The Repeal, Or The Funeral Of Miss Ame-Stamp

Maker: Benjamin Wilson
Date: March 18, 1766

One of the most famous and popular of the political satires commenting on the Stamp Act, this print celebrates the end of the tax. An instant success, the print became one of the most copied satirical prints of the period.

The print depicts a funeral procession composed of supporters of the act carrying a small coffin containing the remains of the bill toward an open vault. The vault has been prepared for the burial of all unjust acts that would alienate Englishmen. Leading the procession and preparing to deliver the funeral eulogy is the Reverend W. Scott, who is followed by the mourners: Grenville (carrying the coffin), Bute, Bedford, and Temple, some of the same Englishmen who were responsible for passing the act.

By setting the action on a dock, Wilson is able to show the large unshipped cargoes destined for America that had accumulated during the period when the act was in force. Ships labeled "Conway," "Rockingham," and "Grafton," representing the Parliamentary leaders responsible for the repeal of the bill, now stand ready to carry the goods to America. Stamps just returned from America are also stacked on the wharf.

Source: Joan D. Dolmetsch, Rebellion and Reconciliation: Satirical Prints on the Revolution at Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Va., 1976), pp. 38-39.