News From Worthing, London, 25 May 1807.
Mocking the Silly Pastimes of High Society Cruikshank, Isaac [1764-1811]. News From Worthing. London: Lauries and Whittle, 25 May 1807. 11" x 9-1/4" (28 x 23.5 cm) etching (measured to plate marks), image size 6-1/4" x 8-1/2" (15.9 x 21.6 cm). Light toning, some browning to outer edges of margins. A very good impression. $500. * This was one of the most famous British satirical images and broadside ballads of its day. The illustration accompanies a satirical poem written by Robert Bloomfield. Subtitled "In a Letter from a Beast of Burden to Her Brother Jack," the verse is written from the perspective of a female donkey at the seaside town of Worthing writing to her brother back home. While her brother Jack endures heavy labor and cudgel thumps, the female donkey enjoys the lighter "work" of Regency fashion. She highlights the chaotic trend of wealthy young women trying to ride donkeys into the sea.The Imagery: Cruikshank's artwork vividly captures the social comedy of a fashionable seaside resort. It depicts a young woman stranded in the ocean on a stubborn donkey that completely refuses to move. Meanwhile, onlookers and other beachgoers experience total chaos with their own uncooperative animals in the background. The print mocks the absurdities of early 19th-century vacation culture, modern romance, and the silly pastimes of high society. Cruikshank was one of the great social and political satirists of his day. Like his sons Isaac Robert and George Cruikshank, he was a pioneer in the history of comics through creating several cartoons which make use of narrative sequences and/or speech balloons. BM Satires 10947.
Price: $500.00
Book number 86996