“A satire on prostitution set in a brothel in which all the men have been given the heads of apes and the women those of cats. In the centre of the room a prostitute sits on the knee of an old man who fondles her, her legs splayed; she holds a glass in one hand and a flask in the other. A magistrate wearing a lace edged hat and holding a large candle stands over them. Constables with staves stand in the open door, behind which the prostitute’s pimp (referred to as her bully in the verse beneath) is hiding; he is dressed as a grenadier. On the right, the brothel-keeper holds up a tally-board pointing out one of the symbols to three men who are startled at the entry of the constables; one is seated at a table holding a glass, another holds a large candle. On the table is a large flask, another rests on the floor beside a big jug, and another lies broken in pieces. In the background on the right a couple peer from being the curtains of a large bed. Hanging from the ceiling is a large birdcage on which a bird is perched.”–British Museum online catalogue, description of an earlier state
- Title: [A satire on ‘Vice and Folly’]
- Creator: Toms, W. H. (William Henry), approximately 1700-1765, printmaker
- Publication: London, not after 1760
760.00.00.111+
Acquired June 2024
A group of gentlemen seated at an oval table, with glasses full of wine, laugh uproariously at a joke as they look down at the dog at the foot of the table.