A three-quarter-length portrait of Edward Vernon (1684–1757) with a dark wig and a metal breastplate, holding his sword in his left hand and resting his right hand on a stone plinth beside a baton of command. He stands in front of a tree on the left and a naval engagement on the right. Lettered beneath the image with the title: ‘The Honble. Edward Vernon Esqr. Vice Admiral of the Blue, And Commander in Chief of all his Majesties Ships in the West Indies.’ This print is based on a substantially reworking of an old plate. The plate was originally engraved by John Faber the Younger in 1718 (see PAD4610) after Godfrey Kneller’s portrait of George Byng, painted in 1707–9 (see BHC2589). In about 1740, the inscription and the sitter’s head were changed to represent Edward Vernon and the rest of the plate was left untouched, as shown in this impression. The plate was subsequently reworked more substantially, altering the sitter’s clothing and the background and also changing the plinth beside him into a cannon (see PAF3395). In July 1739, Vernon was promoted vice-admiral of the blue and commander-in-chief in the West Indies. In this role, he successfully captured Porto Bello from the Spanish in November 1739 with only six ships. Coupled with Vernon’s vocal opposition to the Walpole ministry, this triumph gained him significant public popularity. Many portrait prints were published at this time to capitalise upon his fame. (Updated May 2019.)