{"product_id":"weird-three-k52ndupe","title":"The Weird Three.","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUNRECORDED. NOT IN OCLC OR COPAC.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA satirical broadside on the controversial Bristol election of 1837 which uses the imagery and text of Shakespeare’s \u003cem\u003eMacbeth\u003c\/em\u003e to attack the Tory opposition to the victory of the Liberal candidate Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe engraved vignette at the head of the sheet (signed “Bagshaw fecit”) shows three liberal supporters (Bush, Cookson and Payne) as witches dancing around a cauldron with bubbles rising from it reading “Lies”, “Slander” and “Perjury.” A sun in the sky reads “Berkeley for Ever” in support of the Tory candidate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe text beneath, titled “The Weird Three” is set out as the first act of a play and begins:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Scene I. - Thundering shouts from Berkeley\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1st Witch. For what shall we three meet again,\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo blast, calumniate and stain…“\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe “play” continues in much the same vein with repeated allusions to Shakespeare’s play, but often with the setting relocated to Bristol:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“3rd Witch. Let us meet ere set of sun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1st Witch. Where?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2nd Witch. On Clifton Down“ [Clifton is an inner suburb of Bristol with many grand houses].\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLater in the act the three “witches” chant:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Double, double, without much trouble\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTory Gold will make all bubble…“\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Maggs Bros.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67594276012341,"sku":"261826","price":950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0669\/0045\/9677\/files\/261826_01.jpg?v=1790654458","url":"https:\/\/store.maggs.com\/products\/weird-three-k52ndupe","provider":"Maggs Bros.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}