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The white joke
Title
The white joke [graphic].
Publication
[London] : Pub'd Decr. 1, 1786 by J. Wicksteed, No. 30 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, [1 December 1786]
Physical Description
1 print : aquatint ; plate mark 28.8 x 25.1 cm, on sheet 29.5 x 26.7 cm
Medium
laid paper.
Local Notes
Temporary local subject terms: Ladies costume: Hat -- Music: gong -- Pets: poodles -- Musical instrument.
Notes
Title from item.
Beneath the design are four lines of verse: Ah! heedless boy sad fate alack, Thou makest that white which should be black. Barbers or sweeps in our despite, Will have their jokes or black or white.
Summary
Against the background of a high wall with trees on the other side, a small boy (a thief?) carries a white powdered wig in each hand. The powder from one wig has soiled the dress of a fashionably dressed with an enormous hat. The lady angrily pushes the boy away. On the left facing them is a street entertainer, a boy playing the pipe and tabor as two poodles in aprons and one in a cap dance in front of him.
Format
Images
Language
English
Added to Catalog
January 24, 2007
References
Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum
Genre/Form
Satires (Visual works) - England - 1786.
Aquatints - England - London - 1786.
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