In front of Humphrey's print shop window, a man sits on the pavement, having fallen backwards; his legs are splayed up, his wig is falling off, and coins spill from his pockets. The man's predicament is unobserved by four men studying the Gillray prints displayed in the shop window, each identifiable: a gentleman with a quizzing glass held to his eye; a military officer; a coachman; and a young dustman carrying a pair of skates under his arm, his nose eaten away by syphilis. From the cobblestone street a dog looks at the man. Through the shop door, two men, one an obese cleric, are shown examining a print.
Alternative Title:
St. James's Street
Description:
One of a set of seven weather-themed prints with the same signature and imprint, all etched by Gillray from drawings by Sneyd. See British Museum catalogue. and Title etched below image.
Publisher:
H. Humprey, No. 27 St. James's Street
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher., and Humphrey, Hannah,--active 1774-1817.
Subject (Topic):
City & town life., Clergy., Coach drivers. , Falling., Merchandise displays--England--London--1800-1810., Military officers--British., Older people. , People associated with commercial & service activities., Printing industry--England--London--1800-1810., Prints., Stores & shops., Syphilis., Thermometers., Weather., and Window displays.
Two vicars sit at a table in a sitting room; a painting on the wall behind them is labelled "View of the vicarage". One of the men is very fat and wears a night cap; he dozes in an arm chair, his foot on a sleeping dog at his feet, the "Oxford Journal" on the floor having apparently dropped from his hand. The other, a thinner man, pours two generous glasses of port from a full carafe, and observes to his companion "What is life without the enjoyment of a friend".
Alternative Title:
Country characters, no. 7
Description:
Date from alternate state. See The Lewis Walpole Library, call no. 799.09.10.01., Not in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires., and Title etched below image.
Publisher:
R. Ackerman, no. 101 Strand
Subject (Name):
Ackermann, Rudolph, 1764-1834, publisher., Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., and Woodward, G. M. (George Moutard), approximately 1760-1809, artist.