Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford

Alfred Thompson's chromolithograph presents Lord Chelmsford — Lord Chancellor under Derby and Disraeli — as a stout, self-satisfied figure in a rust-brown overcoat, double-breasted waistcoat, and top hat held at his side. The crown device in the upper corner signals his peerage. Plate 66 in the *Statesmen* series, it is captioned: *"It is hardly to be believed that two political leaders should fall out only because their wives cannot agree"* — a waspish allusion to the personal friction between Disraeli and Derby, implying their quarrel was drawing-room gossip dressed up as high politics. Chelmsford's heavy-jowled, slightly pop-eyed rendering is typical period caricature, with physicality enlisted to suggest pomposity and comfortable irrelevance.