‘AN ENQUIRY CONCERNING THE CLOCK TAX’ (1797) - BY CHARLES ANSELL AFTER GEORGE MOUTARD WOODWARD PUBLISHED BY S.W.FORES (1761-1838).A fine caricature etching with original hand colouring which satirises British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. Pitt imposed a tax on clocks and watches to raise revenue for Britain''s war efforts against Revolutionary France. The tax was five shillings on every clock (even those in private homes), two shillings and sixpence on silver watches, and ten shillings on gold watches. The tax proved immensely unpopular, nearly ruined manufacturers, and was repealed after only nine months.Ansell uses a visual pun on the word “clock'' in his print where we see an anxious delegate from the ''Society of Hosiers'' asks the Prime Minister, William Pitt, if the new tax will extend to the ''clocks upon stockings''. ''Clock'' in this context refers to an ornamental pattern, often embroidered on the ankle of a stocking. Pitt is depicted with a list of other ...