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Portrait of James Wilkinson 'Daft Jamie'
This is a portrait of James Wilkinson also known as "Daft Jamie." Wilkinson was a victim of Burke and Hare. He was "burked" in Hare's boarding house, and then Burke and Hare sold Wilkinson's body to Dr. Knox for his dissections.
A man walking along a country path is attacked by a bodysnatcher hiding behind a brick wall, who asphyxiates him by thrusting a heart-shaped plaster in his face.
According to the Wellcome Collection, "The Oxford English dictionary defines 'pitch-plaster' as 'A dressing containing pitch, used as a depilatory. Also: a dressing containing Burgundy pitch, used in the treatment of chest and rheumatic disorders'…
Wellington and Peel, in the roles of the body-snatchers Burke and Hare, suffocating John Bull; representing the extinguishing by Wellington and Peel of the constitution of 1688 by Catholic Emancipation
This painting is also known as "Burkeing the constitution of England!!!!!". According to the Wellcome Collection, "John Bull lies on a bed, resting his head on a tick-covered bolster. The Duke of Wellington tries with his left hand to asphyxiate him…