A Tavern Card for John Shaw
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 6 7/16 x 6 7/16 in. (16.4 x 16.3 cm) Sheet: 6 9/16 x 6 9/16 in. (16.6 x 16.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Sarah Lazarus, 1891
Accession Number
91.1.46
Tags
Art Historical Context
This etching, created in the 1790s by Joseph Sympson, Jr., after a design associated with William Hogarth, served as a tavern card for John Shaw. Such cards often functioned as invitations, advertisements, or tokens for inns and public houses, capturing the lively social world of 18th-century Britain. The square format and detailed scene featuring men, dogs, horses, rams, and carriages evoke the bustling energy of tavern life, where travelers, locals, and animals mingled amid the comings and goings of coaches. Hogarth’s influence is evident in the print’s satirical edge and keen observation o...
About the Artist
Joseph Sympson, Jr.|William Hogarth (British|British) · 1700 |1697 –1800 |1764
British, active 1727–36|British, London 1697–1764 London