The Whitehall Pump (page from The Westminster Magazine)
May 1, 1774
Medium
Letterpress
Dimensions
sheet: 8 1/4 x 4 15/16 in. (21 x 12.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Charles Allen Munn, 1924
Accession Number
24.90.1406A
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the charged atmosphere of 18th-century Britain with *The Whitehall Pump*, apress page from *The Westminster Magazine* dated May 1, 1774. Produced anonymously by British printers, this modest sheet (8 1/4 x 4 15/16 in.) exemplifies the era's booming periodical press, where letterpress technology—using inked raised type pressed onto paper—enabled rapid dissemination of news, illustrations, and commentary to eager readers. This print captures a notorious moment tied to the American Revolution: Whitehall Pump hoax. In spring 1774, amid escalating tensions post-Boston Tea Party, rumors e...