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'Tear 'em' — The Right Honourable J. A. Roebuck, M.P.

Carlo Pellegrini · Vanity Fair, 11 April 1874

'Tear 'em' — The Right Honourable J. A. Roebuck, M.P.
Carlo Pellegrini ('Ape') renders John Arthur Roebuck in profile: a compact, stooped figure in double-breasted frock coat and bow tie, walking cane in hand, pince-nez perched on an aggressively hooked nose. The caption 'Tear 'em' neatly summarises Roebuck's parliamentary reputation as a ferocious cross-examiner and populist agitator — the man who chaired the 1855 Sebastopol Committee that destroyed Aberdeen's government over Crimean mismanagement. Pellegrini's characteristic exaggeration targets the nose and jutting jaw, rendering Roebuck combative even in repose.

Carlo Pellegrini Public domain