Jack in his element

Jack in his element.

Published: [London] : Publish’d 17th June 1793 by Robt. Sayer & Co., Fleet Street, London, [1793]

793.06.17.01+ Impression 2

Poll, the widow of William, stands at her cottage door in a village near the sea, a ship in full-sail in the distance, as Jack delivers the sad news of the death of her husband. In the verses engraved below recount the “jovial” life of a sailor to the refrain of “In every mess I finds a friend, in every port a wife.” Five columns of verse below title: Bold Jack the sailor, here I come, pray how d’ye like my nib …

Jack in his element: 1 print on wove paper : mezzotint ; plate mark 35.3 x 25.3 cm., on sheet 37 x 29 cm.Subjects (Library of Congress): Sailors; Dwellings; Servants; Spouses; Satires (Visual works)–England–1793; Genre prints–England–1793; Mezzotints–England–London–1793; Sayer, Robert, 1725-1794, publisher.

Gift of William M. O’Keefe; July 2010.

Lewis Walpole Library new acquisition: July, 2010

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