Davy Jenkins (caricature)

This hand-coloured print is an illustration from ‘Greenwich Hospital, A series of Naval Sketches, Descriptive of the Life of a Man-of-War’s Man. By an Old Sailor’, an account of the nautical tales of Matthew Henry Barker, published by James Robins in 1826 and illustrated by George Cruikshank. The print depicts a ship carpenter’s in a tropical woodland with shipbuilding equipment. The carpenter sleeps in a sitting position on a plank over a saw-pit. Beside him are a saw, a hammer, a basket, and more planks of wood. A goat rears up on its hind legs towards the sleeping man. Two men with wide-brimmed hats and muskets watch and laugh at the scene. Inscribed beneath with the title and publication information: ‘G Cruikshank /London - Pub. Oct. 1st 1825 by J. Robins & Co. Ivy Lane Paternoster Row’.

In ‘Greenwich Hospital, A series of Naval Sketches’, this print illustrated the chapter titled, ‘Naval Portraits’, in which two sailors stumble upon their shipmate Barney Bryan, who is described as ‘the one-eyed carpenter’s mate of the Foudroyant’, asleep in a clearing in Rio Janeiro: ‘Close to the edge sat old Barney fast asleep, snoring most sonorously, and, as if to beat time, his head kept respectfully bowing to the measure. A huge he-goat at a short distance, whether attracted by Barney’s nasal organ, (“for music hath charms,” &c. &c.) or expecting the repeated nods were a challenge of skill, is uncertain; but, at every bend of the one-eyed carpenter’s head, up sprung the goat on his hind legs, and shook his tremendous horns in a menacing manner’ (page 99). Startled by a particularly violent snore, the goat headbutts Barney, knocking him into the sawpit. Awoken by the fall, Barney asks the sailors if they saw who pushed him in the pit. The sailors wind up Barney by blaming Davy Jenkins, the purser’s steward. This joke played on Barney’s existing prejudice against Welshmen in general and Jenkins (who was Welsh) in particular.