He was in poor health and almost deaf when, at 62, he began work on the prints. They were not published until 1863, 35 years after his death.Tomlinson (1989), 25. It is likely that only then was it considered politically safe to distribute a sequence of artworks criticising both the French and restored Bourbons.Jones, Jonathan. "Look what we did". The Guardian, 31 March 2003. Retrieved 29 August 2009. In total over a thousand sets have been printed, though later ones are of lower quality, and most print room collections have at least some of the set.
