- Title: The case of the poor straw-hat-makers, in the counties of Hartford, Bedford, Buckingham, &c.
- Publication: [London] : [publisher not identified], [1720?]
File 652 A3 C337 720
Acquired March 2021
File 652 A3 C337 720
Acquired March 2021
“Bonaparte (left) and Cornwallis play chess. Bonaparte, not caricatured, alert and military, wearing his large plumed cocked hat, leans forward, pointing to his move; his left arm lies on the table and in his left hand is his sheathed sabre. He says: “Check to your King, remember it is not the first time, and I think a very few Manœuvres more will completely convince you that I am better acquainted with the Game I am playing than you are aware of.” Cornwallis, plump and civilian despite his regimentals and profession, sits without a hat, scratching his head apprehensively. He says: “Curse it I shall lose this Game; You are too much for me.” He wears his ribbon and star, ‘Honi soit’ on his garter. The chairs are symbolical: that of Bonaparte has ormolu laurel wreaths, the legs are formed of fasces and axes; that of Cornwallis, with plain oval back, suggests an English drawing-room.”–British Museum online catalogue.
802.01.09.01+
Acquired September 2020
Three men sit by a supper-table, a grandfather-clock behind them points to XI. The man on the left is having his jack-boots pulled off by a small boy; the boy stands astride his right leg pulling hard, his back to the man, who is scowling and pushes his other booted foot against the boy’s back; on the floor are a pair of spurs, a pair of slippers, and a boot-jack. A man (right) wearing a night-cap, but otherwise completely dressed and wearing spurred boots, leans one elbow on the table, his face contorted as if in pain, he holds his hand to his thigh. On the table beside him is a small packet inscribed “Diaculum”. In the centre, and on the farther side of the table, the third man leans both elbows on the table, his hair is tousled and his eyes are shut. A servant behind, yawning, is carrying off a square box, probably a wig-box, while a maidservant stands on the right, a candle in one hand, a warming-pan in the other, watching with amusement the efforts of the boy to pull off the boot. Three hats hang on the wall; a bottle, a plate, three wine-glasses, and a guttering candle, burnt down to the socket, stand on the table. See related image in the British Museum catalogue.
816.00.00.81+
Acquired November 2020
“Heading to etched verses. Mrs. Clarke, seated on a dais, receives applicants for commissions who advance through a doorway (left). She sits on a drum, wearing a cocked hat and military sash over a white dress, and holds up a sword. A short fat soldier holds over her head a Union flag with the white horse of Hanover. Two soldiers stand at attention with fixed bayonets behind her, and a fat trumpeter blows his trumpet. Another Union flag, without the white horse, flies from the corner of the large dais. On the wall hangs a notice: ‘Half-pay Commissions at Half Price for Ready Money’. The applicants press forward in a bunch, headed by a fat and gouty ‘cit’ hobbling on two sticks, behind whom is a chimneysweep. The first of three verses: ‘Come all you brave Fellows who wish for Promotion. Wether Captain or Colonel or a General’s your notion. A Warehouse I keep for the sale of Commissions, And our Prices you’ll find will suit all conditions, You’ll be treated with Honor if you secrecy mark Sir For my Master is Noble and I am his Clarke Sir, You’ll be treated &c.’ The last lines: ‘But forget not the ready (Gold or Notes) for pray mark! My Master wants Money, & so does his Clarke. But forget not &c.’ The verses are bordered by spears which serve as posts for plump purses, symmetrically attached to them.”–British Museum online catalogue.
809.03.00.05+
Acquired June 2020
A portrait of a woman in the rondel frame; in profile, head and shoulders only, looking down and to the right, wearing an extravagant hat; possibly a performer.
778.02.26.01
Acquired May 2020
“A Thames wherry passes close to the wall of a riverside tavern, and is about to go under a high timber bridge. The two oarsmen have immense artificial-looking whiskers and curled hair, cf. British Museum satires no. 15962, no hats, and wear striped shirts, open at the neck, nautical in cut. They row a lady who sits erect in a grotesquely huge hat, with wide brim, high jam-pot crown, and towering ribbons. They row badly and carelessly. In waterside arbours spectators drink and smoke. On the extreme left steps lead to the water, and two more amateur oarsmen, looking like buccaneers, stand, while a boatman in waders holds the bow of a boat. Behind are urban houses.”–British Museum online catalogue.
829.00.00.113+
Acquired October 2018
Drawings G41 no. 7 Box D120
Acquired June 2018