From the exhibition
James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn
Carlo Pellegrini · 25 September 1869

Carlo Pellegrini ('Ape') presents the Duke of Abercorn in full-length profile, rendered in chromolithograph. The Duke — red-haired, full-bearded, patrician in profile — wears a frock coat, buff trousers, and a silk top hat, holding a curved walking cane behind his back with both hands. A baron's coronet floats upper-left, signalling rank. The caption, 'Promoted from a Viceroyalty to a Dukedom,' anchors the political joke: Abercorn served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1866–1868) before Disraeli elevated him to a dukedom, a reward critics read as patronage dressed as honour. Pellegrini's caricature exaggerates the Duke's aquiline nose and ginger colouring.
Carlo Pellegrini Public domain