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The night constable
Title
The night constable [graphic] / G.M. Woodward delin. ; R. Cooper sculp.
Publication
[London] : Published Sepr. 8th by S.W. Fores at the Caracature [sic] Warehouse, No. 3 Piccadilly, [8 September 1785]
Physical Description
1 print : stipple engraving & etching ; round design 238 mm in diameter, on sheet 35 x 25 cm
Medium
laid paper
Notes
Title engraved below image.
Eight lines of verse below title: "Watchman. This wicked dog did lift his hand, First knocked me down, then bid me stand; The peaceful neighbours he awoke, And then the Knave my lanthorn broke, At which the Villain loud did Laugh, So down I knock'd him with my staff. "Constable: If so: you Justice did yourself, Therefore begone thou prating Elf."
Originally published July 10, 1785. Cf. British Museum catalogue no. 6879.
Sheet trimmed within plate mark.
Summary
A companion print to British Museum satire no. 6878: The country justice. Inside a watch-house, a burly watchman stands (left) facing an elderly constable who sits frowning in his arm-chair. He holds out a broken lantern and points to a thin, fashionably dressed, and apparently drunken man who stands beside him with closed eyes, holding a large stick in his left hand. Next to the constable is a clerk writing at a desk with a slanted top. The room is lit by a lantern slung from the roof. A map on the wall apparently represents the roads of the parish and the beats of the watchmen. A fire burns in a grate (right).
Format
Images
Language
English
Added to Catalog
September 29, 2006
References
Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum, v. 6, no. 6879A
Subjects
Genre/Form
Satires (Visual works) - England - 1785.
Stipple engravings - England - London - 1785.
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