1825 McLean Satirical Print Criticizing The Industrial Revolution

A memorable piece of dark humor, this c. 1829 aquatint satirical print by Thomas McLean depicts the explosion of a steam-powered coach, a distressingly common occurrence at the time. The overall effect is to cast doubt on the supposed progress brought about by the Industrial Revolution and the latest inventions of the time.

A Closer Look

The view is dominated by a terrific explosion at right, sending the coach's passengers, or pieces of them at least, flying into the air. A milestone at bottom right indicates that the accident is meant to have taken place on the road from Windsor to London. Several features, including the exploding coach, are numbered, which likely corresponded to an explanatory index at bottom that has been lost.

Following or in tandem with the explosion, chaos ensues all around. In the foreground at left, an insurance salesman, likely on the hook for damages from the accident behind him, rides in his own (horse pulled) carriage. In the background, several other curious modes of transport appear, including hot air balloons resembling naval ships (and similarly labelled H.M.S.) and a kite-pulled carriage. In the background, a castle (perhaps Windsor Castle) hosts guns that are firing in the direction of the kites.

Steam-Powered Coaches

A little remembered intermediary between horse-pulled carriages and railways, steam-powered coaches briefly became popular in Britain in the 1820s and early 1830s. Generally, these were used for local transport, but in 1827 Goldsworthy Gurney began operation of a service between London and Bath and in 1833 Walter Hancock began passenger service between London and Brighton. These steam coaches or steam carriages were the object of great public interest, as well as derision. The engines could not far outpace their horse-pulled competitors (their speed was later capped at four miles per hour) but were nevertheless prone to hitting pedestrians and, far worse, large explosions caused by overheating boilers. Opponents of the newfangled technology saw confirmation of their views in these accidents and would have been eager consumers of satirical prints such as this one. But though the steam carriages were soon phased out, the applicability of steam engines to passenger transportation was proven with the advent of intercity passenger railways in the 1830s.

Publication History and Census

The print was published by Thomas McLean around the year 1829. It was part of a series of satirical prints by McLean which began with the phrase 'March of …' (the March of Intellect, the March of Morality, and so on). The other prints in the series were drawn by William Heath, sometimes under the pseudonym 'Paul Pry', and it is likely that Heath also drew the present work. The only examples of this work in institutional collections are held by Princeton University, Yale University, and the Science Museum Group (UK).