Description:
The Stay Maker/ From an Original Sketch in Oil by Hogarth in the Possession of Mr. Sam'l Ireland/ Etch'd by Jos. Haynes Pupil to the late Mr. Mortimer/ Publish'd as the Act directs Febry. 1, 1782, at No. 3 Clements Inn." Based on the c.1744 oil painting by Hogarth as part of his unfinished "The Happy Marriage Series," this etching depicts a woman being fitted for new stays (the 18th-century version of a corset) by a male staymaker. Typical for Hogarth, this image is an important document of everyday life and material culture, despite its many satirical references. A maid holds a looking glass for the woman to finish tightening her own laces. Her husband lies on a nearby sofa wearing a dressing gown and nightcap. One of her children is pouring milk into the staymaker's tricorn hat for the cat below (who is watching a mouse). Another child, a boy, stand near the scene of the fitting. In the background, white linen undergarments are drying by the fire. Otherwise, the room is fairly bare.

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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2017.14

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