L-R: Madame Vestris dressed as Paul in Paul and Virginia, PS200-300; Derby figure of John Liston as Van Dunder and a Staffordshire porcelain figure of the same actor as
Paul Pry, PS150-250; two pearlware figures of John Lister as Van Dunder and Madame Vestris as the Broom Girl, estimate PS200-300; a Derby figure of Richard III, PS100-200
However, some of the best colour caricatures of Wellington were produced by a short-lived artist who signed himself 'Paul Pry' after the comic theatrical busybody.
From 1827 to 1829 Heath signed his drawings with a tiny image of the celebrated comic actor John Liston in the role of Paul Pry, the meddling nosey parker character from John Poole's popular 1825 farce of the same name.
"He [Southey] conceives that the business of the magistrate is not merely to see that the persons and property of the people are secure from attack, but that he ought to be a jack-of-all-trades--architect, engineer, school-master, merchant, theologian, a Lady Bountiful in every parish, a
Paul Pry in every house, spying, eavesdropping, relieving, admonishing, spending our money for us, and choosing our opinions for us.