A catamaran, or, An old maids nursery [graphic].

[London] : Pubd. March 1st, 1811, by T. Rowlandson, N. 1 James St., Adelphi, [1 March 1811]

1 print : etching with stipple ; sheet 31 x 23 cm

wove paper

From a collection in fourteen volumes compiled by Francis Harvey and dispersed at auction, Sotheby, London, June 1900. Sold at Sotheby, London, 12 March 1919. Bequest of Hugh Dudley Auchincloss to Yale University Library, 1981. Bound by Riviere & Son in three-quarters red morocco with gold tooling and gold lettering on spine.

"An old hag leans back in an armchair of antique pattern; she is beset with cats which swarm round her, and turns her head with a macabre smile to kiss one on the mouth; her left hand rests on a cat standing on the table beside her. Two sit in her lap, another scrambles up her skirts. On a cushion on the floor are two large cats and two kittens; two others lap from a bowl. Others scramble and fight on the back of her chair. A pretty young woman stands (right) holding a cat which is tightly wrapped up, and feeding it from a spoon. The cats are large and muscular, with a trace of bull-dog. On the table are a box of 'Rappe', a decanter of 'Ratafia' with a glass, a large bowl of 'Cat Lap', and a paper: 'Essay on Old Maids'. Behind are ancient stone walls, and windows with escutcheons on which are cats. The woman's shoes are of archaic pattern"--British Museum online catalogue.

Old maids nursery

English

October 11, 2016

Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum, v. 8, no. 10177