An austere-looking man with a shaved head and ragged clothes, kneels in prayer before his simple meal, unaware that as he recites his blessing, his cat is drinking from his bowl. On the table is a book on which lay his spectacles; his hat hangs off the back of his chair. On the wall behind them is a picture of the three crosses on Calvary.
- Title: The blessing [graphic].
- Publication: [Alnwick] : Printed and published by W. Davison, Alnwick, [between 1812 and 1817]
812.00.00.86 Impression 2
Acquired August 2022
A copy in reverse of William Hogarth’s Plate 3 of A harlot’s progress: In a shabby room in Drury Lane; Moll Hackabout is shown having risen late (the watch shows 11:45), attended by a serving-woman who has lost part of her nose to syphilis; in the background, the magistrate, John Gonson, enters quietly with officers to arrest her; pinned to the window frame are two portrait prints of the hero and heroines of “The Beggar’s Opera”, Captain Mackheath and Polly Peacham, (Polly replaces Dr. Sacheverell in Hogarth’s print), the wig-box of James Dalton, highwayman, sits above the bed, and one of several beer tankards on the floor carries the name of a Drury Lane tavern. A kitten plays at Moll’s feet. A copy of Bishop Gibson’s “Pastoral Letter to …” serves as a butter dish. Above the window on the left is a print after a Titian painting depicting the angel staying the hand of Abraham as he is about to slay Isaac. Medicine bottles on the window sill suggest that Molly is already ill with the disease that will later kill her.
A scene in a sitting room, a man in a fit of anger kicks over a chair and table set with tea; a pitcher, cups and saucers, tongs and other tableware are in flight or shattered on the floor. The man holds his wig in his left hand as a woman looks on with fear. Two cats fight in front of a fireplace above which hangs a seascape with rough waters and lightening. On the back wall another painting shows a man standing over a woman.
In seven scenes in a design of two tiers, citizens dispute the oppressive fees imposed by a zealous tax collector who 
The interior of a well-furnished room. The dentist stands in front of a middle-aged woman seated in a chair (right); he holds her forehead with one hand, with the other he applies a small instrument to her mouth. She grasps a shawl in her left hand. A black boy in livery stands behind the dentist (left) holding an open case of instruments; he looks round grinning. A young woman stands clasping her hands and looking with an expression of horrified concern at the operation. The dentist wears a bag-wig. A cat arches its back and meows. Through a draped sash-window is a steeple. On the wall is a bird in a cage and an oval landscape. Below it is a settee on which sheef of paper.
