Humphrey, Hannah

Hannah Humphrey (October 18, 1750 - February 15, 1818) was a publisher and printseller based in London, best known for publishing James Gillray's controversial satirical works. Humphrey was the most prominent among a group of late 18th-century women printsellers in London, eventually becoming one of the two leading printsellers in the city (the other being Samuel Fores). She was the sister of engraver and printseller William Humphrey (c. 1740 - 1810) and initially sold her own prints from his shop before establishing her own shop in 1778 or 1779, which moved several times afterwards before settling in St. James Street in 1797. Aside from Gillray, she published several leading caricaturists of the day, such as Thomas Rowlandson and James Sayers, producing works on a wide range of political and social issues, often mercilessly satirizing leading public figures. Although commonly known as 'Mrs. Humphrey,' she never married, though it appears that she had some sort of relationship with Gillray, for whom she was an exclusive publisher for much of his career. The satirist lived with Humphrey as a lodger from 1794 until his death in 1815, and she tended to him after his health deteriorated in 1807. Moreover, Gillray helped Humphrey run her shop, and Humphrey was the benefactor in his will. For more information on this fascinating character, see Clayton, T., 'Shells to Satire: The Career of Hannah Humphrey (1750–1818)' in Martinez, C. and Roman, C. (eds.), Female Printmakers, Printsellers, and Print Publishers in the Eighteenth Century: The Imprint of Women, c. 1700–1830, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) 2024, pp. 207-221. The image seen here, taken from Gillray's etching 'Two-penny whist,' is widely believed to be a caricature of Humphrey, but Clayton convincingly disputes this, arguing that there is no known depiction of her.