Hand-coloured. Four oval bust-length portraits of (clockwise from top) Richard Howe, Earl Howe (1726–1799), John Jervis, Earl of St Vincent (1752–1820), Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson (1758–1805) and Adam Duncan, Viscount Duncan (1731–1804). Lettered beneath each portrait with the name of the sitter. All four figures wear flag officer’s full-dress uniform, 1795–1812, with naval gold medals, ribbons and stars. Howe, St Vincent and Duncan all wear sashes over their left shoulders. This is correct for Howe, who was a knight of the Order of the Garter, and Duncan, who was a knight of the Russian Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky. Both of these orders included a sash over the left shoulder as part of their regalia, although the colourist of this impression has incorrectly coloured Howe’s Garter ribbon in red when it should be blue. St Vincent’s ribbon is shown over the wrong shoulder: as a companion of the Order of the Bath, he should be depicted with a sash over his right shoulder. Nelson wears his empty right sleeve across his chest and a ribbon over his left shoulder, indicating his membership of the Order of the Bath. The portraits are set within an oval frame and surrounded by laurel branches with a red ensign, a union jack, four swords, two cannon, bar shot and chain shot. Lettered around the frame with the title, ‘The Four Victorious British Admirals.’ Also lettered at the bottom with the publication line: ‘Published July 8th 1799 by John Fairburn No. 146, Minories, London.’ This print was published by John Fairburn in July 1799. It celebrates the admirals responsible for four major British naval victories of the 1790s: the Battle of the Glorious First of June on 1 June 1794 (Howe); the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February 1797 (St Vincent); the Battle of Camperdown on 11 October 1797 (Duncan); and the Battle of the Nile on 1–3 August 1798 (Nelson). The portraits appear to have been derived from Valentine Green’s print ‘The British Naval Victors’, published 11 February 1798 (see PAI4979). (Updated June 2019.)