# - Disraeli, Benjamin--Pellegrini, Carlo.

on one side a full-length portrait, gouache, watercolour and pencil; on the reverse side three preparatory drawings in pencil; each side signed by the artist with his full name and Vanity Fair pseudonym "Ape" and stamped "Unfinished Preparatory Sketch", mounted, framed and glazed, size of paper 380 x 275mm., aperture 320 x 192mm., overall size 540 x 410mm., dampstaining to edges (mostly obscured by mount), slight paper losses to reverse (not affecting drawings)

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

the earliest known 'vanity fair' images by pellegrini ("ape"), who was acclaimed by max beerbohm as "by far the best caricaturist who lived within our time".

One of the three drawings on the reverse (on the right) directly relates to Pellegrini's finished portrait of Disraeli now in the National Portrait Gallery (NPG 6659). This portrait, commissioned by the newspaper proprietor Thomas Gibson Bowles for his new society magazine, and captioned "He Educated the Tories", was published on 30 January 1869 as the first 'vanity fair' caricature. Pellegrini's caricature of Gladstone was to appear in the February issue. Both portraits were crucial to the immediate success of the magazine and to Pellegrini's reputation as one of London's leading caricaturists: "...Ape's caricatures were maximum likenesses, that is to say they represented not only what he saw but also what he knew. Most of them today look as though they were probably more like the persons they depict than were these persons themselves" (David Low, British Cartoonists, caricaturists and comic artists, 1942, p.33).