2-705-216 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford', 1725, (early-mid 19th century). Portrait of Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, English statesman. Although the title was never used to refer to him at the time, Walpole (1676-1745) is regarded as Britain's first Prime Minister. His administration lasted from 1721 until he resigned in 1742, longer than that of any Prime Minister since. Engraving after a painting by Charles Jervas commissioned by Walpole in 1725 as a gift for his one of his supporters, it shows him as Chancellor of the Exchequer standing beside the embroidered silk purse of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Seal. 'From the original of Jarvis, in the collection of Thomas Walpole, Esquire'. [The London Printing and Publishing Company, London]