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1 of 253523 objects
First and Second Floor Lodgers. 1 - 1 Oct 1786
Etching with stipple and hand colouring | 41.2 x 25.2 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 810222
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A hand-coloured print of two pairs of young women looking out of the window of the same building, on separate floors. The lodgers occupy rooms in 'Union Street' and are shown leaning out of the window to see and to be seen. Union Street is now part of Riding House Street in central London. The lodgers in Rowlandson's print are prostitutes: the second-floor inhabitants are in a state of dishevelled undress, while one of the finely dressed first-floor lodgers touches her breast in a provocative gesture. E Jackson, who published a number of satires by Rowlandson in the mid-1780s, was based in Marylebone Street (now Glasshouse Street), about ten minutes' walk from Union Street. The plate was reissued by Samuel Fores in 1791 (RCIN 810438). The border of the present impression extends beyond the platemark and was made up in pen and ink.
This print was purchased by the Prince of Wales (later George IV) from the publisher and printseller William Holland in 1790 for 3s 6d - the price is written at the lower right of the sheet. Over the years, Holland supplied the prince with at least nineteen albums mounted with satirical prints, by other publishers as well as his own productions, apparently selected to avoid criticism of their recipient's conduct.
Inscribed in the plate: Publish'd Octr 1st 1786 by E Jackson No 14 Mary-le bone Street G SquareProvenance
Purchased by the Prince of Wales from William Holland in 1790 for 3s 6d (TNA HO73/20/1, fol,12)
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Medium and techniques
Etching with stipple and hand colouring
Measurements
41.2 x 25.2 cm (sheet of paper)
35.6 x 25.1 cm (platemark)
Category
Object type(s)
Place of Production
Greater London [England]
Featured in
ExhibitionHigh Spirits: The Comic Art of Thomas Rowlandson: The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace
Through the humour of Rowlandson’s drawings and prints, this exhibition examines life at the turn of the 19th century.