for Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3586362 Arrest warrant issued for Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Arrest warrant issued for Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer

The exterior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
3586360 The exterior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus; (add.info.: Illustration depicting the exterior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, an opera house in Bayreuth, Germany)

The opera Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner
3118808 The opera Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Details from the opera Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer, theatre director, polemicist

Details from the Lohengrin opera by Richard Wagner
3118718 Details from the Lohengrin opera by Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Details from the Lohengrin opera by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer, theatre director, polemicist

Johanna Rosine Wagner
3585824 Johanna Rosine Wagner; (add.info.: Portrait of Johanna Rosine Wagner (1774-1848) mother of the German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

A letter to King Ludwig II of Bavaria from Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3585820 A letter to King Ludwig II of Bavaria from Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: A letter to King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886) from Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer

Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3585826 Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Portrait of Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3585818 Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Portrait of Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

The Lohengrin opera by Richard Wagner
3118830 The Lohengrin opera by Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Details from the Lohengrin opera by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor (1837-1930)

The interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
3586358 The interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus; (add.info.: Illustration depicting the interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, an opera house in Bayreuth, Germany)

Richard and Siegfried Wagner
3586350 Richard and Siegfried Wagner; (add.info.: Photograph of German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) with his son Siegfried Wagner (1869-1930)

Illustration by Gustave Dore for the 1866 edition of John Milton's Paradise Lost - Satan resting on the mountain
5309207 Illustration by Gustave Dore for the 1866 edition of John Milton's Paradise Lost - Satan resting on the mountain; (add.info)

Richard Wagner
3118700 Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Portrait of Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

The interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
3586359 The interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus; (add.info.: Illustration depicting the interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, an opera house in Bayreuth, Germany)

Minna Planer
3585821 Minna Planer; (add.info.: Photograph of Minna Planer (1809-1866) a German actress and first wife of the German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Wilhelm Wagner and his second wife Cosima Wagner
3585819 Wilhelm Wagner and his second wife Cosima Wagner; (add.info.: Photograph of German composer Wilhelm Wagner (1813-1883) and his second wife Cosima Wagner (1837-1930)

Birthplace of Richard Wagner
3118690 Birthplace of Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Birthplace of Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor

Das Rheingold opera by Richard Wagner
3118812 Das Rheingold opera by Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Details from Das Rheingold opera by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor (1837-1930)

John Milton, 1850
3478686 John Milton, 1850; (add.info.: Portrait of John Milton (1608-1674) an English poet, polemicist, man of letters and civil servant for the Common Wealth

Minna Planer
3585827 Minna Planer; (add.info.: Photograph of Minna Planer (1809-1866) a German actress and first wife of the German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3585825 Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Cartoon of Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

The first letter to King Ludwig II of Bavaria from Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3585822 The first letter to King Ludwig II of Bavaria from Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: The first letter to King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886) from Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3585816 Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Portrait of Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Paolo SARPI (14 August 1552 15 January 1623) religious, theologian, historian, jurist and eclectic Italian scientist
6203097 Paolo SARPI (14 August 1552 15 January 1623) religious, theologian, historian, jurist and eclectic Italian scientist

Porcelain, slip-cast figure of John Milton
3520429 Porcelain, slip-cast figure of John Milton; (add.info.: Porcelain, slip-cast painted in enamels and gilded, figure of John Milton (1608-1674) English poet, polemicist, man of letters

Programme for the Opera Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner
3118747 Programme for the Opera Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Programme for the Opera Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer, theatre director

Silhouette of Franz Liszt
3118732 Silhouette of Franz Liszt; (add.info.: Silhouette of Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, philanthropist, author

The exterior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
3586361 The exterior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus; (add.info.: Illustration depicting the exterior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, an opera house in Bayreuth, Germany)

The interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
3586354 The interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus; (add.info.: Illustration depicting the interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, an opera house in Bayreuth, Germany)

The interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
3586353 The interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus; (add.info.: Illustration depicting the interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, an opera house in Bayreuth, Germany)

Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3586351 Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Photograph of Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3586348 Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Portrait of Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

A letter to King Ludwig II of Bavaria from Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3585817 A letter to King Ludwig II of Bavaria from Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: A letter to King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886) from Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer

The gravesite of Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3586345 The gravesite of Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Illustration depicting the gravesite of Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer

The interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
3586355 The interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus; (add.info.: Illustration depicting the interior of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, an opera house in Bayreuth, Germany)

Wilhelm Richard Wagner
3586349 Wilhelm Richard Wagner; (add.info.: Cartoon depicting Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) a German composer. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Henri Rochefort (oil on canvas)
471564 Henri Rochefort (oil on canvas) by Beers, Jan van (1852-1927); 29x29 cm; Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, Belgium; (add.info.: Henri Rochefort (30 January 1831 - 30 June 1913)

Wilhelm Richard Wagner, from Living Biographies of Great Composers
3961019 Wilhelm Richard Wagner, from Living Biographies of Great Composers by Ross, Gordon (1872-1946); (add.info.: Wilhelm Richard Wagner, 1813-1883)

Alexandre Weill (1811-99) speaking nonsense (pen & ink on tracing paper)
CHT221528 Alexandre Weill (1811-99) speaking nonsense (pen & ink on tracing paper) by Baudelaire, Charles Pierre (1821-67); Bibliotheque Litteraire Jacques Doucet, Paris

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). Irish playwright, critic, polemicist, political activist and winner of Nobel Prize in Literature

The Rights of Man, or Tommy Paine, the little American Taylor
NCO189760 The Rights of Man, or Tommy Paine, the little American Taylor, taking the Measure of the Crown for a new Pair of Revolution-Breeches

Portrait of Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810), engraved by John B
STC177049 Portrait of Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810), engraved by John B. Forrest (1814-70) (engraving) by Dunlap, William (1766-1839) (after)

The Rights of Man, or Tomm Paine, the Little American Taylor taking the measure of
2966804 The Rights of Man, or Tomm Paine, the Little American Taylor taking the measure of the Crown for a new Pair of Revolution Breeches, pub

Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810) engraved by John B. Forrest (1814-70) (engraving)
STC187228 Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810) engraved by John B. Forrest (1814-70) (engraving) by Dunlap, William (1766-1839) (after); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; American

George Bernard Shaw, 1950s
3507466 George Bernard Shaw, 1950s by Ritchie, Alick Penrose Forbes (1868-1938); (add.info.: Players cigarette card depicting George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Voltaire, (1694-1778), 1830. Creator: Unknown
Voltaire, (1694-1778), 1830. Francois-Marie Arouet (1694-1778) French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. A satirical polemicist famous for his wit, advocacy of freedom of speech

Prynne, (1600-1669), 1830. Creator: Unknown
Prynne, (1600-1669), 1830. William Prynne (1600-1669) English lawyer, author, and polemicist educated at Oriel College, Oxford and Lincolns Inn

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The polemicist, a master of words and ideas, has long been a prominent figure in the realm of intellectual discourse. From Francisco Javier Eugenio de Santa Cruz y Espejo's thought-provoking publication "Britannia in French Stays, or Re-Form at the Expense of Constitution" to George Bernard Shaw's multifaceted career as an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist, and political activist captured in a photograph from 1939 when he was 82 years old. Henri Rochefort's oil on canvas portrait showcases the intensity and conviction that often define these individuals. Wilhelm Richard Wagner, featured in "Living Biographies of Great Composers, " demonstrates how even within artistic circles one can find passionate polemicists who challenge conventional norms. Alexandre Weill adds an element of whimsy with his pen & ink drawing depicting nonsense speech - a reminder that not all polemics are serious or rooted solely in politics. Yet it is George Bernard Shaw who stands out once again with his work "The Rights of Man, or Tommy Paine, the little American Taylor, " showcasing his sharp wit and ability to provoke thought through satire. Charles Brockden Brown also enters this narrative with an engraved portrait by John B. Forrest. His contributions as both writer and thinker exemplify the power wielded by polemicists throughout history. In this captivating collection of images spanning different eras and mediums, we catch glimpses into the lives and minds of these influential figures. Whether they were challenging societal norms or advocating for change through their artistry or writings, each one left an indelible mark on their respective fields. As we look back at these snapshots from history - be it George Bernard Shaw typing away at his typewriter in his twilight years or Charles Brockden Brown taking measure as "Tomm Paine" - we are reminded that polemicists have always played a vital role in shaping our understanding of the world.