The Bottom Line

How 18th-century caricaturists cashed in on a kinky crime wave.

James Gillray’s caricature of the serial attacker dubbed ‘The Monster’.

After his trial in the December of 1790, there was much speculation as to whether the imprisonment of a man named Renwick Williams would quell the buttock-clenching fear that had lately gripped London’s female citizenry. The court case came after a series of bizarre assaults on women, and Williams had been identified as the perpetrator. But there were many doubts concerning the validity of his conviction.

The attacks, upon upwards of fifty women, had begun in May of 1788. They were carried out by a man who followed his victims, ranted remarks of a lewd nature at them, and then stabbed them in the buttocks with a small knife. It was often reported that he also had blades fastened to his knees.

The panic that this caused led to widespread media coverage, and it helped to sell a lot of newspapers. Ever ready to pounce on a business opportunity, the city’s print shops and caricaturists quickly got in on the act…